Is Local Public Transport unsuitable for elderly? Exploring the cases of two Italian cities

Abstract

The issue of developing environments responsive to the ambitions and needs of older people has become a major concern for social and public policy. According to the activity theory, psychological well-being in old age is based upon the level of activity and social contacts which are kept (Havighurst, 1968). Several researchers (e.g., Mollenkopf, 1997; Banister & Bowling, 2004; Burnett & Lucas, 2010; Stanley, Vella-Brodrick, & Currie, 2010; Mifsuda et al., 2019; Van Hoven & Meijering, 2019) show that participation in activities is related to larger social networks and fewer feelings of loneliness, and that outdoor mobility contributes to old people's life satisfaction. As the activity space of old people shrinks with age, the conditions of the neighborhood where older adults live become increasingly important. Moreover, the integration and management of public transport with active travel (including equity and health implications) is a key subject for policy makers. Although Italy is the “oldest” country in the European Union (closely followed by Germany), the literature exploring elderly mobility is scant. The paper aims to fill this gap by investigating the motivations of a representative sample of older adults, in the cities of Milan and Genoa, not to take trips and activities because of the perceived inadequacy of Local Public Transport. The 411 old people, living in three peripheral neighborhoods in Milan - the Italian financial capital -, and in three peripheral neighborhoods in Genoa - the oldest Italian metropolitan area-, were interviewed face-to-face in 2019. Multivariate logistic regression models are adopted to explore whether giving up moving inside the city is related to: i) elderly's demographic variables, health conditions and modes of transport; ii) the perceived satisfaction of both Local Public Transport and the neighborhood (“ageing in place”); iii) the town of residence.