Older people isolated by poor transport links – cuts to services devastating

Thousands of older people are being unnecessarily socially excluded, a WRVS report warns today as 342,000 over 75 year olds said they feel trapped in their own home through lack of suitable transport.

The situation for many has been exacerbated by recent cuts. 14% of older people have been hit by a reduction in public transport services and 10% say they now get out and about less because they have no way of getting out by themselves.

The report highlights the vital role transport plays in the lives of older people, keeping them connected not only to local communities and services but also to family and friends, and that cuts to these services have had a devastating impact on older people’s sense of happiness and wellbeing.

Being unable to get out and about because there is no suitable transport means that 9% of older people feel they have lost their independence, leading to feelings of loneliness (6%) and isolation (5%).

Although free bus travel is available for those aged over 60 in Wales and Scotland and around 62 in England, the report found that 17% of those aged over 75 don’t use public transport because it isn’t suitable for their disabilities.

On the release of the report, WRVS is urging older people to contact the charity to find out how community transport services can help them see their family and friends, run errands and improve their wellbeing and quality of life.

WRVS is also calling on public transport providers to consider the needs of older people who use their service by providing training for drivers to allow them to help and support older people who need assistance. They should also consider the placement of bus stops when planning routes to ensure older people don’t have to walk long distances to reach local services, after the report found 18% are unable to manage the walk to or from their nearest method of public transport.

The research also shows:

    6% of older people would like to use community transport services but don’t know anything about them
    14% don’t feel able to make comments or complaints about local transport services
    7% don’t know what public transport services are available to them

This new report emphasises the findings of previous WRVS research which highlighted the acute problem of loneliness and isolation among older people in this country, and how being unable to see family as often as they would like has an impact on an older person’s wellbeing.