AP: Seniors trade in old cars for rides when they need them

[question everything]

Seniors trade in old cars for rides when they need them

Program safely puts their wheels on call

By David Sharp
ASSOCIATED PRESS

January 17, 2006

PORTLAND, Maine – Margaret Emmons had not driven in more than 20 years. So when her husband died last fall, she had no use for their 1997 Ford Taurus. Rather than sell it or give it away, she decided to trade it for rides through the Independent Transportation Network. Now, all she has to do is call for someone to come and give her a lift, perhaps even in her old car.

Begun a decade ago, the Portland area's Independent Transportation Network provided 15,200 rides to senior citizens last year with no taxpayer money for operations. The concept of trading in cars for rides is geared, in part, to getting elderly motorists off the road when they can no longer drive safely. The program was the brainchild of a mother whose son was run over by an elderly driver.

The Portland idea is catching on. This year, pilot programs are being launched in Santa Monica, Orlando, Fla., Charleston, S.C., and the Trenton, N.J., area. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, plans to propose a five-year, $25 million federal grant program to take the idea nationwide.

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Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060117/news_1n17cars.html

[freeplessinseattle]

1. what a wonderful idea! n/t