Although many elderly drivers are very safe behind the wheel, many are not. Of those who are not, many might give up their cars if they had relatively inexpensive, reliable transportation alternatives.
Most senior transportation programs in the Chicago area offer affordable door-to-door rides only within limited boundary areas. For example, an Elmhurst senior who lives in the south part of town can use the York Township Senior Transportation Program to go shopping at Yorktown Mall in Lombard. But an Elmhurst senior who lives in the north part of town is in a different township and therefore ineligible for the service.
Several municipalities provide subsidized taxi programs, but rides are subsidized only as far as the town borders. The regular cab rate kicks in if the senior wants to travel to a neighboring town. Also, the subsidized taxi programs often have bad reputations among older people. Many stories get around about missed doctor appointments due to cabs arriving late, about being stranded at the grocery store with melting ice cream waiting for the cab that was promised more than a half hour earlier.
If we really want to encourage unsafe older drivers to give up their cars before they cause accidents, we have to have the political will to develop regional senior transportation programs that are reliable and affordable. The longer we delay, the more tragic accidents there will be.
