{"id":476,"date":"2017-03-28T08:09:29","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T12:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.silvercentury.org\/?p=476"},"modified":"2018-07-09T15:31:32","modified_gmt":"2018-07-09T19:31:32","slug":"katherine-freund-imagining-a-future-in-which-older-people-wont-need-to-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/2017\/03\/katherine-freund-imagining-a-future-in-which-older-people-wont-need-to-drive\/","title":{"rendered":"Katherine Freund: Imagining a Time When Older People Won\u2019t Need to Drive"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article introduces our new series on the future of aging: interviews with people who are experts in their fields and are also visionaries. We\u2019re asking them to talk about what they believe will happen in the years ahead to change the experience of aging.<\/em><\/p>\n

The fact that so many of us now live so long is a triumph for humanity, but there are a few drawbacks. For one thing, many of us will outlive our ability to drive\u2014a devastating loss because with it goes much of our independence. Recognizing how important that is, Katherine Freund re-imagined transportation and found a way to provide convenient, affordable rides for older people who have given up driving. She\u2019s at the forefront of change.<\/em><\/p>\n

Her knees aren\u2019t great. She uses a cane. She doesn\u2019t walk as quickly as she used to. And the nearest bus stop is a couple of miles away. She promised her kids she wouldn\u2019t drive. So what now? <\/p>\n

Well, first things first: she gets out those reading glasses and puts on that thinking cap because it\u2019s time to figure out the route. Red line? Blue line? Oh, there\u2019s a quick underground connection. Run to catch it?<\/p>\n

Um, no.<\/p>\n

Oh, for Pete\u2019s sake. Where are the car keys?<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly about 2 1\/2 percent of the trips that older people take in the entire country are on mass transportation of any kind,\u201d says Katherine Freund, an advocate for improving transportation for elders. <\/p>\n

That means, to get to the doctor and the grocery store, to see friends and beat isolation, most older people are driving\u2014whether they should be or not.<\/p>\n

Millions of boomers will have to give up their car keys in the next few decades.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 1988, Freund and her family faced that reality from the other side of the steering wheel when an 84-year-old driver hit her 3-year-old son. Her son sustained a traumatic brain injury. \u201cHe was in a coma and on a respirator for three days,\u201d she says. (He recovered but has lingering issues, including a tendency to get headaches.)<\/p>\n

But instead of cultivating bitterness or vengefulness, Freund jumped into action. \u201cI just really wanted to spare anyone else from such an experience,\u201d she says. \u201cThe only way to feel better is to fix something.\u201d<\/p>\n

She began envisioning that fix\u2014and ended up with a plan to change the world, one driver at a time.<\/p>\n

Mission Impossible<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many older people just don\u2019t have great alternatives to driving themselves. Even if they are willing to navigate mass transportation, rural and suburban areas may not have it. Taxis aren\u2019t cheap. Adult children who could offer rides often live far away. And asking a neighbor for help? Elders would often rather stay home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t want to say, \u2018I can\u2019t do this anymore,\u2019\u201d Freund says. \u201cOlder people want to say, \u2018I\u2019m independent, I\u2019m proud, I can do it myself.\u2019\u201d Even if they shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

After her son\u2019s accident, Freund started brainstorming for a convenient, affordable alternative. Ideally: something with door-to-door service, cheaper than a taxi, and with specialized help for people with wheelchairs and walkers. <\/p>\n

Impossible? That\u2019s not the way she saw it.<\/p>\n

Launching the Future<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1995, Freund launched a small, nonprofit organization called the Independent Transportation Network. ITN provided relatively low-cost rides in private vehicles to people 65 and older in greater Portland, ME. Donations from individuals and organizations kept the rates reasonable.<\/p>\n

In that first year, \u201cwe exploded with growth,\u201d Freund says. After a newspaper article about the launch, \u201cI got about 300 phone calls in the next two days, and the waiting list to use ITN started.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2003, Freund took ITN national, calling it ITNAmerica<\/em>. Today, the organization has about two dozen affiliates<\/a>. Drivers offer door-to-door service within their communities, helping with walkers and wheelchairs. Many are volunteers who use their own cars and earn points toward future ITNAmerica<\/em> rides for themselves or for someone else, such as a parent. <\/p>\n

Since 2005, the Silver Century Foundation has given ITNAmerica<\/em> a number of grants to support the organization\u2019s national rollout and to fund research on mobility issues for older adults. <\/p>\n

