Many studies focus on mobility patterns of the elderly. However, few studies have explored the mobility of elderly women in rural and small urban areas. Compared to their peers in large urban areas, these women tend to face greater challenges due to limited services and mobility options. Using 1,021 respondents collected from North Dakota, this study examines determinants of travel behavior of elderly women. In particular, we applied a multi-level conceptual ecological model to identify how factors of individual level, social environment, and physical environment influence their travel patterns. Ordered probit models were estimated for frequency for nine types of trips. We found that factors of individual level (e.g., self-efficacy and physical limitations), social environment (e.g., club and family), and physical environment (e.g., rural vs. small urban areas) significantly impact the mobility of elderly women in North Dakota. We discussed policy implications of these results to enhance the mobility of elderly women in rural and small urban locations.
Jill Hough, Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute –
NDSUJill Hough has 17 years of experience in transportation research. Dr. Hough is the director of UGPTI's Small Urban & Rural Transit Center (SURTC) which focuses on research, education, and training for the public transportation industry. She has published more than 35 reports and journal articles in the areas of public transportation, low-volume roads, logistics, and economic development. Her primary research areas presently relate to mobility of the elderly and disadvantaged as well as transit planning and management.
Dr. Hough currently serves on the National Academies of Science Transit Cooperative Research Program Oversight Project Selection (TOPS) committee which identifies and prioritizes transit research needs in the United States and the National Transit Institute Board of Directors at Rutgers University in New Jersey, which identifies and prioritizes transit training needs in the United States. In 2006 she served as faculty for the Easter Seals Project ACTION Mobility Planning Services Institute, as well as faculty for the Community Transportation Association of America's Institute for Transportation Coordination.
During her career, Hough has worked on several projects in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation. In 1998 she was interim director for the Federal Transit Administration's Transit Intelligent Vehicle Initiative in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Hough earned her Ph.D. degree in the transportation technology and policy program at the University of California – Davis. She also has earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in agricultural economics at North Dakota State University.
