Rural Public Transportation: Perceptions of Transit Managers, Directors of Area Agencies on Aging, and Elders

Transit systems in rural areas help elders maintain contact with social services, conduct business, and visit friends. Surveys of transit managers, area agency on aging (AAA) directors, and rural elders age 75 and over in Iowa were conducted in 1993 to determine if these groups believed that there isunmet need for transita mongrural elders and to assess the groups' perceptions of transit service. Transit managers and AAA directors did believe that such unmet need exists and that it is caused largely by lack of information on the part of elders' and by agencies' difficulties in identifying elders in need. One-half of rural elders who did not use transit were unaware that it was provided. The level of knowledge among women was much higher in smaller towns than inlarger communities. Elders who have actually used transit have a favorable opinion of it. Transit is seen as safe and dependable. Riders consider drivers to be courteous and few report that trips take too long. The level of satisfaction reported is ...