Exploring informal elderly mobility scooters as alternative transportation for older adults

Abstract

In China’s rapidly aging cities, millions of elderly residents rely on informal mobility scooters to address gaps in formal transportation. However, since 2018, local governments have increasingly prohibited their use under national regulatory directives, creating conflicts between safety regulation and mobility access. This qualitative study draws on semi-structured interviews with 15 elderly scooter users across three Shanghai districts to examine how older adults navigate these restrictions and why they persist in using prohibited vehicles. Thematic analysis identified three interconnected themes: informal mobility adoption driven by service gaps, affordability limits, and digital exclusion; adaptive strategies that allowed older adults to sustain essential travel while reducing enforcement risks; and a conditional approach to compliance, where independence was prioritized but willingness to follow rules was expressed if viable alternatives were provided. These findings highlight that prohibitions without alternatives limit older adults’ ability to meet essential needs such as medical care, caregiving, and community participation. Continued use of scooters reflects practical responses to gaps in transport provision rather than intentional disregard for regulation. Enforcement-led approaches overlook this reality. More flexible strategies, including subsidies for safer vehicles, community-based licensing programs, and designated operational areas, could balance safety with the need for independent mobility. By showing how older adults adapt when formal systems do not meet their needs, the study highlights the importance of regulatory frameworks that respond to these practical challenges instead of penalizing them, and points to the value of incorporating lived experience into the design of age-friendly transport policies.