By David Tyler
Senior residents of the Minoa/Kirkville/Bridgeport area who rely on Senior Adult Transportation Service will now be driven to grocery stores and doctor’s appointments in a new set of wheels.
Last Thursday, the service took ownership of a new bus with a handicapped lift gate to replace a 2008 model the organization had been using. About 20% of the cost of bus was provided by the Minoa/Bridgeport/Kirkville Ecumenical Council. The remainder was provided by a state grant and facilitated by the Onondaga County Office of the Aging.
The program offers transportation services to senior citizens 60 years and older, as well as younger individuals with mobility handicaps that prevent them from using other forms of transportation.
About 15 to 20 people regularly take advantage of the program to go grocery shopping on Mondays and Wednesdays. Dozens of others use the service for trips to doctor’s and dentist’s appointments. Free trips to Senior Adult Ministry (SAM) programs, which include lunch, exercise and social activities, are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The program was started in 2008.
“The purpose was to get them out of the house and get them into the community,” said Pastor Roosevelt Baum, who helped launch the program when he was the pastor at the Minoa United Methodist Church at the time.
“It’s just a blessing to have this bus to continue on serving the elderly and disabled in this community,” said Diane Taylor, who has been president of the Ecumenical Council since 2001. “I love being a part of this. We’re really blessed … we truly are.”
Following a brief blessing by Pastor Janet Gleason of the Minoa United Methodist Church, Louise Russell of Bridgeport rolled her walker over to the handicapped lift gate for the inaugural trip up into the bus. She uses the service for transportation to doctor’s appointments, the grocery store and to go out to lunch.
“You can’t even tell it’s moving,” she said, as the gathering applauded.
The service is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There is a suggested donation of $4 for one-way trips and $8 for round trips.
Reservations for trips to medical appointments should be made five days in advance by calling (315) 454-2740 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
