Transport services for older people

Age UK works alongside other community organisations to provide door-to-door transport for older people to help them to maintain their independence. Depending on where you live, we may be able to help you with transport. 

How Age UK helps older people with transport

Age UK runs door to door transport services for older people in some parts of the country. These either take the form of:

• Wheelchair-accessible minibus services
• Befriending schemes, where the befriender is a travelling companion for an older person

In other areas, Age UK may be able to help older people to arrange transport with a local provider, such as Dial-a-Bus or the Royal Voluntary Service. There may be a small charge to cover the cost of petrol.

Older people who are frail and have mobility problems, or are living in particularly isolated locations with limited or infrequent public transport are usually given priority.

Transport services will usually take older people to these places:

• To attend GP or hospital appointments
• To go the shops (through our escorted shopping services)
• To visit a loved one in hospital or at a care home

If an older person is attending one of our lunch clubs or is going to our day centres we may be able to assist with transport to and from the event, usually by minibus.

Why are transport services so important?

In later life, being able to get out and about is a vital way to stay part of the local community and to access local amenities.

Free local bus travel is a lifeline for many older people who do not drive, but very often this isn’t an option for those who live rurally or have no local bus service available to them. For others, declining mobility may be preventing them from using public transport due to needing extra assistance.