Loaded with 40 senior citizens, the express bus traveled from the Jewish Family Service Center in North Hollywood to the nearest subway station and back, part of a workshop to explain how to use the Los Angeles County transit system.
The riders, many of whom never had ridden a city bus, were in their 60s, 70s and 80s. Some wanted to end their long dependence on the automobile. Others had lost their driver's licenses or planned to give them up because of infirmities or traffic accidents.
"I love this bus!" said Evelyn Hayes-Nation, 65, whose enthusiasm for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's demonstration ride was as bright as her yellow blouse. "I have no intention of giving up going places now that I don't drive."
Figuring out Southern California's public transit systems is tough enough for the average commuter. But navigating the region's complex bus and rail systems can be especially difficult for older people.
While students in the MTA workshop have been pondering how they are going to get around now that they are getting on in years, a similar question has been troubling transit officials and advocates across the country as baby boomers begin entering their 60s.
Are cash-strapped public transit agencies, already struggling to accommodate the elderly, prepared to serve a growing senior population that often requires costly specialized services?
Over the next quarter of a century, the number of people age 65 and older will more than double to 70 million, or 20% of the U.S. population. In California, the number is likely to reach 8 million. About one in five will be unable to drive.
"What are we going to do when so many people are retiring?" asked Anne Canby, president of the Surface Transportation Policy Project, a think tank in Washington, D.C. "Elderly men live another six years after giving up their driver's licenses. Women live for 10 years. That is a big 'hello.' "
During the White House Conference on Aging in December 2005, attendees ranked adequate transportation as their third-highest priority, ahead of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
"This vote should be a wake-up call for all federal, state and local officials," said William W. Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Assn. "Public transportation is a lifeline for tens of thousands of seniors."
Without ways to get around, national studies show, the health and well-being of senior citizens can decline dramatically if they become removed from friends, family, cultural events and such vital services as medical care.
For such reasons, researchers say, some seniors drive longer than they should, presenting safety risks to themselves and others.
Fueling the national debate about driving age limits is the current manslaughter trial of George R. Weller, 89, whose automobile plowed through the Santa Monica Farmers' Market in 2003, killing 10 people.
"There's a lot of evidence that when you take someone's license away, the downward spiral can occur very quickly," said Sandra Rosenbloom, a University of Arizona professor who has studied the transportation needs of seniors. "We need better options to allow people to gracefully give up their driver's licenses."
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Across the country, transit agencies are improving bus and rail service for senior citizens with boarding ramps, reserved seating for the disabled, lower fares, travel escorts and outreach programs like MTA's classes.
But building ridership among retiring baby boomers could be a struggle, transit officials say. Dozens of studies have shown that older people hold a variety of negative perceptions about public transit, many of them justified.
They often feel buses are dirty, uncomfortable and unsafe. Infrequent service, confusing schedules and limited routes are also among the problems that can discourage use of city and county transportation services.
A recent study by AARP found that 60% of people older than 65 do not have a transit stop within a 10-minute walk of their homes.
"It's hard to pull an 80-year-old lady out of her Lexus and get her to use a bus," said Richard Smith, executive director of the Partnership to Preserve Independent Living, a social service agency for the elderly in Riverside County. "We need to break the public perception about mass transit that it is for the poor and an unattractive way to travel."
What particularly troubles transit planners about current demographic trends is that three out of four senior citizens in the country will live in suburbs or rural areas where there is little or no bus or rail service.
In the Bay Area, studies show, the population 65 and older will increase 84%, with the greatest growth occurring in suburban counties. Cities with good rail and bus systems -- San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley -- will see little, if any, growth in their senior populations.
"This is a national issue," said Annette Williams, a San Francisco Metropolitan Transit Agency manager who oversees services for the elderly and the disabled.
