New Ride Program Aims To Keep Seniors Mobile
OAKLAND COUNTY (WWJ) Seniors in South Oakland County who are faced with having to turn over their car keys now have a new option to remain mobile.
Independent Transportation Network, a national nonprofit transportation network, opened operations earlier this year as the first business of its kind. The New York Times called ITN "A nonprofit that reinvisions the accepted ideas of transit for the elderly."
Executive Director Lori Fidler said for many seniors a car is a lifeline.
"If you give up your car keys, you give up a life, it's really difficult to even think about doing the most simple things, grocery shopping, getting your hair done, socializing," Fidler said.
Seniors can get a ride 24 hours a day, seven days a week for a small fee. Blanch Pollack, 84, of Southfield, said the program has given her a new lease on life. It's meant as a low-cost option, saying 46 percent of customers have an annual income of less than $25,000.
"I don't want to curdle up and die, I want to keep going like the Energizer bunny," Pollack said.
