No driving for rural(ish) 86 yo mum ...

It’s very hard. Another vote for local volunteer drivers. And another vote possibly for not moving - I agree that the local familiarity (eg knowing neighbours’ voices/general outline) and house familiarity makes a huge difference.

Google the Sensory Impairment teams for her local area. If she gets an appointment with them, ask if you can join in. There may be really straightforward things to try (eg a smart speaker? Tech to help her read her letters? A large-sized iPad - my sight-impaired dp’s mother found she could watch TV again with one of those). But I wouldn’t buy anything until you’ve had either the Visual Impairment team or an OT or both assess her.

Lots of good ideas I won't repeat. Your poor mum. It's a lot to come to terms with, but the right thing to do.

My Dad is 89 and still driving (competently) but insurance at this age is very high, and I don't think he'll renew again (and that might be a secret relief to him, although he won't admit that).

The insurance costs alone (not even counting the other costs of running a car) will cover a lot of taxis, help at home and other things.

My very elderly parents won't move. It's much too late for that. Independence is to be admired, but she will inevitably need more help -and you can best support by encouraging her to admit that, and help getting things in place.

Would she qualify for attendance allowance for the eyesight and general disability and could use that towards taxis?

It's about care they need not care they get. For example done with osteoporosis and eyesight problems might be more at risk from a fall

Have you spoken to the neighbours? If your Mum has been very independent they may have been reticent about offering help. If they know the situation they can at least keep a closer eye on her. They may know about friendly taxi companies, local groups, etc.

Volunteer transport. We are quite rural and have a scheme

think about what the longer term looks like. If she is going to move, better to do it sooner and choose a good suitable place to live. A modern sheltered housing near you or similar. It is much worse if she has a fall and is unable to get help, or has to move into a nursing home in a crisis.

ask her what she wants. Ask what her friends have done. Take her to visit sheltered housing options and promote them.

She’s definitely going to be best off in a familiar home if her sight is failing.

A scooter, as others have said, is also out due to her eyesight.

Find out if there’s a local on demand minibus service - Dial a Ride or similar. We have a service in my bit of Gloucestershire which is pretty much on demand for getting from the villages into the nearest town with shops, which is really useful for people like your mum.

Or: sell the car. Put the proceeds in a dedicated taxi account, along with a year’s worth of car tax, insurance, the cost of an MOT, and what she’d usually spend on fuel. Then she can see clearly that she has plenty of money to get taxis wherever she wants to go, without feeling it’s a luxury she might otherwise deny herself. That account will go a very long way. Find a local taxi firm who you’ll feel comfortable with her using. We have a small firm here with 3 cars, which gives priority to the elderly and has regular customers whom they run around town to the supermarket and back home, etc. .

OTOH taxis can be ok in rural areas because you can get to know one driver and you call them directly. Or even a younger retired person might want to earn some extra cash and they can take your mum out a couple of times a week.

My late fil had an account with the local taxi firm which charged a fixed amount for different places he went to. They just sent a bill once a month which we paid from his account (as poa) it really wasn't a lot. And much cheaper than a car

If she can't see though surely she won't be safe with a mobility scooter either? I think a friendly local taxi firm would be better.

Check out any local taxi firms and see what availability is typically like. It can vary from one area to the next, so possibly patchy, but worth investigating.

If she's no longer paying the running and on the road costs of a car then she could well find that she is quids in using taxis for necessary journeys. Perhaps she just needs to get slowly used to that idea at first so maybe it would be useful if you and/or your sister went with her in the taxi the first few times to build her confidence about them?

Shopping such as groceries can be done online and delivered so that should help. She can then get by until such time as one of you is visiting and is able or willing to take her to the supermarket, which you can combine with lunch out in town etc.

Is there any community transport? My aunt still drives but she gets a community bus twice a week, once for day care (social/bingo/crafts etc), and the other day the bus brings them to the supermarket and then home again after. It's a great service.

@Nearly50omg. I did! I was only 48, dp older and I was checking adaptation possibilities, distance to bus and shops. We are perfectly situated and my stairs are stairlift compatible, I hate moving!

if eyesight is failing a small space close to amenities is so much better. I have many friends who live in these (via work) and they are really happy

Live in companion?

