Council here agrees there is a need for affordable transportation for seniors and the disabled in the north Wellington area, and is hoping a proposed county-wide study will lead to solutions.
Palmerston area resident Hugh Thompson, who volunteers on his own to assist seniors and others with transportation needs, addressed Minto council on the topic at its Jan. 14 meeting.
“There’s definitely a need in the north here for transportation for the seniors and also for the handicapped, those that are in wheelchairs,” said Thompson. “The only transportation that is available right now is either through family supplying that – and they may not have a van capable of doing it – or they can use the ambulance transfer system.”
Unfortunately, says Thompson, ambulance transfer is prohibitively expensive to use for trips like medical appointments.
“We have had people who have taken it from Palmerston down to London and the cost ran at $700. Obviously people can’t afford that.”
Thompson noted North Perth has transportation for seniors and the disabled through the VON. He said the service is funded through a combination of contributions from the Southwest Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), gas tax dollars and user fees.
Thompson said organizers of the North Perth Service, “Really cannot count on gas tax dollars as they don’t know how much there will be.”
He said user fees in North Perth range from $4 one way for trips within Listowel to $8 for trips within North Perth, but outside the Listowel limits.
Long range travel is also provided through the service, with the charge for trips from Listowel to London set at 80 cents/km, plus $15 an hour for standby time.
“That’s a lot cheaper than $700 to get down there,” Thompson noted.
In some municipalities the service is provided through service clubs, Thompson pointed out. Thompson said he has talked to officials from the Waterloo-Wellington LHIN and they, “acknowledge that there is a need in the north here. However, he said he was told, “there is nothing on the books, even in future plans, to include it, which is somewhat distressing.”
Thompson suggested council instigate a survey of the north Wellington area to determine the need for transportation services and the ability of users to pay toward them.
“Is it possible for the town itself to run the program using volunteer drivers?” Thompson wondered.
Deputy mayor Terry Fisk noted transportation services provided through the local LHIN seem to be concentrated in the cities.
“I think we need to stress that we do have needs up here, probably more so than in the cities because we don’t have public transportation,” said Fisk.
Mayor George Bridge pointed out the County of Wellington is currently working on the transportation issue.
“Under the accessibility group, they are looking at this. We’ve signed up and put $30,000 in the budget at the county level this year to put our names forward (for funding for) a good study. Not just whether there’s a need, I think we all agree that there’s a need – but also how to we fund it properly so it becomes a functional situation.”
Bridge said the norther portion of the county would be the focus of the study if the funding is obtained and it goes ahead.
“And that would be Mapleton, Wellington North and ourselves.”
The mayor said it would be difficult for Minto to operate such a program on its own. “But it might be something if you get a Mapleton and a Wellington North and a Minto cooperating – this might be a vision.”
Bridge said there is a major gap between what the private sector can offer in terms of affordable transportation and what governments provide.
“There’s a big gap there and we’ve got to come up with something to fill that gap,” said Bridge. “It’s good timing, there is some money in the county budget set aside and hopefully we’ll move forward.”
