With the increased population of the elderly, providing more responsive public transportation for an older population is a global issue. This study investigates the travel behaviour and mode choice attitudes of people aged 65 and older and improves transport accessibility by proposing a demand responsive transport (DRT) service in New Zealand rural areas and small towns. A case study was conducted at Thames, Waikato to investigate the travel behaviour of elderly and explore the presence of heterogeneity in transport mode choice. Thames is located at the Thames-Coromandel District with a high proportion (27.1%) of people aged 65 and older. Due to the popularity of Thames for people aged 65 and over, the population of this age group in Thames is increasing and predicted to increase to 43% in the year 2043. Therefore, the demand for alternative modes of transport, especially once owning or driving a private motor vehicle is no longer a viable option. This study explores the existing problems that the elderly face regarding transportation in Thames and investigates possible public transport improvements to help keep the people aged 65 and over able to travel locally within Thames. To achieve the objective of this study, two versions of surveys, a revealed preference survey and stated preference survey, are examined for exploring various types of elderly’s travel behaviour and mode choice. A Rank-ordered logit (ROL) model is adopted using data analysis on the choices of individuals over various mode choice options. In this study, we present a ROL model to examine the key components of effective DRT service implementation for older people in NZ rural areas and small cities.