Seniors in suburban and rural neighborhoods need friendly transit service too. Some neighborhoods barely generate enough riders for peak period transit service for commuters - continuing those services midday often isn't affordable or economical. Why not offer flexible mid-day curb-to-curb transportation with low-floor mid-size vehicles - which could also be used for peak period park and ride feeders or human service group rides? This service doesn't have to be provided every day - two mid-days per week for each neighborhood should suffice. This service would connect on a printed schedule to a main-line transit stop as well as a grocery store and medical building. Residents would plan their outings in advance and call for a pickup in front of their home. On the return trip - just tell the driver where to stop - or wait until fixed route PM service begins to come back.
Comments (3)
Steve, this is so needed and I am finding the ridership is already rapidly increasing on this type of connector in our system. Our system uses deviated fixed route but an on-call circulator would really be good in many adult communities. The 2-3 day per week idea can work but many we are finding older adults are more likely to give up the car when these services are available six days per week although this could be a financial challenge for most systems.
Pittsburgh, PA has the Elder Express, a great example of a public/private partnership. The two organizations were both concerned about senior transportation and as part of their planning efforts came together and designed a system that worked for funders, customers and agency personnel. http://www.agewellpgh.org/services_transportation.php
Yes, this program is part of the very successful Access program, isn't it? If this is the service I am thinking of, it does a great job of connecting seniors directly to destinations as well as other traditional transit options.