The old era walking car is about to retire, how to fill the travel needs of the elderly?

People's Daily health client reporter Zhou Xuejin

Guo Liangtong (pseudonym), 66, was warned that the "car" that accompanied him on weekdays to the south and north would not be able to drive on the road from January 1 next year.

According to the Notice on Strengthening the Management of Illegal Electric Three- and Four-wheeled Vehicles issued by Beijing on July 12, 2021, the transition period for illegal electric three- and four-wheeled vehicles ends on December 31, 2023, and after the transition period (from January 1, 2024), the illegal vehicles will not be allowed to drive on the road and shall not be parked in public places such as roads, squares, parking lots, etc. If you drive or park on the road in violation of the law, the law enforcement department will investigate and deal with it according to law.

"Then I'll have to think of a way to go out in the future." Guo Liangtong said.

Old period walking cars can still be seen parked on the roads of Beijing. Photo by Zhou Xuejin

The old era walker is a fabricated concept

"Some elderly people drive very 'wild', going against the road, running red lights, and going on the ring road. I try to avoid everything I encounter while driving. In the view of taxi driver Liu Peng (pseudonym), this old-time walking car gives the driver a narrow range of vision, and it is very easy to scratch with the car when turning.

The old era walking car is a low-speed electric vehicle, commonly known as "old man le", most of which belong to illegal electric three-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles. According to the "Beijing Traffic Police", there will be more than 130 traffic accidents in Beijing in 2022 that kill people from illegal electric three-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles. According to a statistic released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, from 2013 to 2018, there were 830,000 traffic accidents caused by low-speed electric vehicles, resulting in 18,000 deaths and 186,000 injuries, and the number of accidents and deaths caused by low-speed electric vehicles increased year by year.

The Beijing traffic management department has issued an article pointing out that the so-called "old-age walking car" is a word made up by manufacturers out of thin air, and most of these vehicles are illegal electric three-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles, produced without the permission of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, not included in the "Road Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and Products Announcement", and the vehicle performance does not meet the motor vehicle safety technical standards.

Cheng Shidong, director of the Urban Transportation Center of the Comprehensive Transportation Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, told the People's Daily Health Client reporter that the so-called old-age walking cars are generally designed with narrow bodies, light chassis, cheap materials, poor vehicle stability, lack of basic safety equipment, many vehicles may not be tested before leaving the factory, and safety performance cannot be guaranteed.

As early as 2016, the China Consumers Association conducted crash tests on 3 old era walking cars that were popular on the market at that time. The experimental results show that even when the setting conditions are more relaxed than the actual accident, the dummy in the driver's seat of the old walker still suffers serious head injury, chest injury caused by the front seat shift, and even the body is detached, and the dummy directly hits the steering wheel and windshield.

"Since July 2021, Beijing has no longer allowed the production and sale of old-age walking bikes, and almost all of them that are still running on the road were sold before July 2021. At that time, the average price of old-age walking cars was about 5,000 yuan to 6,000 yuan. Now we only sell national standard tricycles, and 'Old Manle' is no longer sold. Wang Gang (pseudonym), who used to sell old-age walking cars, told the People's Daily Health Client reporter that the old-age walking cars sold in the past do not need to be licensed, do not need to test for a driver's license, and do not need insurance.

Tricycles that require drivers to obtain a motorcycle license to be on the road. Photo by Zhou Xuejin

Some families' "helpless choice"

An old-age walker was parked outside Wang Gang's store, and the People's Daily health client reporter found that the old-age walker only had a display that could show power and speed, no seat belts, wipers and fog lights, and its own warm air. "It used to be said that this was an agricultural tricycle with a shell." Wang Gang said.

People's Daily health client reporter visited a number of old era walking car owners and learned that at present, the vast majority of the elderly driving the old era walking car is mainly used to pick up and drop off children, purchase items for the family, etc., for the elderly with large travel needs, families with low income, the old era walking car is a cost-effective travel tool.

