Transport and mobility constraints in an aging population: health and livelihood implications in rural Tanzania

• The paper presents a rare examination of older people’s mobility issues in a developing country context.
• It demonstrates the diverse ways in which older people’s health, livelihoods and access to transport are interconnected.
• It emphasises the growing importance of motorcycle–taxi services and mobile phones for rural connectivity.
• It shows how the relationality between older people and younger generations contributes to the shaping of mobility patterns.

This paper offers a rare examination of older people’s mobility in a developing country context. It presents findings from a recent mixed-methods study of the transport and mobility constraints faced by older people in 10 settlements in Kibaha district Tanzania and is concerned, in particular, with the interconnections between transport, health and livelihoods. The study demonstrates the diverse ways in which older people’s health, livelihoods and access to transport are interconnected, the growing importance of motorcycle–taxi services for rural connectivity, and how the relationality between older people and younger generations contributes to the shaping of mobility patterns.