Lifestyles
Older women are more likely than men to use public transport
Participation in organisations, clubs or societies for people aged 50 and over by sex, England, 2006
Older people's travelling patterns depend in a large measure on their health and general mobility and people’s ability to travel affects their quality of life. Transport to shops, bank, hospital and other public and private establishments becomes especially important at older ages.
In the age group 60 to 69 and 70 to 79, about 50 per cent of both men and women used public transport. However, older women are more likely than men to use public transport. In 2006, about two-thirds of women and only a third of men aged 80 and over used public transport.
Travelling by car also differs by sex and age group. In 2006, 82 per cent of women and 89 per cent of men aged 60 to 69 in England had access to a car. Among those aged 90 and over these percentages were far lower at 47 per cent and 57 per cent respectively. About 66 per cent of the women and 94 per cent of men aged 60 to 69 who said that they had access to a car, were driving the car. The rest relied on other people, children or relatives to drive them. Among those aged 90 and over the percentage of people who drove a car was much lower, 14 per cent of women and 50 per cent of men.
In 2006 slightly more than two-thirds of women and men aged 50 and over in England said that they had gone on a day trip in the last year. Fifty-eight per cent of women and men aged 50 and over had holidayed in the UK in the last year and about half of women and men of this age said that they had gone abroad on holiday in the last year.
A greater proportion of men than women aged 50 and over were members of political parties, trade unions or environmental groups and social clubs. Women were more likely to participate in educational, art or music classes, charitable associations and religious groups.
Participation in volunteering activities differed by age group among people aged 50 and over. Women and men aged 55 to 69 had the highest levels of volunteering at 21 per cent compared to about 15 per cent of those aged 50 to 54 and to 7 per cent of those aged 75 to 79.
Participation in leisure activity at least once a year by age, England, 2006
The percentage of older people in England who had been to the cinema, art gallery, theatre or eaten out at least once a year fell with age. In 2006 about 50 per cent of people aged 50 to 59 had gone to the cinema and around 40 per cent had spent time eating out at least once a year. These percentages fell to about 15 per cent and 20 per cent respectively for those aged 70 to 79. Less than 5 per cent of those aged 80 and over had participated in these leisure activities at least once a year.
Source: English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, Wave 3, 2005/06
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