The study also found that for-profit ride share services that deliver rides for the general population are working to meet the mobility needs of older people. For-profit ride share services are building relationships with health care providers and senior living facilities to serve older adults. However, their independent contractor business model prevents them from directing drivers to help older riders with special needs such as folding walkers, carrying groceries, or escorting older passengers through the door at their destination.

The study found that geographic location also affects the availability of ride share services, with urban seniors having far more transportation options. Suburban and rural seniors may be more likely to use the non-profit ride share services where and when they are available. Many of the non-profit ride share services rely on volunteer drivers. For the non-profits, demand for services outstrips supply.

According to Katherine Freund, executive director of ITNAmerica and lead author of the white paper, “When they are available, ride share services help America’s seniors remain actively engaged in their communities, protecting them from the social isolation that can come when older people limit or stop driving. A lack of transportation can even stand in the way of older adults getting to and from vital health care appointments and basic necessities. Ride share services help seniors overcome this barrier.”

The report defines “ride share” as transportation arranged through a third party, where a person is a passenger in a private automobile. A second phase of this study will explore older adults’ attitudes and beliefs toward using ride share services.

Among the key findings from the report:

• People age 65 and older who used non-profit ride share services most frequently were women (74 percent), living alone (62 percent), and Caucasian (93 percent) with an average age of 81. More than a quarter of these users used a cane (29 percent) or a walker (27 percent), and more than 1 in 20 used a wheelchair (5 percent).
  • Two-thirds (66 percent) of older adults who used non-profit ride share services no longer drove; however, most (72 percent) still had a license or owned a car (60 percent).
  • Seven out of 10 riders reported their physical health as excellent, very good, or good.
  • Eighteen percent of riders required driver assistance such as lending an arm for balance, pushing a wheelchair, or buckling a seatbelt.
  • The telephone, rather than a mobile app, is the predominant means for older adults to request and schedule rides.
  • Seven in 10 riders had an annual income less than $50,000, and 41 percent had an income less than $25,000.
• More ride share services are available in higher population density communities than in rural and suburban communities.
  
• All of the for-profit ride share services studied offered rides for any purpose, and 63 percent of non-profits offered rides for any purpose.
• For-profit ride share services predominantly provided services on demand, and almost 100 percent of non-profits studied scheduled ride share services in advance.