Naperville seniors could soon tap a band of volunteer drivers to chauffeur them to doctors’ appointments and grocery stores around town, providing what a city task force calls the missing link in transportation services for older suburban residents.
“Our research found the two most pressing needs for nondriving seniors are for medical appointments and grocery shopping,” said Jane French, chairwoman of the transportation subcommittee for the Naperville Senior Task Force.
While Pace and Ride DuPage both provide transportation services for seniors, French said, Pace bus routes mainly focus on delivering passengers to Naperville’s two Metra stations. Ride DuPage, which provides public paratransit services throughout DuPage County, requires riders to register and request appointments in advance.
In addition, with Ride DuPage, “the rider has little control over routes, ride-sharing and waiting for pickups after appointments,” French said.
The new service would operate as a nonprofit organization modeled after Escorted Transportation Service Northwest in Arlington Heights, French said. That nonprofit group has been around since 2006 and coordinates dozens of volunteer drivers.
According to its website, an Escorted Transportation Service Northwest driver recently provided the group’s 20,000th ride.
Like the Arlington Heights group, Naperville likely would invoice riders for a $12 donation per round trip, French said. Drivers would wait for the passenger during a grocery run or medical appointment. Caregivers could ride along at no extra charge.
Passenger donations should cover about 40 percent or the nonprofit’s cost, French said. The rest would come from grants, sponsorships and other contributions, and would not require city funding.
French anticipated Naperville’s group would start with all volunteers and grow. Already, she said, six drivers have signed up. An exact timeline has not been set.
Some challenges still need to be worked out, said Karen Courney, co-chairwoman of the Naperville Senior Task Force. For example, seniors must have a certain amount of mobility to get in and out of a car in order to use the proposed service.
“You need to have a modified vehicle to handle some of the disabilities,” Courney said, and the group does not have one. Members hope someone might donate a handicapped-accessible vehicle, which would allow the group to serve those customers in the future.
The Naperville City Council was briefed on the new service at last week’s meeting.
Hank Hydel, co-owner of Happy Taxi in Naperville, attended the meeting and told the council that his drivers also provide nonemergency medical taxi services. He supports task force efforts, he said, but hopes volunteers will be properly trained, insured and background-checked in case of emergency.
“If something happens to (a passenger) and they get sick and start to pass out, are these volunteers going to know what to do?” Hydel said.
Still, council members raved about the proposed transportation nonprofit, which does not require council approval to be established.
“Your ideas of finding transportation solutions that do not put any pressure on taxpayers or the city is thinking outside the box, and it’s the kind of thinking we need,” Mayor Steve Chirico said.
The council also unanimously approved extending the task force for another year.
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