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The Mobility Needs of Older Americans: Implications for Transportation Reauthorization

Sandra Rosenbloom
SR
Sandra Rosenbloom

July 1, 2003

The number of older Americans is expected to double over the next 25 years. All but the most fortunate seniors will confront an array of medical and other constraints on their mobility even as they continue to seek an active community life. This brief challenges the easy assumptions that underlie most policy debates on providing transportation to the elderly. It discusses how an aging society adds to a range of transportation problems and argues that Congress should consider special approaches to meet the mobility and access needs of the elderly as it debates reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21).