For those of us in good health, it’s no big deal to hop in the car, jump on a bike or walk outside, either for pleasure or to perform a specific task. But like your five senses, your ability to be mobile (technically defined as the ability to move independently from one place to another) is something taken for granted- until you hit a roadblock (pun intended!) Once you lose the ability to casually and spontaneously move about, you lose an aspect of your quality of life that can lead to social isolation and physical health problems. Moving around is considered integral to healthy aging and it’s estimated that 30% of older adults suffer from limited mobility. For a good overview of mobility and what can cause its deterioration (including insufficient Vitamin K in your diet), take a look here.

The Centers for Disease Control has a useful tool- MyMobility Plan– to help you consider- and plan for- impediments to movement for yourself, around your home and in your community. The plan contains useful information, charts that prompt you to strategize in advance of impaired mobility and even a resource called Rides In Sight that provides seniors with limited mobility a range of transportation options once you enter your zip-code. In many communities, there are certified mobility managers, who are trained professionals available to coordinate and solve transportation challenges for the more than 8 million seniors over age 65 who don’t drive or want to age in place but don’t have the means or ability to move around on their own. And while many may believe the problem has been solved with the availability of such ride-sharing services like Uber or Lyft, in fact, according to Paula Span’s recent column in The New York Times, currently only ¼ of adults over age 50 are using ride-hailing services. Why is that? Many reasons are given including concerns about safety, privacy, and cost. Yet in a pilot program at USC, when seniors were given unlimited and free access to ride-sharing programs for a 3 month period, almost all participants reported an improved quality of life as a result. In the end, it may be more cost-effective for society, and beneficial for seniors, to make such ride-sharing plans inexpensive and available for the growing population of mobility-limited seniors.