 \u201cI Use ITN\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Millions of boomers\u2014the oldest will turn 80 in 2026\u2014will have to give up their car keys in the next few decades. By continuing to expand ITNAmerica<\/em>, Freund hopes to help bring about a revolution in the way they\u2019ll get around. <\/p>\n

Yet ITN is expanding more slowly than she expected. Challenges include fundraising and finding enough volunteer drivers. Plus, when she rolled out ITN nationally, she did so during \u201cthe teeth of the recession,\u201d she says. \u201cI mean, established nonprofits folded in that recession, and we were just an infant national organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Freund believes that over the next couple of decades, services like hers will grow quickly. By then, \u201cin the same fashion that people will now say, \u2018I own a Toyota\u2019 or \u2018I own a Ford\u2019 and feel a sense of brand loyalty to that,\u201d older people will instead be saying, \u201cI use ITN\u201d or another car service, she says.<\/p>\n

We talked with Freund about her vision for the future and how she\u2019s racing to make it happen\u2014soon.<\/p>\n

SCF: First of all, your son turned 30 this year. How is he doing now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

KF:<\/strong> He is healthy and happy. He just completed a Tough Mudder obstacle event. He has a tendency to get headaches, and he can’t look at bright lights or hear loud sounds. When he was little, the doctor said we should always be careful not to “rattle his squash,” and he still always takes care. <\/p>\n

All in all, he is my miracle boy. He is the chief operating officer for Common Census, a software company for employee benefits.<\/p>\n

SCF: We\u2019re glad to hear that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As you\u2019ve worked to change transportation over the years, you seem to have found that not only are there few federal dollars for funding public transportation but the subject is not a popular one in the political realm. What will communities need to do to ensure that people can remain mobile as they age? <\/strong><\/p>\n

KF:<\/strong> The first step is basic community awareness of the issue. I think people assume transportation the way they assume oxygen, and they assume that there are going to be supermarkets around, where they can buy food. I don\u2019t think people take a lot of personal responsibility for planning for transportation.<\/p>\n

Part of this is that we\u2019ve just added so many years to our lifespan in such a short period of time. It\u2019s like our understanding of needs hasn\u2019t caught up to reality or how long people live. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s the first step. So once that happens, there is planning for the built environment\u2014sidewalks and streetlights and curb cuts. That\u2019s happening a little bit, but it needs to happen more.<\/p>\n

And then public policy needs to remove barriers to the use of private resources. <\/p>\n

SCF: For example?<\/strong><\/p>\n

KF:<\/strong> Right now in a lot of cities, it\u2019s illegal to charge a fare for a ride delivered by a volunteer. So livery laws are not current with current technology and current transportation solutions. <\/p>\n

You cannot solve problems long-term by giving everything away or by expecting the government to pay for it. So those old-fashioned livery laws are a barrier to sustainable transportation.<\/p>\n

SCF: Is public transportation for older adults becoming a private-sector responsibility?<\/strong><\/p>\n

KF:<\/strong> It is inevitably going to become more of a private\u2014I don\u2019t want to say responsibility; let me say private opportunity. <\/p>\n

It used to be that you could only create any kind of efficient community mobility by putting people together in a high-occupancy vehicle\u2014bringing the people to the place where that vehicle is, or to the bus stop, right? And putting all those people in that great, big vehicle together and moving them together. <\/p>\n

But people now live in these geographically dispersed population patterns because they\u2019ve owned cars for 100 years and they live in all these suburban communities. You don\u2019t have the density for those big, mass-transit solutions. It just doesn\u2019t work in suburban America, which is where most older people are. Three out of four older people live in rural and suburban communities. <\/p>\n

So what\u2019s happened is\u2014and this is what\u2019s going to happen in the future too\u2014that people use information technology to know where is the car when, and where is the person when, and match them up.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve read about Uber and Lyft<\/a> and all these ride services. They\u2019re a different form of the same thing that ITN is doing. They\u2019re all different versions of creating community mobility without using public money\u2014using privately owned transportation capacity. <\/p>\n

SCF: Your plan is to eventually launch ITNEverywhere<\/em>, which will make rides available through online software to people of all ages<\/a>. Private cars will be available for rent too. It sounds like all of this could supplement mass transit\u2014even substitute for it in rural areas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

