CanAge, Canada\u2019s National Seniors\u2019 Advocacy Organization, is calling on community groups and organizations across Alberta to share information that will be used to make critical improvements to seniors\u2019 transportation in the province. Many seniors, especially those living with disabilities, rely on transportation services for daily necessities like groceries, filling prescriptions and visiting their doctor\u2013yet nearly half of Canadian seniors report not having access to transportation that meets their needs. The pandemic has exacerbated the problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeniors living with disabilities have been overwhelmingly impacted by the pandemic, and they\u2019re also the ones who struggle the most to access the transportation they need to stay connected and healthy,\u201d warns Laura Tamblyn Watts, CEO of CanAge. \u201cBefore we can find a solution, we need to better understand the problem.\u201d She notes that the pandemic has \u201cshown irrefutable proof that, for seniors, transportation is a health care issue.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n There are an estimated 2,684,143 people over 65+ living in Ontario, making up 18% of the total population. Data shows that older adults who lack access to reliable transportation services suffer from worse mental health, lower quality of life, and are less likely to be able to receive health care, including vaccinations. These risks are exacerbated for those living with disabilities, and those on lower incomes; especially during the pandemic.<\/p>\n CanAge is calling on communities across the province to which will capture important information about their local area, what seniors\u2019 transportation services are in place, and what challenges they\u2019re facing in moving older residents safely from point A to point B. This work is being conducted as part of F.A.S.T. Track, a national initiative to support transportation innovation.<\/p>\n Research shows that investing in seniors\u2019 transportation pays major dividends\u2013older people are the biggest contributors to travel and tourism in Canada.<\/p>\n \u201cKeeping seniors moving keeps the economy moving,\u201d notes Tamblyn Watts. \u201cAs we work to rebuild our economy, now is the time to invest in future-proofing transportation systems in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n The deadline to submit information to the F.A.S.T. Track initiative is March 31, 2022.<\/p>\n F.A.S.T. Track is a national initiative supporting transportation innovation, led by HelpAge Canada and delivered by CanAge. It harnesses the collaboration of other national thought-leaders, experts in aging and transportation as well as community consultation with the\u00a0goal of accelerating the development of innovative transportation solutions for older Canadians.<\/p>\n CanAge is Canada’s national seniors’ advocacy organization, working to improve the lives of older adults through advocacy, policy, and community engagement. We are non-partisan and backed by a pan-Canadian membership base. CanAge has quickly established itself as Canada\u2019s national advocate for issues affecting older people in our country, having ramped up operations last year in urgent response to the threat COVID-19 poses to vulnerable seniors in long-term care.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CanAge, Canada\u2019s National Seniors\u2019 Advocacy Organization, is calling on community groups and organizations across Alberta to share information that will be used to make critical improvements to seniors\u2019 transportation in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[216],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorials"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-14 22:45:32","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52577"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52578,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52577\/revisions\/52578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}