SENIOR CENTER WANTS BUS SERVICE TO STAY
When Mary Waters comes into town she makes stops at doctor appointments, pharmacies and grocery stores. Since her car was recently wrecked and her illness made it difficult for her to walk to a bus stop, she would not be able to leave her house without help. This help comes in the form of the Senior Center Bus Service, which promptly arrives directly outside her door after a phone call.
Ukiah’s Senior Center Bus Service has been in operation since the 1970s, providing doorthrough-door transportation for disabled adults and seniors over the age of 55.
In the 1980s, Mendocino Transit Authority began subcontractingwith the Senior Center with an understanding that the Senior Center was better equipped to provide these rides. Recently, MTAhas been considering eliminating this program. AnMTA Agenda Summary Report states “The senior center transportation programs have evolved into duplicating the same service provided byMTA.”
This service is MTA’s DialA-Ride program. Ukiah Senior Center Director Diana Clarke says the programs are critically different. “It’s the door-throughdoor part that distinguishes us from Dial-A-Ride,” Clarke comments. “It is simply unsafe to leave our passengers out on the curb. With our service, we take care of our passengers.”
Mendocino County gets a share of California’s statewide transportation tax each year to aid in the development of effective transportation. The Mendocino Council of Government (MCOG) receives those funds on behalf of the county, and MTA applies for them. For the last several decades they have included a request to fund the senior transportation programs, however, within the last year MTA has said it no longer wants toprovide this service for the Senior Center.
“If they don’t apply for the funds, our operation goes away,” says Clarke.
The population of senior citizens in Mendocino County is already high and expected to grow within the next 10 to 15 years as the baby-boomer generation reaches retirement age.
“We need to start preparing to serve this cohort now,” states Eileen Bostwick, a passenger of the senior bus service.
Without the Senior Center’s bus service, Dial-A-Ride will become a primary mode of transportation for most seniors. Clarke maintains that the problemwith this is Ukiah’s seniors will not get the care that they need as all the center bus drivers are trained in helping seniors and disabled.
Kathy Sheehy, the dispatch manager of the service, agrees and further notes, “I used to be a driver before I was the manager. You get to know these people really well. You care about them. The difference with MTA is that I think we get to know the passengers more. They get used to us.”
Amid the economic crash in 2008, the service began operating fewer days a week (now every weekday except Wednesday).
Notably, the Dial-A-Ride program sees many citizens needing transport on Wednesdays due to the senior bus service not being in operation that day, and Clarke laments what will happen if the Senior Center service is eliminated.
More concerns include the wait time and the inconvenience in planning that surrounds the elimination of the senior bus service and the subsequent reliance on Dial-A-Ride. Passengers must book Dial-A-Ride 24 hours in advance as opposed to the senior service, which is provided regardless of time. The wait time with Dial-A-Ride leaves seniors often waiting outside, which could pose difficulties for some disabled passengers. Moreover, the Senior Center allows caregivers to ride free of charge alongside the passengers, which is not permitted on Dial-A-Ride.
“I want to speak to the professionalism and courtesy of the Senior Bus Program,” Bostwick comments.
The center bus system highlights that having limitations that hinder driving does not have to be a major life change. “It gives us more independence to be able to get around,” passenger Carol Ann Holsman comments.
Clarke emphasizes the drastic change that the elimination of this service will bring to the most vulnerable population of the community.
“If this is just about saving a few pennies could we look at the bigger impact and see what the true human impact would be? This should not be just a budget issue.
This is a human services issue,” Clarke asserts. “Concerned citizens need to tell the MTA and MCOG board that the Senior Center contracts need to be preserved because it is essential for the well-being of the community.”