Transportation Model Finding Success

In Charleston, Elsewhere

Access to affordable and reliable transportation for the elderly is a concern for many communities, especially in rural areas where service is practically nonexistent.

A group of business people in Charleston, S.C. may have found a clever solution. With guidance and support from Portland, ME-based ITNAmerica, members of the South Carolina Aging in Place Council formed the ITN Charleston Trident last November to offer round-the-click transportation services for people 65 and older, and the visually impaired. ITN stands for Independent Transportation Network.

On average, women live an extra 10 years between the time they stop driving and pass away; for men it's 6 years, according to Katherine Freund, President & Executive Director of ITNAmerica. While they want to remain active, many retirees find themselves homebound for lack of transportation. Only 1.2 percent of seniors use public transportation on a daily basis, said Freund, while the vast majority rely on friends and family for rides.

At the 2005 White House Conference on Aging, state delegates ranked mobility and access to transportation third overall (out of 50 resolutions) on the list of issues they would like to see the federal government tackle as the country's population ages.

"It was a total shock to a lot of us attending the conference that mobility and transportation ranked higher than Social Security and Medicaid," said Freund, "but those programs exist, whereas little has been done at the federal level to address transportation."

ITNAmerica created a private sector model that communities across the nation are embracing. Since its initial testing in Charleston, Portland (ME), Orlando and Santa Monica, Calif., the ITN model has expanded to San Diego and parts of Connecticut, New York, Kentucky, Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska.

In each community, a non-profit organization is established to oversee and administer a volunteer transportation service. No public funds are used. Funding comes from donations and member dues that riders pay to belong to the transportation service. Each non-profit is wired into ITNAmerica's advanced server network and software platform, which means that smaller communities with limited resources are able to take advantage of the ITN model.

Charleston's network averages 18-22 rides daily and just celebrated it's 1000th ride this past May.  The service uses 35 volunteer (mostly senior) drivers, plus a few paid drivers. To access the service, an individual pays an annual membership fee of $35. Each ride costs $3, plus $1 per mile—about $8 on average. No money is exchanged with the driver. Instead, a member pays money into a personal ITN account that is deducted after each ride.

Members can also pay for the service by donating their cars. The car is assessed a value and the dollar amount added to the person's account. Very low-income residents can also qualify for ride vouchers donated by the local Area Agency on Aging and the Rotary Club of Charleston.

Membership fees cover half of  ITN Charleston Trident 's operating budget. Additional funding is provided by grants from Trident United Way, the Association for the Blind, Roper St. Francis Healthcare, East Cooper Regional Medical Center, Dorchester County, the cities of Charleston, North Charleston, the town of Mt. Pleasant and other for-profit and non-profit organizations.

Members can utilize the service for any reason, whether to visit their doctor (an estimated 40 percent of all rides), shop, visit friends, or go to church.

"One of the joys of this program is that you get to meet so many interesting people," said Paul Franklin of Franklin Funding, a founder and chairman of the ITN governing

board, and member of the National Aging in Place Council. Both Franklin and his wife Barbara are volunteer drivers. In a conversation with Aging in Place News, Ms. Franklin remembered a pick-up for two ladies in their late seventies who wanted to see a movie. When she asked the ladies what time they wanted to be picked up, they replied, "oh, don't you worry about us, we're going out for a cocktail afterwards."

Before the Charleston network was formed, many seniors found themselves homebound much of the time because they were afraid to use taxis, or it was too difficult to use the public transportation system. "Our drivers provide a more personalized, friendly service," said Franklin. "They walk up to the person's front door, help them in and out of the car, and carry packages, which our members appreciate."

Charleston's success can be attributed in no small measure to the guidance provided by ITNAmerica and Freund.

In 2004, a colleague of Franklin's heard Freund speak at a conference about transportation issues. Shortly thereafter, a group from Charleston traveled to Portland for a weeklong trip to meet with Freund and develop a plan for improving the city's transportation problem. Two years later, in November 2006, the ITN Charleston Trident gave its first ride.

"We had to learn how to fundraise, how to recruit volunteer drivers, and to set up an infrastructure to support the service," added Franklin. "And we had to hire an executive director to manage the network."

The group raised $100,000 to get the ITN Charleston Trident program off the ground with much of the funding coming from the Trident United Way and the Association for the Blind. The program is designed to be self-sustaining, so that it doesn't have to rely on public funding. So far, the network's biggest expense has been insurance.

"Each driver is insured up to $2 million, plus they have to have their own insurance," said Franklin. "The insurance is among our top three biggest expenses."

In addition, Charleston pays ITNAmerica an annual fee to use the network server and software that is used to schedule appointments. "When someone calls to be picked up, the dispatcher enters the date and time and the software matches them with a driver who has agreed to be available during those hours," noted Franklin. The software has a GPS system built in as well, which helps calculate the mileage that someone has to pay.

ITNAmerica hosts periodic phone calls as well, so that the different transportation networks can learn from one another.

To learn more, visit www.itnamerica.org.