Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China.
Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China.
Front Public Health. 2024 May 2;12:1344854. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1344854. eCollection 2024.
The oldest olds (aged 85 and over) are the fastest-growing age segment. However, our understanding of their mobility is limited. To address this gap, we invited 19 U.S. and 30 Chinese "oldest old" to take part in focus groups and complete a mobility questionnaire. We focus on travel mode choice, which includes changes in travel modes, frequency of usage, and perceptions of comfort.
Older adults' familiarity and acceptance of new mobility technologies (e.g., ridesharing, carsharing, and autonomous vehicles) were measured by questionnaire and focus group. Word clouds were also used to illustrate people's reasons for choosing their primary mode of transportation.
The results show that both panels of older adults similarly feel some extent of travel limitations. But the responses among the two groups differ: 18 American participants chose "drive myself" as their primary option a decade ago, while 11 chose it now; no Chinese participants selected it either a decade ago or now. Both currently and 10 years ago, there was a significant difference in mode choice between participants in China and the United States. However, this gap has narrowed over the past decade. Participants in China have significantly changed their transportation preferences compared to 10 years ago, while participants in the US have remained nearly unchanged. American respondents consider "ease" as an important factor, while Chinese respondents pay more attention to "safety" and "no other option to get around" when making travel mode choices. Compared to Chinese participants, American participants were more comfortable with driving an autonomous vehicle. These differences may result from the various developmental stages and transportation policies of the two countries. This study supports the development of new mobility technologies for the oldest old to improve their quality of life.
最年长的老年人（85 岁及以上）是增长最快的年龄群体。然而，我们对他们的流动性的理解是有限的。为了解决这一差距，我们邀请了 19 名美国和 30 名中国的“最年长的老年人”参加焦点小组并完成了一份流动性问卷。我们专注于出行模式选择，包括出行模式的变化、使用频率以及对舒适度的看法。
通过问卷和焦点小组，测量了老年人对新的出行技术（如拼车、汽车共享和自动驾驶汽车）的熟悉程度和接受程度。还使用词云图来说明人们选择主要交通方式的原因。
结果表明，两组老年人都在某种程度上感受到了出行限制。但两组的反应有所不同：18 名美国参与者 10 年前选择“自己开车”作为主要出行方式，而现在有 11 人选择了这种方式；10 年前和现在都没有中国参与者选择这种方式。目前和 10 年前，中国和美国的参与者在出行模式选择上存在显著差异。然而，这一差距在过去十年中有所缩小。与 10 年前相比，中国参与者的交通偏好发生了显著变化，而美国参与者几乎没有变化。美国受访者认为“便利”是一个重要因素，而中国受访者在做出出行模式选择时更关注“安全”和“没有其他出行方式”。与中国参与者相比，美国参与者对自动驾驶汽车的接受程度更高。这些差异可能是由于两国不同的发展阶段和交通政策所致。本研究支持为最年长的老年人开发新的出行技术，以提高他们的生活质量。
