4 Nov 2012

Call for accessible public transport for elderly

9:24 am on 4 November 2012

Better alternatives are needed to help elderly people who no longer feel they can drive, the editor of a car review website says.

Dog and Lemon editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says the elderly are the second highest risk group on the road, after teenagers, but often continue to drive because of a lack of public transport or accessible bus routes nearby.

"I understand now that in Britain you're not allowed, for example, to build a shopping centre if it doesn't have ready access to public transport and I think that's what we should be looking at in New Zealand as well."

Mr Matthew-Wilson says New Zealand's transport system favours cars and motorways, but the Government could fund special buses and require easy access to public transport at shopping centres.