Ride service to help seniors in rural areas near Fredericton

A volunteer ride service will provide transportation for seniors in rural areas surrounding Fredericton.

Urban/Rural Ride, which has been operating in southeast New Brunswick for eight years, has expanded to Cambridge-Narrows, Hanwell, Kingsclear and Oromocto.

The goal of the service, which offers reduced rates for people who have low incomes, is to help seniors tend to essential needs, such as attending medical appointments or going to food banks.

A few factors contribute to the need for such a service, said Kelly Taylor, executive manager of Urban/Rural Ride.

"When you age, sometimes you are not able to drive anymore because of health reasons, or you don't feel comfortable driving, or you don't have the financial means to continue to operate a vehicle," she said.

Seniors in rural areas who don't have access to transportation may be forced to move into urban centres, which can disconnect them from what's familiar.

Many of Urban/Rural Ride's clients are widows who relied on their husbands for transportation and never had driver's licences.

For the Fredericton-area communities, 16 volunteer drivers have signed up so far, and eight seniors have registered as clients. 

Taylor said more volunteer drivers, who are compensated for their mileage, are always needed.

Before the pandemic, Urban/Rural Ride was providing 10,000 rides a year with about 70 volunteer drivers, she said.  Now, that's down to about 6,000 rides with around 35 volunteer drivers. 

Because of that, the service is only offering rides for essential needs at this time, though Taylor said the goal is to eventually return to the pre-pandemic setup, when users could book rides for activities such as shopping or seeing a hairstylist.

"We're always teetering on the edge of having to say no, but really stretching our volunteers to kind of meet that need," Taylor said. "But we absolutely need more volunteer drivers in this region and the Fredericton area."

Greater Fredericton Social Innovation, a registered charity that works with community organizations to reduce poverty, receives provincial funding that will help support Urban/Rural's operations in Fredericton.

Susanne White, the charity's co-ordinator for community inclusion, said it was in charge of finding the volunteer drivers. It worked with different community organizations to find what she called "champions," or well-connected people who could help recruit volunteers.