Alternative Transportation Use and Life Satisfaction Among Older Drivers: AAA LongROAD Study

Abstract

Introduction

This research brief examines changes in alternative transportation use and satisfaction over time among older adults using data from the AAA Longitudinal Research on Aging Drivers (LongROAD) study. Eight transportation modes other than driving—public bus, train/subway, taxi, special community transportation, ride with a friend or family, volunteer driver, rideshare (e.g. Uber or Lyft), and walking or biking—and satisfaction with daily life, family, and health were researched to better understand fluctuations over a five-year study period.

Methodology

This study assessed the relationship between traveling by modes other than driving oneself and self-reported life and health satisfaction in a sample of licensed older drivers. Data were from the AAA LongROAD study, a prospective cohort study of 2,990 participants aged 65 to 79 at the time of recruitment from five diverse study sites (Ann Arbor, MI; Baltimore, MD; Cooperstown, NY; Denver, CO; and San Diego, CA). The data used in this study were derived from participant responses from the LongROAD Driving, Health, and Functioning Questionnaire, which was administered roughly annually over the duration of the study, which spanned from July 2015 to September 2022, with enrollment ending in March 2017. The questionnaire asked participants about their use of alternative transportation modes within the past three months. Participants were also asked to identify their level of satisfaction with their (1) daily life and leisurely activities, (2) health, and (3) family life.

Descriptive statistics were tabulated, including use of alternative transportation modes and satisfaction with daily life, family, and health by study year and in relation to demographic factors at baseline. Random-effects linear regression models were used to assess the association between the measures of life satisfaction and use of alternative transportation modes. The models examined both differences between participants’ use of alternative transportation modes at baseline and participants’ changes in alternative transportation use relative to baseline in relation to life satisfaction over time.

Results

Participants aged 75-79 reported lower use of the train or subway than other age groups, and those living in a metropolitan core used train, subway, and taxi more than those outside of the core. Special community transportation, volunteer driver, and walking and/or biking were the least used modes in the study. There was an overall downward trend in alternative transportation use over the course of the study, with some variation across modes. Satisfaction with daily life, family, and health was relatively consistent across time and between participants, with health being rated the lowest of the three and family rated the highest. The regression analysis did not reveal any associations between satisfaction with daily life, family and health and the use of most of the transportation modes at baseline, or with changes in use over time. Reported use of train or subway at baseline and increases in the use of these modes were associated with slightly higher satisfaction with life and health, while those who reported more walking and/or biking had moderately higher satisfaction with health. Those who increased their use of riding with friends or family over the study had slightly higher satisfaction with family life.