Service accessibility challenges faced by non-metropolitan South Australians aged 65 years and over

Abstract

The proportion of Australia’s older population aged 65 year and over is increasing at a rapid rate. In a highly mobile society that relies heavily on the car for accessing required goods and services, GIS has been used to develop a service accessibility/transport disadvantage index to indicate geographical areas of low and high accessibility to key services accessed by older people outside their home. The methods used in developing the service accessibility/transport disadvantage index relevant to older people in a non-metropolitan area will be discussed. Using the Murray and Mallee region of South Australia as a case study, the index developed comprises of two components. The first component incorporates key services used by older people in the Murray and Mallee region. Aspects of the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA+) methodology were then applied to determine service accessibility to these key services. The second component attempts to measure/quantify the public transportation options within the Murray and Mallee region. Both components were then combined to form a composite index which can be overlayed and/or used with other spatial and non-spatial datasets to inform decision making. Data sources used to create the index will be discussed along with the challenges and assumptions made as part of the index development. Practical applications of the index will be demonstrated to highlight the usefulness of the index as a tool to address the transportation and accessibility needs of older people in a non-metropolitan context.