Understanding the travel behavior of the elderly on Oahu

Abstract

Because Hawaii is expected to experience rapid growth in its population segment of people aged 65 and older, their travel needs and understanding their travel behavior is of increasing importance. A literature review of studies that focused on the travel behavior of older people suggested that the following factors affect travel behavior: age, gender, medical condition, ability to drive, cost of a trip, residentia1location (suburb vs. city), trip purpose, day of the week, time of day, income, and availability of a private vehicle. This thesis estimated two multinomia1logit models of mode choice using data from the 1995 Household Interview Survey (HIS) which was conducted by the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization (OMPO). These models suggest being elderly has a negative effect toward drive, passenger and walk as compared with transit In addition, being retired has a negative effect toward drive, passenger, walk and bike as compared with transit.