KF:<\/strong> The growth of this \u201cshare economy\u201d makes it less necessary for services to be provided by the government, which is a good thing because the tax base is shrinking. The government can\u2019t continue to fund everything. That\u2019s kind of an antiquated model.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still a role for it. But we all know that Medicare doesn\u2019t cover all your medical bills. Social Security doesn\u2019t really pay for retirement. It\u2019s just a piece. It\u2019s the same thing with transportation. Public transportation is just a piece. <\/p>\n

SCF:<\/strong> Thinking of this share economy, along with other car services that are succeeding worldwide\u2014Uber, Lyft, Sidecar\u2014is this concept going to shape travel as a whole in the near and distant futures?<\/strong><\/p>\n

KF: <\/strong>That kind of economy is escalating. You can rent power tools from somebody now. You can rent the use of somebody\u2019s car. And they don\u2019t have to be Avis or Hertz; you can just rent a person\u2019s car for a couple of hours now. There are all different ways that people are sharing. Well, transportation is a very big part of this because there is so much capital in transportation and it is sitting unused a lot of the time.<\/p>\n

So transportation for older people is going to change. It\u2019s really good news.<\/p>\n

SCF: Since we\u2019re thinking futuristically, how do you think driverless cars could play a role in mobility, once they become available to the public? <\/strong><\/p>\n

KF:<\/strong> I think they can play a role, and I think they can help some older people. <\/p>\n

[But] a lot of the people at the advanced age that we currently serve need more than just a ride. So even if a vehicle is driverless, it\u2019s not enough. For our population, for example, half the people we serve have some sort of mobility impairment. They have a cane, they have a walker, they have a visual impairment. They need to lean on someone\u2019s arm when the sidewalk is icy. They need somebody to help them with their packages, or they need a little assistance up the stairs.<\/p>\n

So a driverless car is going to be some help<\/a> to some people, but that human piece is going to remain a factor. Right now, often, the driver provides that piece. It may be that with a driverless car, a personal assistant or a friend can provide that human piece.<\/p>\n

SCF: How bad could things be for older adults who wish to remain mobile if communities and governments don\u2019t change their approach to transportation? <\/strong><\/p>\n

KF:<\/strong> Really very bad. It means a whole bunch of bad things. <\/p>\n

For people who continue to drive, it means that they\u2019re really at risk for getting hurt or killed. And it also means that they\u2019re at risk for, at the end of their long life, being responsible for hurting someone else. How\u2019d you like to do that? And sometimes they hurt their family members and their neighbors, their spouses, their children. It\u2019s a bad thing.<\/p>\n

So that\u2019s from a safety perspective. Now, if they stop driving when it\u2019s no longer safe and there are no solutions, well, people will be prisoners in their houses. They will not have access to good nutrition. They will not have access to social interaction. They will not have access to health care. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a very significant, life-changing loss not to have mobility in the last 10 years of your life. <\/p>\n

SCF: What is your most hopeful vision of travel in the next five, 10, 20 years? <\/strong><\/p>\n

KF:<\/strong> My big, big, big vision is I would like there to be a national endowment for transportation\u2014private resources to help foster private transportation solutions.<\/p>\n

I would like public policy\u2014at every municipal, county and state level\u2014to remove the barriers to using private resources, whether it\u2019s trading your car or charging a fare [for a ride] delivered by a volunteer or making sure that insurance companies do not unfairly increase insurance premiums for people who want to participate.<\/p>\n

SCF: You\u2019re also trying to raise awareness of the fact that there are few good alternatives to driving for older people.<\/strong><\/p>\n

KF:<\/strong> I want to open up everybody\u2019s mind about this issue\u2014that it is not somebody else\u2019s issue. It is every family in America.<\/p>\n

We are aging with the automobile for the first time in history. Everyone who experiences this, they all think that they are alone, when it is universal.<\/p>\n

And this is a very, very solvable problem\u2014the answer is literally parked in everybody\u2019s driveway. <\/p>\n

If you look around and see older people who need help, offer them a ride because they don\u2019t want to ask. They will sit home without groceries. They will miss doctors’ appointments. Suggest they bake something for you in exchange for the ride. But just open your eyes and help somebody.<\/p>\n

Conversation edited for length and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Her knees aren\u2019t great. She uses a cane. She doesn\u2019t walk as quickly as she used to. And the nearest bus stop is a couple of miles away. She promised her kids she wouldn\u2019t drive. So what now?<\/p>\n

Read more Katherine Freund: Imagining a Time When Older People Won\u2019t Need to Drive<\/span> ›<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

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