Many seniors are able to drive confidently on local roads but are intimidated by longer trips, heavy traffic, parking and twighlight driving.
By arranging parking at local shopping centers. libraries and senior centers that are served by traditional or community transit, senior drivers can be encouraged to drive locally and use transit for longer distance local and regional trips.
Comments (7)
Thanks for this great idea. Have you or other organizations publicized this idea in your local community? Do you know if any informal carpools have begun as a result of this?
Yes, we have been working with local shopping centers to arrange for parking and our latest effort will begin on December 6th which will include a senior center providing a connector bus to a community transit route at a food shopping center which also allow seniors to park in a section near the bus stop to access this route.
The system consists of seven routes, 13 peak buses, developed over the past six years which now carry 350,000 trips a year on 18-24 passenger buses and has been recognized by USDOT and CTAA for addressing transportation dependent needs by integrating with the NJ Transit traditional bus and rail system.
I agree that this is a great idea. This goes hand in hand with "It's not all or nothing", and maintaining mobility while respecting each person's abilities and desires to drive.
Ray- you have had some interesting ideas as well. Feel free to contact me at srfittante@gmail.com to discuss some of these ideas from our respective systems and share documents.
I love this idea and plan on trying this one out in the Mpls./St. Paul area. Thank you!
Steve,
Is there a written description of your program. It sounds like something that groups like NCST and CTAA would like to publicize. JaneHardin
Jane,nothing formal but I can forward some memos discussing the concept and an example of where we recently implemented it in a location that received Easter Seals Project Action assistance