Author(s)

C.-W. Chu, H.-C. Hsia, K.-Y. Yeh

Abstract

Human life has been extended due to improvements in science and medical technology. It is recognized that most developed countries are facing the unique problems that come with an aging society. The problems associated with the medical treatment, care, and welfare of the elderly are steadily receiving more attention from the general public. However, little attention has been paid to the problems related to the living environments and transportation needs of the elderly. There is a lack of comprehensive research regarding the daily activity patterns of the elderly, though there is a good deal of research aimed at enhancing the mobility of the elderly. Therefore, this study recorded the daily life patterns of elderly individuals and the derived travel demands in those schedules by using an activity diary. This research used an activity-based approach as a framework. Stratified sampling method was used in the study area of Tainan City, Taiwan. Interview participants were chosen by purposive sampling method. The results show that: (1) Most of the elderly rely heavily on the private vehicle (83.00%) which accounted for 51.57% of scooter, 34.21% of bicycle and 14.22% of car. Only a small percentage took public transportation (13.67%). The participant’s ability to drive a private vehicle appeared to have no influence on bus-taking behaviour, though a chi-square test showed some correlation with walking ability and gender. Those with good walking ability were more likely to take the bus. Furthermore, (2) the chi-square test revealed that walking ability and score on the IADL scale were significantly affected by age. (3) Nearly half of the time spent on leisure activities is passed by watching TV.

Keywords

activity-based approach, activity diary, the elderly