A Shuswap town with no means of public transportation has introduced a new way of getting around.
South Shuswap Rides is completely volunteer-run in Sorrento and it helps residents get around most areas of the Okanagan, free of charge.
“Our target is people who are unable to drive for whatever reason. People undergoing medical treatments that can’t drive, people who are elderly, people who’ve lost their license, people who can’t afford a car,” said Paul Demenok Shuswap Rides Society President.
The service began in 2020 and since then the need for it has grown quickly. In 2023 the volunteers completed 300 rides.
Get daily Okanagan news
“I pretty much leave the whole day open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. because right now we are very busy, we’re driving in the morning and we could be dropping a client off at 1 p.m. and picking another one up at 2 p.m.,” said Garry Spearman driver and board member
To combat the high demand the society added a second electric vehicle following a combined investment including the federal government of $95,327.
“We’re very reliant on grants we had good support from the local government, provincial government, and the federal government to make this happen,” said Demenok.
For Sorrento resident, Annie Scholton, this service became a major part of her life, shuttling around her husband.
“It enabled me who was going through chemotherapy to have assistance to drive him to Salmon Arm to the day centre and because of his Alzheimers that was a great way to spend a couple of days a week there and it relieved me,” said Scholton.
According to South Shuswap Rides, other cities are keeping an eye on the program.
“I’ve had several calls looking to duplicate the service and wondering how we did it,” said Demenok.
The society is donation-based, anyone who rides with them is welcome to donate what they can.