IJERPH, Vol. 16, Pages 4498: Perceived Accessibility, Satisfaction with Daily Travel, and Life Satisfaction among the Elderly (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health)

People are living longer than they did previously, and the proportion of older people is increasing worldwide. This rapid development will have implications for the transport system, in general, and for travel behavior and accessibility to daily activities, in particular. In recent years, both research and politics have drawn the attention of the public to issues affecting the opportunities of the elderly to participate in everyday life. The debate has so far mostly focused on health issues, with limited work having been done on the ability of the elderly to live the lives they want to considering how they travel. With this view, a theoretical model, grounded in a model of travel and subjective wellbeing was developed to explore the role of perceived accessibility in satisfaction with travel and life satisfaction. Empirical data were collected from a sample of 2950 respondents (aged 60–92) from five cities in Northern Europe (Stockholm, Helsinki, Oslo, Copenhagen, Bergen) and analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings confirmed the link between perceived accessibility, travel satisfaction, and life satisfaction. The findings also showed the role of sociodemographic and travel attributes in perceived accessibility and satisfaction with travel, as well as the moderating effects of different age groups. We conclude that this moderating role played by age clearly indicates that we should not treat the elderly as a homogenous group in research and transport planning.