ArticleAgeing and society2014
More than A to B: the role of free bus travel for the mobility and wellbeing of older citizens in London.
Article in Ageing and society, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 118 citations in OpenAlex.
- Redefining Age-Friendly Neighbourhoods: Translating the Promises of Blue Zones for Contemporary Urban Environments.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Pooled it
- "I love public transport, but now I'm too afraid to use it": a qualitative study of public transport use cessation among older adults.The Gerontologist · 2025Article
- Are physical activity and everyday mobility independently associated with quality of life at older age?Aging and health research · 2024Article
- How to Achieve a Healthy City: a Scoping Review with Ten City Examples.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2024Article
- Impacts of zero-fare transit policy on health and social determinants: protocol for a natural experiment study.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Impact of the statutory concessionary travel scheme on bus travel among older people: a natural experiment from England.Ageing and society · 2020Article
- Co-designing Urban Living Solutions to Improve Older People's Mobility and Well-Being.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2018Article
- Does public transport use prevent declines in walking speed among older adults living in England? A prospective cohort study.BMJ open · 2017Article
- Free Bus Travel and Physical Activity, Gait Speed, and Adiposity in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.American journal of public health · 2016Article
- Travel Behavior Change in Older Travelers: Understanding Critical Reactions to Incidents Encountered in Public Transport.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2015Article
- Travel behaviour change in old age: the role of critical incidents in public transport.European journal of ageingArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
This study contributes to the literature on mobility and wellbeing at older ages through an empirical exploration of the meanings of free bus travel for older citizens, addressing the meanings this holds for older people in urban settings, which have been under-researched. Taking London as a case study, where older citizens have free access to a relatively extensive public transport network through a Freedom Pass, we explore from a public health perspective the mechanisms that link this travel benefit to determinants of wellbeing. In addition to the ways in which the Freedom Pass enabled access to health-related goods and services, it provided less tangible benefits. Travelling by bus provided opportunities for meaningful social interaction; travelling as part of the 'general public' provided a sense of belonging and visibility in the public arena - a socially acceptable way of tackling chronic loneliness. The Freedom Pass was described not only as providing access to essential goods and services but also as a widely prized mechanism for participation in life in the city. We argue that the mechanisms linking mobility and wellbeing are culturally, materially and politically specific. Our data suggest that in contexts where good public transport is available as a right, and bus travel not stigmatised, it is experienced as a major contributor to wellbeing, rather than a transport choice of last resort. This has implications for other jurisdictions working on accessible transport for older citizens and, more broadly, improving the sustainability of cities.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.