Safe and joyful cycling for senior citizens

Demographic changes show that the portion of older and very old people will grow within the next years. There will be more older people in the future and one aim should be to keep them active and healthy for a long time. Exercise plays an important role in this context – it supports to stay healthy in all phases of our life. Bicycling is possible almost without any limitation of age, so it is an ideal possibility to stay active at an older age. Apart from the advantages for our physical constitution, cycling could increase mobility at an older age. It is a fact that senior citizens often have to renounce in the mobility they actually would desire, as a drivers' licence or a car are missing more often than is the case for the average population. The bicycle could become an ideal means of transportation for a part of senior citizens, in order to fulfil their individual needs of mobility and to stay active and mobile at an older age provided that bicycling is safe. Factors behind safe and joyful cycling for senior citizens are highlighted based on: A literature review , an analysis of Finnish and Swedish crash data, Interviews with thirty-one bicyclists all older than 64 (65+) and members of the Cycling Promotion in Sweden (Cykelfrämjandet). During the Velo-City conference an expert questionnaire will be distributed to further highlight: needs of older people concerning bicycle infrastructure and equipment, with special focus on telematics and other types of Intelligent Transportation Systems, ITS, to what extent ITS, can be used to increase safety and quality, under what conditions ITS can help and what would be the requirements future research questions.