Vehicle Travel and Ownership among the US Older Adults in the Digital Era
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Summary
This study investigates the intersection of built environment, travel behavior, and technology usage among older adults in the United States, motivated by the rapid aging of the Baby Boomer generation and the inadequacy of current transportation policies to address their diverse needs. The research addresses three primary questions: how Baby Boomers’ travel differs from the Silent Generation, which factors contribute to vehicle ownership difficulties, and how Information Communication Technology (ICT) impacts travel behavior. The authors define “aging in place” as the ability to access daily activities independently, contrasting it with being “stuck in place,” where unmet travel needs occur, particularly among those in low-density areas without vehicle access. The methodology combines descriptive analysis, econometric modeling, and survey data. Chapter 2 utilizes a quasi-panel design with the 2001 and 2017 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) to compare generational travel patterns. Chapter 3 analyzes 2017 NHTS data to examine residential location and vehicle ownership decisions. Chapter 4 employs an original survey of 2,510 U.S. older adults to assess the relationship between ICT usage and travel behavior, filling a gap in existing datasets that lacked holistic data on technology and mobility. Key findings reveal that Baby Boomers do not exhibit higher vehicle travel rates than the Silent Generation did two decades prior, contradicting assumptions that this cohort is uniquely car-dependent. However, significant disparities exist within the aging population. Households headed by retirees, low-income individuals, and women living alone are disproportionately likely to be “stuck in place” in low-density areas. Regarding technology, the study finds a strong correlation between low ICT usage and reduced travel, particularly among low-income, less-educated, and African American older adults. While some technologies like online shopping complement traditional trips, others, such as social media and food delivery, replace offline activities. Health and social technology applications were found to reduce travel difficulties for people of color and those with medical conditions. The study concludes that transportation planning must move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach to address the heterogeneous needs of older adults, especially those in vehicle-dependent suburbs. The authors recommend multi-departmental initiatives involving transportation, health, and housing agencies to narrow the digital divide and promote age-friendly, walkable communities. These findings provide a foundation for leveraging infrastructure investments, such as those in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to ensure equitable access to social and health resources for the growing older adult population.
Key finding
Baby boomers do not exhibit higher vehicle travel rates than the silent generation at the same age, and socioeconomic factors rather than age alone predict being stuck in place in low-density areas.
Methodology
mixed_methods
Sample size: 2510
Provenance
The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).
| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | rosap | — | — | 2 | 2026-05-23 |
| archive | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
| clean | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| chunk | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| embed | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-02 |
| enrich | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 3 | 2026-06-10 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 19 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
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- Empirical Findings: observational prevalence