The U.S. is in the midst of a struggle to develop an equitable and reasonable governmental response to the transportation needs of the elderly and handicapped. In its attemptto develop a national policy, the U.S. Government is faced with a myriad of problems. There is little analytical data on the actual needs of these groups while there is an abundance of myths, platitudes and misconceptions about their needs; this, of course, severely limits policy-makers attempting to respond intelligently to the problems these groups face. Just as significantly, these disadvantaged citizens are not a homogenous group with comparable problems, desires and resources and no one system or service response can be expected to meet the needs of all the elderly and handicapped. This situation, too, strains the talents and resources of national decision-makers. These are serious problems and deserve the mobilization of the best resources the nation has to offer, but they are also problems that have been raised by many insightful academics and policy analysts and there is some hope that, once recognized, they may be resolved.
Other significant problems stand in the way of the development of a rational transportation policy toward the needs of the elderly and handicapped; these problems have received far less attention than they deserve. First, national transportation policy is often made independently of, and even in conflict with, national policy toward other societal needs. The most common example is, of course, the conflict between a national transportation policy which aids and encourages low density development and rapid suburbanization by providing speedy and convenient transportation arterials, and a national housing and redevelopment policy which encourages highdensity residential revitalization in the core cities of metropolitan areas. An assessment of the short-and long-range transportation needs of the elderly and handicapped cannot be considered independently of the government's attitude toward the housing needs of these groups, since the latter policy may ultimately determine the residential location decisions of many of the elderly and handicapped. Significant changes in governmental housing policy may significantly alter the travel patterns and needs of the elderly and handicapped both now and in the future. Any transportation policy which fails to allow for and to respond to such housing and locational changes is doomed to failure. Although this issue has been raised from time to time