Most of us in the fat west who own and can drive a car have a hard time imagining that there are an awful lot of other people in the world for whom this is not the answer. And indeed one day you and I are both going to need another way to get around ourselves. So if that's the case, why not begin to get things organized now? If only for selfish reasons. Here is how things look for older people in one otherwise well off US city in 2001.

by Betty Booker, Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

Lucille Davis, 72, is a practical woman. After having both knees replaced six months ago, she couldn't drive for awhile. Not one to sit around, the Cedar Street Baptist Church clerk decided to take the bus.

Question: How can someone recovering from knee surgery climb the steep steps common to most buses nationwide?

Answer: The step on the bus Davis takes isn't steep. It's essentially no step at all.

Not only that, the bus can shimmy down to the curb so she can step on without straining up or stepping across a wide gap.

"That lower step really helped in the first six months of recovery," Davis said. "I had to step on with my right and pull my left leg up a little.

"The bus let me keep independent. Now I can drive again but I still take the bus because it's hard to find a place to park where I'm going."

The "low-floor" bus, one of 16 such additions to the GRTC fleet, is part of a growing realization nationwide that the nation's population is aging. You can't live with the disabilities common to late life and navigate old-fashioned buses.

More than 300,000 elders and 200,000 working people with disabilities could benefit now from special transit services, said Jim Rothrock, who represents the Community Transportation Association of Virginia Inc.

And those numbers will rise with the aging of the population, he said.

Between 2006 and 2024, all of Virginia's baby boomers (born 1946 to 1964) will turn 60, nearly doubling the number of elders to 2 million, according to Virginia Department for the Aging statistics.

But the problem isn't age and the unprecedented numbers of seniors - it's the disability that typically comes with advanced age.

Planning is needed because at some point in late life, most people can no longer drive.

"One of the greatest challenges is that the baby boom generation, unlike their predecessors, largely has known only one mode of preferred transportation - the private automobile," said Chris Zeilinger, assistant director of the Community Transportation Association of America.

One of every six seniors today has no car: "They're in a tough situation" - now and in the future - if they need to go somewhere, he said.

"Bus and van services are not always available, and taxis can be prohibitively expensive for many seniors. Medicare won't pay for your trip to the doctor unless you're riding in an ambulance," Zeilinger said. Half of the billions Medicare spends on ambulances aren't for emergencies, however.

Not being able to drive anymore is typically a catastrophe in the lives of elders.

When elders "are queried about their biggest needs, transportation is most times the greatest need cited," Rothrock said.

They then become dependent on getting rides from relatives and neighbors. And, seniors say, since they don't like inconveniencing them, they often are isolated at home except for essential travel.

"The degree to which U.S. cities and rural areas are prepared to address the transportation needs of aging boomers varies considerably across the country," Zeilinger said.

Virginia has developed and expanded transit programs in small communities and rural areas, such as Fredericksburg, Harrisonburg and Blacksburg.

Communities like Richmond are preparing for the growing elderly and disabled riders.

GRTC, for example, is adding 15 more low-floor buses by fall, and it operates a Care Van service. Van service will be extended June 5 along the Jeff Davis, Midlothian and Coalfield Road corridors.

Charlottesville's transit service covers the city along with Jefferson Area Board for Aging's JAUNT system, which provides van service to seniors.

"Affordable transportation is now available seven days a week in Albemarle County," said JABA's Donna Shaunesey.

In Nelson, Fluvanna and Louisa counties, "the local governments have been very supportive of our expanding services to assist more citizens with transportation," she said.

"While JAUNT certainly can't meet every need in those counties, no one is completely stranded at home since we have services at least three days a week in each county."

But some 75 percent of rural Virginia is without public transit, Rothrock said.

Distant suburbanites are left as hard up as their country counterparts.

Transportation companies have their work cut out for them to convince midlife and younger people that it's hip to take the bus. Wheels are what people are used to, except in traffic-clogged areas like New York, where it's faster to take a cab, a bus or your own two feet.

Many seniors, however, have always taken the bus and have since childhood when "it's what you did to get around," said Rollo C. Axton, GRTC's CEO. "What people don't appreciate is that buses and vans can allow seniors to remain more independent and in their homes.

"You find that seniors are more open, have less of a perception issue than younger folks or people in middle years."

Transit companies are trying to get people used to buses and vans. "The bus isn't inconvenient. It saves money, it's safer than a car, reduces pollution and traffic and improves quality of life," Axton said.

Two-thirds of GRTC's buses are less than five years old. And the new low-floor buses aren't your grandfather's streetcars.

There's a wheelchair lift. The aisle is wider. Some seats raise so a wheelchair can be fastened down. Rear seats are elevated slightly so the driver can clearly see what's going on in back. Audio and video cameras improve safety and security. Drivers lend a helping hand and wait until seniors are seated before moving.

The bus was the first option Lucille Davis thought of after her knee operation.

"I've been taking then for 60 years since we lived on Church Hill and I went to school at Maggie Walker," the Virginia Employment Commission retiree said.

"I can drive now - my knees are better - but I still take the bus because it's hard to find places to park near the church."

In non-rush-hour periods, senior and disabled riders can pay 50 cents a ride with discounted tickets bought in advance.

"There's a range of reasons people take the bus - cost, parking convenience, physical disability," Axton continued.

"Some make the choice to ride the bus because there's only one car in the household and they need to make a trip to get to work or the doctor. Some make the choice to avoid having to park downtown, which is expensive. Some take the bus when their car is being repaired."

Rothrock summarized transportation's present and future: "We're living longer with more disabilities. We want to stay active and we can't drive cars, so we've got to have some other options."

Contact Betty Booker at (804) 649-6805 or bbooker@timesdispatch.com

This story can be found at : http://www.timesdispatch.com/MGB4T31ABLC.html

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