The number of elderly is increasing; to meet their transportation needs, it is important to clearly understand their travel patterns and preferences. Since travel patterns and preferences depend on socio-demographic and other factors, it is essential to identify these factors first to understand the travel behavior of the elderly. The main purpose of this thesis is to analyze the travel patterns and preferences of the elderly age 65 and above using 2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) data. This thesis presents a detailed descriptive analysis of 2009 NHTS data to understand the travel patterns of the elderly. Along with a descriptive analysis, a multinomial logit model and a mixed- multinomial logit model are estimated to explore the factors associated with the overall travel preferences of the elderly and to identify individuals among the elderly who are the least mobile and at risk for social isolation. The analysis results indicate the differences in the trip characteristics between the elderly and non-elderly. Variation is found even among the different groups of the elderly. The model estimation results show the presence of different travel preferences among the elderly and identify those individuals among the elderly who are immobile for longer periods (e.g., a week) and at risk for social isolation. Elderly individuals with different travel preferences should be considered separately in research to determine the appropriate outcomes that can help transportation planners and policy makers improve planning and policy related to elderly individuals.

With the increasing demographic shift towards a larger population of elderly (individuals 65 years and older), it is essential for policy makers and planners to have an understanding of transportation issues that affect the elderly. These issues include livability of the community, factors impacting travel behavior and mobility, transportation safety, etc. In this study, Oak Ridge National Laboratory was tasked by the New York State (NYS) Department of Transportation to conduct a detailed examination of travel behaviors, and identify patterns and trends of the elderly within NYS. The National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) was used as the primary data source to analyze subjects and address questions such as: Are there differences in traveler demographics between the elderly population and those of younger age groups who live in various NYS regions; e.g., New York City, other urban areas of NYS, or other parts of the country? How do they compare with the population at large? Are there any regional differences (e.g., urban versus rural)? Gender differences? Do any unique travel characteristics or patterns exist within the elderly group? In addition to analysis of NHTS data, roadway travel safety concerns associated with elderly travelers were also investigated in this study. Specifically, data on accidents involving the elderly (including drivers, passengers, and others) as captured in the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database was analyzed to examine elderly driver and elderly pedestrian travel safety issues in NYS. The analyses of these data sets provide a greater understanding of the elderly within NYS and their associated transportation issues. Through this study, various key findings on elderly population size, household characteristics, and travel patterns were produced and are report herein this report.

"September 27-30, 2009. Irvine, California"--Title page.

Tourism is big business, especially for older people. With the senior market becoming increasingly targeted by marketers and travel companies, both operators and leisure service providers need to be knowledgeable and sensitive to the particular characteristics, special needs and requirements of the senior market. The purpose of this book is to provide the latest research about these characteristics, tourist behaviours and leisure needs of baby boomers, seniors and older people generally and how to effectively market to this expanding group in the future.

In an ageing world, a better and deeper understanding of the senior segment is crucial. This thesis focuses in the study of the senior tourism, a topic that has been receiving increasing attention in literature due to its growth potential and the specificities that seniors can present in their way of consuming tourism and leisure travelling. The first few years of the 21st millennium have brought extraordinary change and transformation in destination planning and management. It is obvious that the increasing importance of the tourism industry needs an improvement in knowledge for this important segment so as to be able to tailor offerings to senior cohort groups. The overall aim of this study is to understand how seniors want to travel, and to determine the trends, forces in play and key preferences that may affect the way that seniors will consume tourism in the future. The tourism industry must be attentive to the senior market because of the rapid increase in this market’s size in an ageing society and the changes in the way they are consuming products and services. Sophistication should be further explored, and opportunities provided to better anticipate, maximize and genuinely understand the needs, wants, concerns, preferences and insights of this heterogeneous segment of the population.

Mapping the Travel Behavior Genome covers the latest research on the biological, motivational, cognitive, situational, and dispositional factors that drive activity-travel behavior. Organized into three sections, Retrospective and Prospective Survey of Travel Behavior Research, New Research Methods and Findings, and Future Research, the chapters of this book provide evidence of progress made in the most recent years in four dimensions of the travel behavior genome. These dimensions are Substantive Problems, Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks, Behavioral Measurement, and Behavioral Analysis. Including the movement of goods as well as the movement of people, the book shows how traveler values, norms, attitudes, perceptions, emotions, feelings, and constraints lead to observed behavior; how to design efficient infrastructure and services to meet tomorrow's needs for accessibility and mobility; how to assess equity and distributional justice; and how to assess and implement policies for improving sustainability and quality of life. Mapping the Travel Behavior Genome examines the paradigm shift toward more dynamic, user-centric, demand-responsive transport services, including the "sharing economy," mobility as a service, automation, and robotics. This volume provides research directions to answer behavioral questions emerging from these upheavals. Offers a wide variety of approaches from leading travel behavior researchers from around the world Provides a complete map of the methods, skills, and knowledge needed to work in travel behavior Describes the state of the art in travel behavior research, providing key directions for future research

Elderly travel behavior can potentially be shaped by changes in the built environment. However the debate over the connection of transportation and land use has not yet reached a consensus. In order to better understand the relationship between the built environment and elderly travel behavior, this analysis adopts an integrated activity-based type approach to study the impact of the built environment represented by disaggregate land use characteristics on different levels of elderly travel decisions (activity generation, tour generation and tour-based mode choice). Using data from National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) 2009 Florida Add-on and GIS data from the Florida Geographic Data Library (FGDL), a case study is presented on the Southeast Florida Region. The results show that different levels of travel decisions are affected by different built environment factors. Employment density can encourage elderly travel. Better street connectivity increases the likelihood of travelers engaging in a simple tour, while living in a neighborhood with an office area may result in less time constrained tour. Street connectivity, regional accessibility and transit accessibility are found to be correlated with elderly mode choice. This study provided a more comprehensive interpretation of the travel patterns, and subsequent travel behavior and needs of the elderly.