Time to Stop Driving?

More transportation options than ever keep older adults on the move

Fact checked by Shannon Sparks

Kathleen Bass, 78, decided to stop driving eight years ago, due to worsening eyesight. The cost of maintaining her car had also become too expensive. Around the same time, she moved into assisted living at Victory Centre of Vernon Hills.

“Because I walk perfectly fine and I like to walk, I walk to Walgreens, Starbucks, Target, and the library is right near me. 

I haven’t really missed driving, honestly,” she says.

Bass also has two friends who live nearby and still drive. 

“I go out and about with them, and then my daughter Sammy will pick me up if there is a family thing going on or if she comes over for coffee. I feel very fortunate,” Bass says.

If needed, she also could use Victory’s bus to go shopping. When she has a medical or dental appointment, her insurance covers a med-van to transport her.

“When I moved here, I had just gone through chemo and was in a little more of a weakened state. My perspective on everything changed. I was grateful to be somewhere with all these things available,” she says.

Evaluating driving ability

For older adults who do not have support from a senior living facility, family members, or friends, losing the ability to drive can bring about a greater sense of loss.

“Losing the right to drive is very depressing. It restricts people’s shopping, ability to get to appointments, socializing; it’s quite a blow in American society where there’s not a lot of public transportation,” says Mark E. Hroncich, MD, geriatrician at Loyola Medicine.

Patients’ family members often ask Hroncich to evaluate whether their loved one can still drive. To do so, he tests their muscle strength for hitting the brakes and turning the wheel, as well as their neck range of motion for backing up and checking the mirrors.

He checks cognitive ability with two tests that help predict motor vehicle crashes: a 30-question quiz and an exercise to draw intersecting shapes. “Seniors don’t have crashes because of speeding, they have them at intersections where there are multiple inputs coming in at once. Their processing speed has slowed down, and they can’t always adapt,” he says. 

Yet, there is no set age for when people must stop driving. According to the Federal Highway Administration, 21.8% of U.S. drivers are considered seniors, over 65 years old. In Illinois, people 75 and older make up about 8% of drivers, according to the Illinois Secretary of State. 

“I have good drivers at 90 and poor drivers in their 70s, depending on their medical conditions and vision. Vision is probably the biggest single thing that keeps seniors from driving,” Hroncich says. “Occasionally I have to write a letter to the Secretary of State stating that I don’t think a patient should be driving, and their response is usually to call the patient in for an on-the-road driving evaluation.”

Options for non-drivers

When older adults are no longer able to drive, there are multiple options for getting around in addition to good, old-fashioned taxis.

“You might need some help from a younger relative to sign up for some of these things, but it’s definitely worth hunting down and not just giving up,” Hroncich says.

Transportation provided by living facilities

If older adults live in an assisted-living community like Bass or in a retirement community, their shuttles and buses provide a way to get places.

Municipal transportation programs 

Some townships offer low-cost or free programs to help seniors with transportation to medical appointments and to shopping centers. Call your village hall for more information.

Bus services

In the towns surrounding Chicago, Pace Bus Service offers a way to travel between the suburbs. Riders pay with their Ventra card, and can plan their trips ahead of time using the online travel planner. The bus tracker also enables riders to see in real-time when their bus will arrive. 

Rideshares

Pace also offers a Rideshare Access Program called RAP, in which riders pay the first $2 of an Uber or UZURV ride’s cost. You can find more information online at pacebus.com/rap or by emailing RAP@pacebus.com or calling (800) 606-1282 and selecting option 4. If seniors have a budget for transportation, they can secure rides with Uber or Lyft. You don’t even have to have the Uber app, says Hroncich. Seniors can call 833-USE-UBER (833) 873-8237 instead. Users must call from a phone that can accept texts; the service is available seven days a week, from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern time. Lyft offers app-free rideshare scheduling via Lively Rides’ Jitterbug phones.

Older adults can use a service like GoGoGrandparent, which provides screened and monitored services from Uber, as well as grocery, meal, and pharmacy deliveries from services such as DoorDash and Instacart. People can register at gogograndparent.com and choose a membership plan or call (855) 464-6872, and press 2 to speak to an operator.

Churches

Many churches enlist volunteers who provide rides to people in their area. Simply call local churches to inquire about availability.

Solutions for Care

Previously known as the Berwyn-Cicero Council on Aging, Solutions for Care assigns older adults a care coordinator to help them navigate various needs, including transportation. In the Chicago suburbs, call (708) 447-2448 for more information. 

Transit systems

The Illinois Department on Aging offers free rides on fixed-route transit systems for older adults age 65 and up, as well as people with disabilities ages 16 and older. In 2023, the department approved 52,369 seniors for Senior Rides Free and 24,648 people with disabilities for the ride-free transit benefit.

Additionally, in August 2024, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed an Executive Order establishing the framework for the development of a Multi-Sector Plan on Aging in Illinois. “Transportation will be one area of focus for the plan. The plan is due to the Governor and General Assembly by December 31, 2025,” says Liz Vogt, chief of staff at the Illinois Department on Aging.

Originally published in the Winter/Spring 2025 print issue