One-third to one-half of capital region seniors say transit services are doing a poor job of helping them to get where they need to go, suggests a recent report. The Capital Region Board received a report last week on the transportation needs of seniors and persons with disabilities in the Edmonton region.
One-third to one-half of capital region seniors say transit services are doing a poor job of helping them to get where they need to go, suggests a recent report.
The Capital Region Board received a report last week on the transportation needs of seniors and persons with disabilities in the Edmonton region.
The report, authored by University of Alberta gerontologist Bonnie Dobbs and researcher Tara Pidborochynski, surveyed about 413 Lamont County and Redwater residents to gauge the state of seniors' and disabled persons' transportation in the capital region.
The board commissioned this report last fall as part of its mandate to provide transit for special needs persons, said board chair and St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse.
Seniors – people aged 65 and up – are a growing part of our population, Dobbs said. Approximately 16 per cent of Redwater falls into that category, for example, as will about 24 per cent of Canadians by 2040. As more seniors seek to age in place and more services move into the big cities, seniors' transit becomes more important.
The report found that 12 to 15 per cent of respondents aged 45 and older often could not get to medical appointments due to a lack of transit. About eight to 13 per cent lacked transit to get groceries in the last six months.
Dobbs said the study found that most seniors and people with disabilities were still able to go on essential trips such as to the grocery store or doctor's appointments with the help of friends and family, but were missing out when it came to social trips such as visits to church.
“People with unmet transportation needs often feel very socially isolated. They can be depressed. There's a decrease in overall quality of life and well-being.”
About 30 to 40 per cent of respondents aged 45 and up said that transportation needs of seniors were met “not at all well” in their community. Less than 10 per cent of this group said that the region was doing “very well” when it came to seniors' transit.
This gap is even more pronounced for persons with disabilities. About 76 per cent of disabled persons in the survey said their transportation needs were being met “not at all well” in their communities, with about half saying they sometimes or often could not get to medical appointments due to a lack of transit. Note that this part of the survey was based on just 30 respondents.
“The overall perception is that there's a tremendous need for transportation services outside of the public transportation system,” Dobbs said.
Many respondents said they did not have services such as a Handi-bus available in their region, Dobbs noted – a service all but three respondents said was “very important” to have.
Dobbs said about 90 per cent of respondents said it was very important for the region to have a system of inter-municipal transit in place, with 98 per cent saying that government support for such systems was a top priority.
Crouse said he wasn't surprised by the survey's results. It's tough for small communities to provide specialized transit services since the cost recovery is so poor.
“There's going to have to be another model for rural Alberta.”
One answer might be to follow Wainwright's lead and set up a non-profit group that co-ordinates specialized transit across the region, Crouse said. Rocky View County has also started giving out $500 grants for seniors' transit.
Dobbs said the board should assess the needs of each of its communities individually to figure out the best answer.
“There has to be dollars on the table.”
Dobbs said she planned to do similar surveys throughout the capital region in the coming years.