I know a couple of ladies in my local town who are carers/drivers/company for a very elderly and disabled people in the local area. Taxis are few and far between

.One of the ladies I know well and she is retired so a few days a week she helps out a lady who has had a stroke. This might involve bring her to a medical appointment, taking her out for a drive and have a cup of tea, bring her to cinema, shopping etc. Often it is just calling to the house and having a chat. I think this lady covers some petrol.

Oh. Please don't encourage her to get a mobility scooter! If her eyesight is too poor to drive, then it's certainly too poor to be on a scooter, sharing the road with cars or the pavement with pedestrians!! PLEASE don't do this!

Has she been registered blind or partially sighted? Doing so (if her sight is bad enough to warrant it) can open the door to certain allowances and benefits.

She may well be "fiercely independent" but is that realistic? Does she (realistically!) need enough help to qualify for attendance allowance? (Whether or not she'd accept that help is a different topic!) AA is not means tested. If she can get it, it would help to offset the price of taxis.

The RNIB and the macular society are both mines of useful suggestions and information. And a SW from RNIB helped my mum get AA, they knew how to word the form. They also arranged for someone to assess her home for suitable lighting, trip hazards etc.

Would your mum cope with using something like Alexa? If you can no longer read, craft, or watch TV, having a smart speaker does give some options for other ways to pass the time. The RNIB also has an extensive library of audio books which can be borrowed for free.

I'd echo previous posters - you all need to be planning ahead. Life will be easier for her at the moment if she's in an environment that she knows, where she can feel her way around and find things by touch, but that might not be appropriate for ever. However, familiar surroundings and good neighbours are big pluses and I wouldn't rush to change that without a lot of thought and discussion.

Depending on how rural she is:

taxis
home delivery.

mobility scooters can be bought new or second hand. They are not particularly easy to drive and do not turn easily. Unlike electric wheelchairs they are not generally manoeuvre able enough to take anywhere inside as they have a large turning circle.

they usually have a battery that can be taken out and charged.

Some areas run volunteer car schemes to help people to and from places. You might also want to contact her local sight loss charity who will be able to support and signpost her to other organisations

I’d work out a typical week and see if you can get taxis to allow her to do what she wants. Moving will be a big deal and if she can’t walk much already then she will probably get way more downsides from moving than upsides (loss of people…)

electric wheelchairs and scooters aren’t easy to control. DF’s is a nightmare…

Definitely no mobility scooter they are powerful (I had one but when I was to ill to drive, I was also to ill to use one).

I use a community transport bus to get about does she have anything like that local to her? Its like a taxi, door to door service, they'll even help lock the house up, have a lift to get on and make sure you get back safely. Its also about half the price of a taxi.

A wheelchair will only be good if shes being pushed so useful if your with her, but otherwise not.

Other suggestions:
request a physio and OT home assessment. They can install things to help her, or advice on things she could do to help.

Talk to a charity for the blind, they may be able to advice.

Depending on her home could a bed be brought downstairs if necessary so she doesn't need to go upstairs? Are they're toilet/shower facilities downstairs? Look into things like if the toilets a long way from bed she could use a commode in the night.

Move things that are not being used out of the way. Remove rugs etc as these can be a trip hazard.

Does she want to move? She may have left this too late to be useful as buying and selling is not quick.

Has she sorted power of attorney? Also may be worth getting her to consent to you being able to liase with bank/nhs etc before its an issue.

Has she got set up prescription delivery?

Can she manage online and do online grocery shopping?

Any local groups she could join to keep active (mentally and physically)? Or our area has a befriending service for those that struggle to leave the house.

Most importantly what does your mum want to do? Even if she doesn't feel up to making the life changing decisions now making small changes may help come to terms with it all and also help her make the bigger decisions in the future. When I became disabled (it was sudden and in my 30s) I didn't want to move house but two years down the line I realised it was not a suitable home anymore and we moved. Its still not what I wanted but it is what I had to accept I needed to happen. Making the small changes led me to the bigger decisions.

Taxis, shopping home delivery.

The cost of taxis is very likely to be more than offset by the savings in not running a car - the insurance for someone in their late eighties is probably going to be high, even before you consider petrol, breakdown cover, servicing & MOT etc, finance if not owned outright etc....

I kept trying to explain to my parents that it would not only be safer for them and other road users but they'd be financially better off if they used taxis and paid for home deliveries rather than running a car but they wouldn't have it ...