Taxi driver Liu Peng's father also drives an old-time walking car, he believes that the reason why old-age walking cars are more common is that many families are more "helpless choices", "the cost of buying a car, lottery and other long time, even if the above two problems are solved, it is more difficult for the elderly to get a driver's license." ”

Cheng Shidong told the People's Daily Health Client reporter: "European and American countries started motorized driving early, and many people have obtained a driver's license at a young age. In recent years, we have also been improving relevant policies. In October 2020, Mainland China abolished the upper age limit of 70 for driving licenses for small cars, small automatic cars, and mopeds. Cheng Shidong believes that with the increase in the average life expectancy of mainland residents and the improvement of their health status, relaxing the age of school driving is a new need to adapt to the development of aging society.

The old era walking car exited, how to make up for the original demand?

On April 12, the Beijing Municipal Traffic Management Bureau once again stressed that from January 1, 2024, illegal electric three- and four-wheeled vehicles are not allowed to drive on the road, and are not allowed to park in public places such as roads, squares, and parking lots. In addition to Beijing, Jiangsu, Anhui and other places have also introduced control measures for old-age walking cars.

"Although I can buy a regular three-wheeled motorcycle or buy a car directly, even if I don't consider the lottery, it is not easy for me, an old man in his sixties, to learn a driver's license." I really have to think about what to do when I travel in the future. Guo Liangtong said.

Cheng Shidong introduced that at present, most cities in the mainland have achieved "500-meter coverage" of bus lines, but this coverage is based on the center of the station and the circle with a radius of 500 meters. On the way to the bus stop, the actual distance from home to the station may have exceeded 500 meters due to the influence of the specific route. "Compared with young people, the physical reserves of the elderly are generally not high, and the physical exertion is fast, in order to make the travel of the elderly more comfortable and efficient, the traffic management department can further optimize the urban public transport routes and improve the coverage of urban public transportation."

"If the adjustment of urban bus routes cannot be completed in a short period of time, the method of 'community transportation microcirculation' can be adopted." Cheng Shidong explained that under the premise of assuming that the current bus line website point remains unchanged, the community can learn from the form of shuttle buses in scenic spots, so that the elderly can be picked up and dropped off by vehicle from their doorstep to the bus stop or subway station. "To meet the travel needs of the elderly, we must let the car run more and let the elderly run less."

Ding Guosheng, associate professor and director of the Healthy City Research Office of the School of Architecture and Planning of Hunan University, believes that in the context of the aging era, ensuring the daily travel needs of the elderly and meeting their needs for obtaining daily materials and health resources is an important aspect of building a healthy city. In the long run, this is a question of how to respond to healthy aging, and it is very important to adapt the elderly to travel.

Ding Guosheng told the People's Daily health client reporter that in the short term, after the old era walking car withdraws, it may bring certain inconvenience to the elderly who used to drive, and the government, community and family need to play a joint role in this process. "The government should strengthen the dissemination of relevant policies to create an atmosphere for a healthier and safer travel environment; The community can form a mutual aid organization for the elderly, formulate corresponding plans according to the needs of the elderly in the community, and encourage community volunteers to help the elderly; Family members should take the initiative to help the elderly access various goods, services and facilities, encourage them to understand relevant policies, and adopt safer modes of transportation. ”

Whether at home or abroad, there are many beneficial explorations for the age-appropriate transformation of elderly travel. "It is very important to build a city that cares for the elderly, which can continue to improve the level of age-appropriate transformation of public transportation and improve the sense of security and experience of public transport travel for the elderly." Truly consider the travel characteristics and needs of the elderly, and carry out targeted age-appropriate transformation, so that all aspects of elderly travel are safer, more secure and healthier. In addition, creating a culture of care for the elderly and forming a community environment of mutual assistance and love can help solve the problems encountered by the elderly in travel, which is a more important problem than material aging transformation. Ding Guosheng said.

"The other day, while chatting with my grandson, I heard a sentence that impressed me very deeply, 'The world is so big, I want to see it'. We are indeed older, in fact, the scope of life is not only the small world in front of us, we also hope to go to distant places and explore the bigger world. Guo Liangtong's "car" has been retired, but the "road" that allows him to go far away is getting wider and wider.