Reliable transportation is a vehicle for wellness and is essential to accessing health care services. Without reliable transportation, there can be delayed care, increased spending, and overall poorer health.

A high number of seniors who experience transportation insecurity are women. In addition, those who experience barriers to transportation have poorer health and lower income.

Transportation insecurity disproportionately affects individuals with chronic diseases. As a result of transportation interventions, studies found an improvement in rates of cancer screening, chronic disease management, hospital utilization, and follow up adherence.

Transportation insecurity among older adults can lead to depression, isolation, early entry into care facilities, and delays in care which can be costly and dangerous.

5.7% of US adults lacked reliable transportation in 2022. Particularly among older adults with lower incomes and without insurance, this can lead to reduced access to health care and negative health outcomes overall.

A lack of reliable transportation can lead to missed or delayed care and medication use which can harm chronic disease management and lead to poorer health overall.

Authors found that rideshare-based NEMT could help reduce system strain and satisfy an unmet or poorly met need for on-demand cost-effective solutions within the NEMT ecosystem. Other aspects of the piece address nonmedical transportation needs.

Improved quality-of-daily-living was reported in 90% of subjects and 66% reported increased social visits.

Building new public transit options is associated with a statistically significant increase in light to moderate physical activity levels

Participating in the intervention was significantly associated with a higher number of episodes away from home per week. Participation in the intervention also significantly predicted higher use of public transport at immediately postintervention, higher use of walking at immediately postintervention, increased aspects of community mobility self-efficacy, and higher satisfaction with transport at 3-month follow-up.

Driving cessation of older adults was associated with a decline in life satisfaction among social partners but not for the drivers. Life satisfaction was greater among the social partners of ex-drivers who used public transportation more frequently.

This study found evidence that financial incentive-based intervention to increase public transport use is effective in increasing transport-related physical activity

A population-level municipal transportation policy shift could prevent as many as 1620 incident cases of diabetes over 10 years, the largest number prevented by increases in public transit use. This population effect was equal to 17,300 inactive individuals or 12,300 inactive individuals > 45 years old undertaking a clinical preventive intervention to increase physical activity.

Among people who use wheelchairs to participate and move at home and in the community, mobility was affected by seasons and daily weather. Inaccessible public environments were the primary barrier to community mobility and participation; access to social supports and private transportation were the primary supports.

The following environmental factors facilitated reengagement in personally valued activities post-stroke: personal adapted equipment; accessible environments; transport; services; education and information.

A lack of reliable transportation was associated with worse physical and mental health symptoms at new patient encounters among patients with orthopedic conditions.

New transit affected commuting behavior. Observational evidence suggesting a relationship between active commuting, greater overall physical activity, and improved well-being and weight status.

The use of public transportation, paratransit, getting a ride, or walking/using wheelchair/scooter to get places was associated with participating in more types of social activities. Respondents who used alternative transportation had less steep declines in participation. The effect of getting rides and using paratransit services was more pronounced among respondents living in disordered neighborhoods.

Public transportation use was associated with a lower risk of aging acceleration

Building new public transit options is associated with a statistically significant increase in light to moderate physical activity levels

NEMT increased show rate; odds of showing at intervention site were 2.57 times more than control site. The authors also included an extensive description of transportation barriers faced by low-income patients that extends to non-medical transportation needs.

NEMT interventions lead to fewer missed appointments. NMT lead to improved QOL, but no change in satisfaction with life or depression.

Use of nonemergency medical transportation is a significant predictor of diabetes care visits. Positive association between the use of transportation and number of visits.

Results were mixed. More rigorous studies showed low patient uptake of transportation services and inconsistent impacts on health and utilization outcomes.

Using data from the Greater Houston Accountable Health Communities (GH-AHC) model, transportation was identified as a health-related social need for 28% of participants.

As a result of transportation insecurity, patients with cancer may forego, miss, delay, alter, and/or prematurely terminate necessary care. Limited data suggest that these alterations in care have the potential to increase the rates of cancer recurrence and mortality and exacerbate disparities in cancer incidence, severity, and outcomes.

Transportation as a barrier to care among Medicare enrollees with multiple chronic illnesses came up relatively less frequently in chronic care management encounters (0.1%).