Abstract:What role could and should the intercity bus play in serving the growing elderly population in rural areas? Telephone and on-board surveys were conducted in a corridor in Northern California to learn who used intercity buses and who did not, and why. It was found that only a tiny number of elderly riders were "captive"; the remainder had similar demographic, socioeconomic, and auto accessibility characteristics to those who did not use intercity buses. This finding implies that the potential for expanding ridership may be significant, but also implies that the intercity bus does not provide an essential public service to elderly people. To understand and predict ridership, future studies of intercity bus demand should focus on the particular circumstances and lifestyles of individuals living in differing sociocultural environments, not on traditional demographic, socioeconomic, and auto accessibility indicators.