TRACY – how can Europe tackle the challenges of providing transport in an ageing society.

• TRACY is funded by the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme. The project’s main aim is to develop an action plan that can help tackle the challenges of providing transport in an ageing society. Addressing the needs of older people in the development of future transport in Europe is becoming increasingly important, but there are no systematic studies providing a detailed review of what has been, and is being, done in this area. In TRACY we undertake a comprehensive study of current activity, identify research gaps and analyse the current state of provision within the EU and beyond. Our conclusions will contribute towards the development of an action plan.
  The TRACY project links together experts in the field of mobility for groups with special needs. Our consortium is further strengthened by the involvement of a wide range of stakeholder groups, which enables the generation of a robust analysis that is sensitive to different needs and expectations in different places. We also appreciate that transport is only one of a number of means of securing access to life opportunities for older people, and as such our approach is firmly linked to other policy sectors.
  The project web site:
  TRACY is comprised of several Work Packages, in which we:
• Determine the state of the art by providing a comprehensive overview of information about policies and practice designed to address the transport needs of an ageing society. The review will pay particular attention of issues of sustainability and will be structured around the following themes: o Technical issues: safety, infrastructure needs and transport systems o Human factors: gender, special needs and human-machine-interfaces o Diversity: cultural / welfare / political / geographical / regional differences o Alternative approaches: accessibility, virtual mobility, mobile services, etc.
• Evaluate the ‘state of the art’ through a detailed critical analysis of current policies and practice dealing with the mobility needs of older people
• Develop an Action Plan containing guidelines and recommendations for specific research topics and for a future transport strategy
• Disseminate the findings of the project widely and effectively

TRACY team
The TRACY project team is based at the Transport and Spatial Planning Institute (coordinator), Plymouth University (UK), ProAsolutions (Spain) and Vista Utredning (Norway).