Intersection of gender and age in transportation

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We are at a time when the baby boomer generation has become the largest, and healthiest group of retirees in American history. Their large numbers paired with the fact that many of them live in the suburbs creates a new and unprecedented batch of transportation problems.  In 2003, Sandra Rosenbloom wrote in “The Mobility of Older American: Implications for Transportation Reauthorization” that a majority of these older Americans are single, elderly, women. Being single and elderly means that one is more likely to be responsible for their own transportation whether it be to medical appointments or more common day-to-day errands. Living with the intersection of the potential issues that come along with being single, elderly and a woman, along with a living situation dependent on the car for access to services, puts elderly women in tough spot.

In general, women’s problems are either ignored or just not understood. For example, the struggles of menopause are, for the most part, excluded from pop culture altogether. While more women than ever are controlling the public narrative, most of them are young and still don’t understand the intersection of being elderly and a woman.  This means that blanket transportation solutions for the elderly aren’t going to work for all of them. Rosenbloom made this the focus of her 2003 paper. She claimed that transportation officials have made a lot of assumptions about the elderly that are inaccurate. Public officials along with the public at large aren’t focusing on the needs of older Americans. The services available to the elderly do not match their mobility needs. (Rosenbloom, 2003).

So what should we do about this problem? I think we need to find efficient ways to find out what are the specific needs of the elderly and to provide them with as many options as possible such as: medical transport, public transport, family support or a personal vehicle. We also need to look more closely at how women’s needs and issues intersect with transportation. Healthcare costs will only continue rising but Medicare coverage is dwindling and failing to provide for seniors with health issues.
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             Lisa Wheeler
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       Edited by: Santiago Espinosa Wild


Sources:
Rosenbloom, S. (2003) “The Mobility Needs of Older Americans.” The Brookings Institutution.

II, Vann R. Newkirk. “Medicare Is Leaving Elderly Women Behind.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 4 Mar. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/elderly-women-medicare-issues/472155/.

Comments

  1. Sara UrbinaNovember 28, 2018 at 4:19 PM

    Lisa, what an interesting post! I really like you shared the transportation issues for older women. As Sandra Rosenbloom states, the number of older Americans is expected to double in the next 25 years. There are special requirements for the mobility of the elderly and persons with disabilities. These requirements are adding a range of transportation problems. Unfortunately, transportation need for older Americans has not received a great deal of support yet, and there are lots of older citizens with disabilities which they need to access multiple transportation services. The current urban design of the suburb and urban areas have lots of unmet needs and required improvements in transportation services for these residents.

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