When I was younger, my 85 year old great grandpa would drive. I’m not saying he could; I’m just saying that he did. I cannot count the number of times he rear ended or backed into people. He was not qualified to be driving anymore, but his suburban neighborhood did not offer any sort of public transportation and the closest family members lived at least a half an hour away. He soon gave up his license, but without it, running daily errands became a chore. This type of story is very common and I wish it wasn’t. I believe that the elderly should get little to no cost transportation to local areas. I’m going to go over what types of transportation are available right now, private housing and senior living homes, why this little to no cost transportation is needed and where these senior citizens could be taken to.

The most helpful option out there right now for senior citizen transportation is volunteer drivers. This system is available in very few cities, but is very helpful.  Sherri Snelling, executive director at Keck Medicine of University of Southern California, says that these volunteers are usually nonprofit and tend to offer good door to door service when needed. Of course, in the big city there are the more common forms of public transportation such as buses and taxis, but for the elderly in rural or even some suburban areas, that is not an option. In addition, the costs for buses and taxis sometimes cannot be paid for due to many reasons, such as not having a job anymore. There is also the paratransit option. These services usually offer small buses or minivans. Although paratransit services are not free, they can still be helpful, especially when the elderly are living in some sort of apartment or shared building. While all of these options are available, each one isn’t always available for every person who needs them.

The options that are available depend on the structure and location of the city. My great grandmother, who now lives in a nursing home of sorts, was living on her own in a suburban area, where there were not any easily accessible or cheap means of transportation. She was lucky enough to have family less than an hour away, but they couldn’t be there every single time she needed some milk. That is where having some volunteer driving services would have been very helpful. According to Sally Abrahms from AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) magazine, like my Great Grandma, 15.5 million Americans aged 65 plus live in areas where there is nonexistent or very poor means of public transportation. To me, that statistic is upsetting. I want to see more transportation for the elderly. It should be easily accessible for them and their families.

The elderly need these kinds of transportation for more reasons than one. First, if they cannot drive, it should not mean they are losing their freedom. They need someone to take them places such as stores and shops, the dentist office, or just places in their specified town. Even if they’d like to just get out of their home and go to a park, that should be an option. Just because someone is older and cannot drive anymore does not mean that they shouldn’t be allowed to have a life. If there are more transportation options out there, older people who don’t want to lose their driving privileges won’t feel like they are losing their freedom and independence along with it. That’s what should matter.

The elderly need little to no cost transportation to local areas. If they cannot drive, they need to be able to get places; they still deserve to have an independent life. My great grandpa still wanted to go places after he became too old to drive, but he didn’t receive that. I do not want this to happen to anyone else. Now that I’ve gone over what options are out there right now, private housing and senior living homes, why this little to no cost transportation is needed and where these senior citizens could be taken to, I hope that I have provided a little more insight on this important matter. Giving transportation may not mean a whole lot to the average working American, but it could help an older person keep their freedom, with or without their license.