Spatial analysis of older adults’ travel behaviour in Singapore

This chapter applies the 2012 Household Interview Travel Survey of Singapore to explore the spatial travel pattern of older adults (aged 55 and over). Focussing on three dimensions of travel behaviour – trip generation, modal choice, and destination choices – the authors map and compare the geography of travel behaviour of older adults and that of the overall population. The results reveal that mobility characteristics differ greatly between the two groups. On average, neighbourhood-level trip generation rates for non-work purposes are higher for older adults than for all people, while trip generation rates for journey-to-work purposes are lower for older people. Also, walking and private vehicle mode shares at neighbourhood-level are higher in older adults’ total daily trips than in the overall daily trip-making. This chapter identifies some “transport-disadvantaged” neighbourhoods for older adults, where they are highly reliant on private vehicles. Moreover, analysis of the spatial patterns of non-work trip flows towards commercial/activity centres indicates that the importance of different tiers of centres in travel destination choices differs greatly for older adults compared to the overall population. These findings provide some useful implications for Singapore’s future land use and transportation planning to meet the travel demands of an ageing population.