Analysis of Intra-Urban Mobility of the Elderly in a Medium-Size City in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Studies on mobility of the elderly, in Nigeria, are recent but scanty. This paper explored mobility characteristics and intra-urban trip patterns of the elderly in a traditional city of Southwestern Nigeria. Data for the study were obtained from a multistage survey conducted in 2012. Chi-square and logistic regression were used for data analysis. Findings showed that an average of 3.01 trips was generated daily per elderly, 70.90% of the elderly lack motorized means of transportation. Occasional trips frequency accounted for 51%of the visits to six trip destinations. Daily trips frequency accounted for 19.26% of the trips. The results of the study validate previous findings regarding the relevant of taxis and walking as mode choices of the elderly in the country. Logistic regression analyses found that: (1) while gender, education and monthly income are significant determinants of walking as mode choice to work places, the amount of variations in the mode choice explained by the variables was relatively low: (2) there exits negative relationship between the choice of walking as modal choice and travel distance; and transport cost to work places. The paper suggests improvement in the condition of access roads within the city among others.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n3s2p90