About 31% of Wisconsin residents are nondrivers. That includes people who cannot drive, people who can’t afford to drive, people who simply don’t want to drive, and people who could once drive but are no longer able to due to their age. This population already faces significant barriers in many aspects of life due to limited transportation options, and the number is expected to continue growing.
About 1 in 4 Wisconsin adults have some type of disability, and as we age the likelihood of disability increases. And as Wisconsin’s population continues to live longer than in the past, the projected number of people who cannot drive is expected to grow significantly over the next few decades. The number of older adults living with significant vision loss alone is expected to increase by 118% by 2050.
With the number of nondrivers in the state increasing, their quality of life will be compromised if nothing is done to improve their transportation options. Our transportation systems are already inadequate for getting nondrivers everywhere they need to go, including to jobs, doctor’s appointments, grocery shopping and social visits, and the problem is particularly severe in rural areas.
The inability to easily get to where you need to go is not just inconvenient. It has health impacts as well. People without reliable transportation often skip regular medical checkups and specialist visits. Those who cannot easily get to a grocery store will instead do their shopping at a nearby gas station or convenience store, where fewer healthy food choices are available.
There are financial implications as well. As people live longer, they need more money to support themselves throughout their retirement. For many, that means staying in the workforce longer. If they continue to work past the point where they can no longer drive, that creates even more barriers.
Many steps have been taken in recent years to help people age in place at home instead of in assisted living or a group home. But while this option is preferable to most people, it is less feasible without transportation options. The average man lives seven years past the point where he must stop driving, and the average woman lives 10 years past driving. Aging adults still need to go to medical appointments and grocery shopping, but if they live at home in an area with no transportation options, living at home may not be viable.
For those who do live at home and are able to use local transportation options, those rides are often limited to doctor visits and grocery shopping. These local transportation programs do not have enough funding, and often rely on a small pool of volunteers to get people where they need to go. That means they must prioritize “essential” services and may not be able to get people to their jobs, let alone social visits with friends. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, around 15% of adults with disabilities report not getting enough social and emotional support. That number will increae as more and more people age and become nondrivers.
While more funding for these transportation options is certainly needed, especially in rural areas, development planning also plays a role in preparing for future transportation needs. For example, when new neighborhoods, hospitals, and other important services are built on the outskirts of town, people become even more dependent on driving to get to where they need to go. Planners must factor in the needs of nondrivers when locations for critical services are determined.
Programs should also find ways to “skip the trip” and eliminate the need to have appointments in-person. For example, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation allows state residents to renew their license or state ID online every other cycle. For people with state IDs, this means that they only need to go to the DMV to renew their license every 16 years.
The projected increase in nondrivers will cause strain on almost every system in our society in the coming decades. Everyone is likely to become a nondriver eventually, and everyone must work together to make our communities and our world more accessible for nondrivers.
