Transportation is key to how we each live our lives. It’s what allows us to go to work each day, run to the store for essentials, and even visit our loved ones. But as we get older, our ability to operate a motor vehicle ourselves diminishes. Functions that once came naturally to us such as vision, reaction time, and memory become less effective. This makes doing seemingly mundane tasks, such as driving, much more difficult. However, we can’t just simply take away their keys. This is the importance of transportation for seniors and the benefits it has on their lives.
Physical Activity
By using public transportation or specialized transportation services, seniors have additional opportunities to keep themselves active in their daily lives. From walking to the drop-off point to hurrying to their destination after their stop, this promotes physical activity beyond what they may have become accustomed to when driving. This keeps them healthier for longer into their lives and lowers their risk of developing certain illnesses as they age.
Independence
Once an elderly loved one needs to hand over the keys, they often become discouraged at the thought of needing to rely on family and friends to do simple daily tasks. As such, utilizing public transportation is the key to helping them maintain their independence. Not only will they not have to wait for someone to be available to help them, but they’ll feel empowered knowing that they’re still capable of caring for themselves.
Quality of Life
But overall, transportation helps a senior loved one maintain their quality of life. Because they can still get around as they please and have a good time, they aren’t sacrificing their remaining years by not being able to drive. This ensures that they’re still living as they want and don’t feel limited by their diminished driving capacity.
Just because you can no longer drive doesn’t mean that life as you know it needs to stop. That’s why at Schetky Bus and Van Sales, it’s our mission to supply transport vans to various transportation services across the country. By offering low-sitting, assessable vans for these businesses to use, we hope to make these services more accommodating to seniors and those with special needs.