More than A to B: the role of free bus travel for the mobility and wellbeing of older citizens in London
More than A to B: the role of free bus travel for the mobility and wellbeing of older citizens in London
复制标题
DOI：
10.1017/s0144686x12001110
复制
发表时间：
2014-03-01
期刊：
影响因子：
2.5
通讯作者：
Roberts, Helen
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Green, Judith;Jones, Alasdair;Roberts, Helen
这项研究有助于文献的流动性和老年人的福祉，通过经验探索的意义，免费巴士旅行的老年公民，解决的意义，这在城市环境中的老年人，这一直是研究不足。以伦敦为例，老年人可以通过自由通行证免费使用相对广泛的公共交通网络，我们从公共卫生的角度探讨了将这种旅行利益与健康决定因素联系起来的机制。除了自由通行证使人们能够获得与健康有关的商品和服务的方式之外，它提供的实际好处较少。乘坐公共汽车旅行提供了有意义的社会互动的机会;作为“公众”的一部分旅行提供了一种归属感和在公共竞技场中的可见度--这是一种社会上可以接受的解决长期孤独的方式。自由通行证不仅被描述为提供获得基本商品和服务的机会，而且被描述为参与城市生活的一个受到广泛重视的机制。我们认为，联系流动性和福祉的机制是文化，物质和政治上的具体。我们的数据表明，在良好的公共交通是一种权利，公共汽车旅行不被污名化的情况下，它被认为是幸福的主要贡献者，而不是最后的交通选择。这对其他致力于为老年公民提供无障碍交通的司法管辖区以及更广泛地提高城市可持续性的司法管辖区产生了影响。
This study contributes to the literature on mobility and wellbeing at older ages through an empirical exploration of the meanings of free bus travel for older citizens, addressing the meanings this holds for older people in urban settings, which have been under-researched. Taking London as a case study, where older citizens have free access to a relatively extensive public transport network through a Freedom Pass, we explore from a public health perspective the mechanisms that link this travel benefit to determinants of wellbeing. In addition to the ways in which the Freedom Pass enabled access to health-related goods and services, it provided less tangible benefits. Travelling by bus provided opportunities for meaningful social interaction; travelling as part of the 'general public' provided a sense of belonging and visibility in the public arena - a socially acceptable way of tackling chronic loneliness. The Freedom Pass was described not only as providing access to essential goods and services but also as a widely prized mechanism for participation in life in the city. We argue that the mechanisms linking mobility and wellbeing are culturally, materially and politically specific. Our data suggest that in contexts where good public transport is available as a right, and bus travel not stigmatised, it is experienced as a major contributor to wellbeing, rather than a transport choice of last resort. This has implications for other jurisdictions working on accessible transport for older citizens and, more broadly, improving the sustainability of cities.