Seniors surveyed say rides too expensive, they rely on family and friends
What: County transportation services to people 60 years old and older and people with disabilities
When: 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturdays for dialysis appointments
Where: Medical appointments, shopping, nutrition sites within 70 miles
Cost: $3 to $50 depending on one-way or round-trip and location
Call: (262) 723-4043 Ext. 161 to schedule a ride
By Vicky Wedig
SLN Staff
Members of the Walworth County Transportation Committee visited senior citizen hang-outs from March to July to find out what seniors think about the county’s transportation program before moving forward with plans to expand it.
“Most people didn’t know we had a transportation service,” said committee and County Board Chairman Nancy Russell. “Those who did know about it thought it was only for clients of Health and Human Services and Lakeland Health Care Center, which is not the case.”
The county’s transportation service, contracted through VIP Services, is open to people 60 years old or older regardless of whether they’re disabled or not and to disabled people of all ages. The service provides transportation to those people for doctor’s appointments and grocery shopping, but the county is expanding the service to include other functions such as recreational opportunities, Russell said.
“If somebody wants to go to the movies, see their sister, whatever,” she said. “We want to expand the ridership.”
The county hopes to eventually expand the service to anyone who needs it – not just seniors and people with disabilities, Russell said.
The county also is relaxing its requirement of 48 hours notice for rides. While the county still can’t guarantee service without 48 hours notice, “We ask you to call anyway because if we can fit you in, we will,” Russell said.
In addition to its contract with VIP Services, the county also is soliciting bids for a shared-ride taxi service that will be funded through a grant, she said.
A second part of the grant will pay for the county to hire someone to manage its transportation program.
“That person will be wearing a lot of hats,” Russell said.
The employee’s role will include publicizing the service, talking to various community groups and trying to get people the rides they need, she said.
Dwindling ridership
Russell said the county began examining the use of its transportation system after realizing the number of riders had dwindled over time despite an aging population.
“What got this whole thing started was we looked at the numbers over the years,” she said. “There were many more people using this service years ago.
“We felt if we want people to stay in their homes as long as possible and be independent, we have to provide them the means to do that. They can’t be prisoners in their own homes.”
The committee set out to talk to as many seniors as possible and find out what they do and don’t like about the service. Members arranged to attend card clubs, the senior travel club and other functions that senior citizens frequent to distribute information about the service and find out what seniors think about it.
“We really learned a lot and hopefully we got the message out there,” Russell said.
For the first session, Russell addressed the ARC’s annual luncheon in March in Whitewater, and listening sessions took place at Como Community Church, Trinity Church in Pell Lake, the Showboat movie theater in Lyons during senior movie day, Lakeland School and at locations in Delavan and Elkhorn through July.
The committee also conducted written surveys but found senior’s verbal responses to be more useful, Russell said.
“Their comments were much more revealing, I think, than the surveys,” she said.
Not using service
The committee learned that fewer that 15 percent of the people surveyed had used the county’s transportation service. Fewer than 60 percent of the people who don’t drive had used the service, according to an analysis of the survey results through June 25.
That demonstrates the county needs to be publicize and promote the service, according to the analysis.
The seniors surveyed said they relied on family and friends to drive them where they need to go. Some hire drivers or used cabs.
Seniors surveyed also said the cost of the service was too high.
Costs range from $3 for a one-way trip to a senior dining center or grocery shopping to $50 for a round-trip to Milwaukee, Madison, Waukesha, Kenosha, Rockford, Monroe or Johnson Creek.
“While the cost to uses of the program is not extremely cheap, it is not exceptionally costly either,” Dave Lowe, the county’s transportation consultant, wrote in the analysis.
Russell said the seniors committee members talked to were interested in learning about the program, but, she said, this generation is very independent.
“They want to drive as long as they can and feel like it,” she said.
Much of the sentiment was “I don’t really need this right now,” Russell said. “They weren’t ready to talk about it.”
She said committee members told seniors they could use the service when circumstances arise such as an injury that prevents them from driving, when their car is laid up or when the weather’s bad.
“That was what we were trying to get across to people,” she said.
Seniors said they’d like transportation to church or from late-night emergency room visits that the county’s hours don’t accommodate. The service runs from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Russell said seniors conveyed the difficulty of getting back home when they are taken to the emergency room after hours.
“How can we provide transportation to them?” is something the county is looking at, Russell said.
Other seniors who live in assisted living facilities said the facilities provide transportation to their residents at the facility’s cost.
“They feel, and I personally agree, that we should provide a service for their residents the same as we would anybody else,” she said.
