THE RIDE ALONG

Eleven years. That is how long I have been coming to the Center.



I used to drive myself. I do not anymore. My nephew and the rest of my family take me to my doctor appointments and things like that, and they are good to me. But they have their own lives. Sometimes they are not available. That is just how it is.

So I wait for my STC ride, and my ride comes. The driver calls my phone and tells me he is ten minutes out. I am right there waiting. They come right on time.

I know all of them. Greg. Joe. Bob. Larry. Bob likes to walk in and tell me I am not on his list, just to get a rise out of me. I tell him I called the day before, and here I am, right here. He knows. He is a funny guy. I like the new drivers too.

When I get here, there is bingo. There are games. There is chair volleyball. There is somewhere to sit and somebody to talk to.

I love it. You know, my friends.

Somebody asked me what I would do if Senior Transportation Connection was not here anymore. I said I would be upset. That is the truth. My family would try to take me. They would try. But it is a lot to ask of people who are already working and already tired.

Eleven years I have been walking through that door. I would like to keep walking through it.

The Ride You Count On is About To Get Faster!



This fall, STC is upgrading the technology behind every ride we provide: the systems that schedule your trip, dispatch your driver, and track your vehicle from door to door. The new system goes live in October.

Here is what changes.

Scheduling that keeps up with you. Work that takes our team hours today will take seconds. That means faster answers when you call and more staff time for the work only people can do, like solving the hard scheduling problems, following up on a missed trip, and building the partnerships that expand where we can take you.

A ride you can track. For the first time, riders will be able to schedule a ride online and watch their vehicle approach in real time through a new Rider App. No more wondering whether the van is five minutes away or fifteen. And if you prefer to pick up the phone, nothing changes. The app is one more way in, not a replacement.

Proof of what rides make possible. The new system generates ridership reports that cut the time it takes to bill and the time it takes to see how our operation is performing. That matters more than it sounds. Better data lets us tell you not just how many rides we provided, but what those rides made possible: the appointment kept, the groceries brought home, the friend visited, the day that did not have to be spent alone.

Coming next: evenings and weekends. Life does not stop at 5 p.m. Through a new pilot program, STC is beginning to provide group transportation to area events, programs, and worship services during evenings and weekends. Local studies tell us the demand is there. Now we intend to measure it. As the pilot runs, we will ask riders what kinds of trips they want most, what they would do if the service were not available, and how getting there changes the way they feel, both that day and over time. We will share what we learn in the next issue.