Web Seminar Focuses on Creating Transportation Options for Older Adults

The National Center on Senior Transportation and the American Society on Aging developed "Mobility Equals Independence," a special pair of free one-hour Web seminars. These seminars will help providers, planners and elder advocates throughout the country gain insight into transportation issues facing older adults and assist them as they create a vision for change.

This hour long Web seminar, recorded in Fall 2008, opens with an overview of mobility issues facing older adults and the role that coordinated transportation plays in providing a range of transportation options by Mary A. Leary, senior director of Easter Seals Project ACTION, the National Center on Senior Transportation, and other Transportation Initiatives. The Honorable Josefina G. Carbonell, longest serving Assistant Secretary of Aging and over 30-year leader in community-based long term care services, and the Honorable James S. Simpson, who has served as Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, Commissioner of the New York State Metropolitan Transit Authority, and who has a long history of supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in public service, are featured speakers.

They discuss current federal government initiatives aimed at meeting the growing need for older adult transportation while advancing better coordination for more effective service. Their remarks are followed by comments from Sandy Markwood, chief executive officer of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, who discusses "A Blueprint for Action". Markwood's presentation is based on findings of "The Maturing of America" study, a comprehensive report on communities’ aging readiness. American Public Transportation Association President William Millar wraps up the Web seminar with comments on the challenges and successes transit agencies have experienced as they work to make public transportation attractive, accessible, convenient, affordable, and a pleasant riding experience. Each presenter outlines a call for local actions to enhance senior mobility.