Building Community
Across America, communities large and small are struggling to meet the transportation needs of seniors. Everywhere, the issues are the same:
- How to provide the kind of door-to-door service older people want and need
- How to recruit enough volunteer drivers, and how to manage insurance
- How to arrange rides, especially in rural and suburban communities
- How to pay for it all
The ITNAmerica solution is a community-based, non-profit service that relies on affordable fares from the people who use the service, subsidized by voluntary local community support. ITN brings families, businesses, healthcare providers and community organizations together to weave a strong, local, diversified web of support for senior mobility, without relying on taxpayer dollars for operating or capital expense.
Helping Seniors
It isn't difficult to know the answer to the senior transportation problem in America: older people need a ride, especially when they limit or stop driving.
The challenge is to provide that ride with all the dignity and independence older people deserve.
Beyond the Driving Years
People outlive their ability to drive by many years. On average, men outlive driving by six years, women by ten. That is too long to be dependent on favors from family and friends.
ITN creates a safety net.
True mobility comes from a reliable alternative to the private automobile, and while it is possible for an entirely voluntary transportation system to provide that reliability, it is difficult. That is why ITN uses a combination of paid and volunteer drivers to guarantee a ride 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and to provide the kind of dependable service people need to be truly independent and safe.
Some seniors need extra help. That is why ITN volunteers and drivers provide door-through-door and arm-though-arm assistance. They carry packages, buckle seat belts, and open doors. All ITN volunteers and drivers are carefully screened and trained.
The Road Scholarship Program is available for low-income seniors. A simple application is available by calling the local ITN affiliate.
Independence
Americans prize independence. It's part of what makes us American, and it doesn't change with age. ITNAmerica understands that any alternative to the independence of the private automobile must come as close to this feeling of freedom as possible.
That is why ITN:
- Is available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day;
- Uses automobiles, rather than vans or buses;
- Relies on private, rather than public resources;
- Does not restrict trip purpose, frequency or destination in the service area;
- Uses consumer choice to determine price;
- Permits riders to travel alone or with others; and
- Creates a sense of ownership through membership and voluntary participation.
The Independent Transportation Network® is dignified. Older adults who join ITN become dues-paying members of a non-profit organization committed to their independence and mobility. When they pick up the telephone to schedule a ride, they are not asking a favor.
The transition from the driver's seat to the passenger seat is never easy – for the drivers or for their families – but it is infinitely easier when there is a viable transportation alternative that keeps the older adult in control.