Presentation
Exploring the Use of Public Transportation Among Older Adults During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Study
SessionA1 - Aging
Event Type
Lecture
Aging
TimeTuesday, October 11th11:00am - 11:15am EDT
LocationA708
DescriptionThe COVID-19 pandemic affected many lives; however, adults 65 years and older experienced challenges such as limited mobility options, which may result in more age-related declines in perceptual, cognitive, and physical functioning. This pilot study aimed to explore how older adults living in the Bay Area, California, used and perceived public transportation during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey was conducted on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Sixteen respondents completed the survey, and the results showed that older adults who used public transportation more frequently were more concerned about contracting Coronavirus and that those with fewer transit barriers used mobile technology more often for transportation services. These findings may help transit agencies develop effective strategies to improve transportation services and increase policymakers’ awareness of older adults’ need for accessible public transportation.