An organization providing cheap transportation to medical appointments and food bank pickups in southeastern New Brunswick is searching for more volunteers.
Volunteers with Urban/Rural Rides say demand keeps growing as the cost of living prices more and more people out of owning a vehicle.
Getting around New Brunswick isn’t easy without a car, and the service provides much-needed transportation to those who need it. The fee for the program is subsidized based on their clients’ income.
The service helps a number of clients, such as 70-year-old Nancy Tingley of Riverview, who can’t drive or take the bus due to medical reasons.
“I have to wait for a half an hour to transfer buses on Main Street, and a cab would cost me $100 just for what I need today,” she said.
Volunteer Louise Tingley said it’s a rewarding program to be a part of.
“I feel very good by helping people. I love how grateful they are,” said Tingley, who is related to Nancy by marriage.
“We see a lot of people that have cancer treatments that have to go two or three times a week, or two or three times a month, and we’re the friendly face that they see when we pick them up.”
Kelly Taylor, executive director of Urban/Rural Rides, says the service has around 700 clients, most of whom are referred by agencies.
“Inflation, things are costing more than they used to — it’s really putting a pinch on the lower income, the families and the working poor, making it difficult or impossible to operate a vehicle,” she said.
But a lack of volunteers is making the service difficult to operate.
“We won’t deny people to become part of the service, but there are times when we have to deny transportation because we don’t have people available,” said Taylor.
Urban/Rural Rides currently has about 100 volunteers in Moncton, Fredericton, and various rural areas in southeastern New Brunswick.
As the province’s population grows, University of New Brunswick transportation expert Trevor Hanson says it’s going to take a long time to shift to a less car-dependent way of life.
“If you live in a city and you have to drive to four or five different places to meet your needs, we have to think of, ‘Do we change how we do our land-use planning in a way to reduce demand?'”
— with files from Alex Cooke