The effects of a free bus program on older adults travel behaviour: A case study of a Canadian suburban municipality

Public transit can be a potentially attractive alternative to driving for older adults, particularly for those who cannot drive due to health decline. A shift from automobiles to transit use among older adults could be enabled through programming and incentives. An example is the free bus/transit programs, which are more commonplace in Europe and are recently gaining popularity in Canada and the US. In this paper, surveys (n = 131) and semi-structured interviews (n = 16) were utilized to explore older adults' travel behaviour and experiences related to a recently introduced free transit program in the suburban municipality of Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Results from logistic regression models suggest that older adults with lower incomes, those who drive frequently, and live closer to downtown, were more likely to have benefited from Oakville's free bus program. The common self-reported reasons for using the program related to scheduling, the opportunity for social interaction, financial savings and declining health. Some older adults did not use the program because they perceived using the bus to be inconvenient. The findings from this research advances North American research focusing on the potential impacts of free transit/bus programs on older adults, and may inform age-friendly planning and policy in suburban municipalities.