Is Ride-Hailing a Potential Solution for Older Adults After Driving Cessation? The Role of Objective and Perceived Accessibility

Due to age-related physical and cognitive changes, older drivers have a greater risk of crashes and are restricted by age-dependent regulation. Nonetheless, many older adults in the United States maintain a car-dependent lifestyle and still prefer driving. When driving cessation or reduction becomes necessary, a primary concern is finding suitable alternative transportation modes. However, the availability of alternative transportation modes does not guarantee their actual use of these options. As a relatively new transportation mode, ride-hailing services, such as Uber and Lyft, offer on-demand, door-to-door transportation and may be a feasible transportation solution for older adults who stop driving. While accessibility is often defined as access to opportunities, this study focuses on access to transportation itself--whether individuals can access and use alternative transportation services. This dimension is particularly relevant for older adults who may face physical, psychological, or technological barriers to accessing ride-hailing services. This dissertation aims to investigate whether ride-hailing can be a potential solution for older adults who stop driving by examining both objective and perceived accessibility. Access to transportation is influenced not only by transportation service availability but also by individuals' perception of ride-hailing. Therefore, this study examines the distinction between the actual availability of ride-hailing services and whether older adults perceive and adopt these services as their alternatives to driving. The dissertation presents the main findings in two papers, supplemented with some additional analysis of ride-hailing trip characteristics. The first paper uses regional travel survey data from the Chicago Metropolitan Area, the Twin Cities Metro, and the Puget Sound Region to identify factors influencing ride-hailing adoption. To better understand age-related differences in ride-hailing use, the study compares segmented models across three age groups: younger adults (ages 18-54), middle-aged adults (ages 55-64), and older adults (ages 65+). This segmentation allows for the examination of middle-aged adults as a distinct group to provide insight into the future older adult population. Although current differences may reflect cohort effects, this group is approaching older age. The second paper investigates how older adults perceive ride-hailing services and their willingness to use them. This paper is based on semi-structured interviews with 18 older adults in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, to identify perceived barriers, concerns, and unmet needs related to ride-hailing services. Finally, additional analysis examines trip characteristics of ride-hailing across age groups. Due to the limited number of ride-hailing trips among older adults in the survey data, this analysis combines data across all three metro regions to compare trip distances, duration, and purposes between age cohorts.