Aurora resident Judy Boone could not overstate the value of a senior ride-share program when it comes to her daily life.
She and hundreds of other seniors across Arapahoe County count on the services of publicly funded ride providers to make shopping trips, doctor visits and the less-thought-of, but hugely important social trips that add to their quality of life.
“We wouldn’t be able to come over here to the senior center,” Boone said as she and a handful of other seniors waited recently for a shuttle to pick them up in front of the “None of us are in good enough shape to walk to bus stops and take the bus places.”
The shuttle that picked up Boone and her fellow riders looked a bit different than senior transportation vehicles of the recent past.
That’s because took over as Arapahoe County’s senior ride provider on July 6 after the former provider determined it could no longer feasibly serve the area, county officials said.
The 38-year-old organization already served seniors in Jefferson and Adams counties and was selected by the earlier this year to handle Denver as well, according to the center. The Arapahoe County contract came shortly thereafter.
“We have a good product and we are excited to share it with the new counties,” said Hank Braaksma, Seniors’ Resource Center’s transportation services director. “My hope is we will exceed everyone’s expectations.”
Arapahoe County services got off to a rough start but are coming around, the riders at the Aurora center said.
“It was different. It was a change,” Patricia Victorian said. “But we’ve adjusted and it’s getting better. It’s like putting on a new pair of shoes. You’ve got to break them in.”
Fellow rider Geraldine Cleaves said the issue was drivers’ familiarity with their routes and riders, but things that have improved over time.
“They weren’t on time. They would get lost. They didn’t know the routes,” Cleaves said. “But you have to have patience with them.”
For Braaksma, the challenge has been adding staff and capacity to catch up with a huge upswing in demand this summer.
He said the nonprofit provided an estimated 10,000 rides to seniors from across its four-county coverage area in July, up from just 2,500 in June.
To cut back on confusion across the four counties, the center has gone from allowing rides to be scheduled three business days in advance in Jefferson and Adams counties to seven days for all areas, Braaksma said. He said the organization is also enlisting volunteer drivers for some rides.
As of last week, the center was averaging 21 paid drivers on the road at all times during regular business hours, Braaksma said. If he can raise the number to 24 drivers daily, he expects to meet needs.
“We have been hiring and training drivers as fast as we can get qualified people on board,” he said. “We really need to continue to grow to meet the needs. We are building capacity. We want to succeed and we expect we will.”
Linda Haley is the senior resources division manager for Arapahoe County. She said senior services, including rides, will only become more important as experts expect one in every four people in the metro area to be over the age of 60 by 2030.
She said Arapahoe County seniors relied on publicly provided rides services 11,000 times in 2014, with 350 individuals calling those services.
A vast majority of ride-share programs are paid for by the federal government; the county will contribute $41,000 in matching funds this year.
She shares Braaksma’s optimism that Seniors’ Resource Center will grow into its new role.
“The first month, things were a little rough. Things seem to be going smoother the second month,” she said. “I think there has been improvement and we are headed in the right direction.”
Joe Rubino: 303-954-2953 or jrubino@denverpost.com
Seniors’ resource center
To schedule a ride, call 303-235-6972 or visit .
