Circle aims to gather crowd to drive £4,000 upgrade bid
HMR Circle, which supports people over the age of 50 in Rochdale, Heywood, and Middleton, have launched a crowdfunding appeal which aims to raise £4,000 in the next month.
The money will go to upgrading the Volunteer Driver Service, which takes people to appointments, and also provides coronavirus help, such as delivering food and medication. It has so far raised £270. HMR Circle now plans to use technology to create a ‘ride hailing’ service similar to Uber, where users can book the service through their mobile or tablet.
Director of HMR Circle, Mark Wynn, said: “We’re very excited.
“As an organisation we’re always looking to improve what we do and the best way is to improve the technology we use.
“Using technology makes it better and simpler for the passenger and the driver, and all concerned to do more good things.
“The technology exists and we’re thinking how can we use it do good.”
One of the issues flagged up is a proportion of the people who access the
HMR Circle Volunteer Drivers Service who have short term memory issues or conditions such as low level dementia.
By using a ‘Ride Hailing’ app the passenger can see what sort of car they will be driving in, who the driver is and a portion of the number plate.
The passenger will also be able to see how far away the car is from picking them up.
This will be a huge aid as a large number of the passengers are anxious before a hospital visit and can be very concerned if they think the Volunteer Driver is going to be late.
Even if the passenger doesn’t have a smartphone, they can call the office and the Volunteer Drivers Service admin team will have a look at the system to check the location of the car and advise the passenger accordingly.
On the flip side a venue or a concerned relative may call asking if a passenger is nearby. This new system will allow HMR to help with this information, whilst remaining fully GDPR compliant.
Currently the service requires four working days’ notice to book a journey.
With a ‘Rail Hailing’ app, HMR could introduce an on-demand responsive service to deal with late appointment changes, emergency prescription collection or simply a surprise social event.
As well as an on demand service it will mean passengers can future book trips 247 instead of at present when it is only during office hours.
HMR Circle has sourced the software and training required to take the ‘VDS’ to the next level.
To donate, visit: www. avivacommunityfund. co.ukvolunteer-driverdashboard