2015 turned out to be both successful and challenging for SRC Transportation Services. Demand is increasing and Seniors’ Resource Center is working keep up.
Our footprint grows
Through, grants, funding, and donations, we were able to assist over 2,500 riders by
providing 131,800 trips. 2015 achievements included:
- service expansion into Denver and Arapahoe counties
- working with Clear Creek county out of our Evergreen Transportation office to develop community-based transportation
- starting a pilot volunteer driver project for Broomfield County.
SRC worked hard to manage funding opportunities, allowing our service footprint to grow to over 2,000 square miles. While we are very excited to reach more people, this large coverage area has also created challenges. One of the first changes needed was to make sure riders in Adams, Arapahoe, Denver and Jefferson counties had the same opportunities to get their necessary rides. Due to driver shortages, our focus became medical trips and we temporarily discontinued personal trips. SRC has geared up to find more drivers to re-institute personal trips. Expanding these services is crucial to so many older adults being able to live in their homes.
Next steps
Qualified drivers have been hard to find, but we have a goal to run 24 “routes” with paid drivers, supported daily through either volunteers using their personal vehicles or “Trooper” volunteers using SRC owned Toyota Prius sedans. We are actively searching for qualified paid and volunteer drivers.
Our trip costs have increased. Though fuel pricing has come down, other program requirements including vehicle insurance and labor costs have increased. It is now costing SRC an average of $25 to provide a single one way ride and we continue to work to find ways to support the growing demand for transportation for older adults.
2015 was a strong year of growth and it showed that the need for SRC Transportation is great and only getting bigger.