What’s Up? with Merlene

A couple of years ago, as I was weaving my children’s after-school athletic or dramatic programs into my work schedule, I had friends ­doing the same thing as well as ­working in time to shuttle their parents to various ­appointments and outings.
I never understood how they ­managed.
With more of our parents ­living longer and healthier lives, adult children must crunch our time to accommodate our parents’ and children’s schedules. We make such maneuvers either an art form or a road map to anxiety.
Laura Dake, deputy director of Independent Transportation Network Bluegrass, thinks her agency can be of some service.
ITNBluegrass offers ­transportation for seniors 60 and older, and for adults who are visually impaired.
“It’s for people who don’t want to, don’t like to or can’t drive,” Dake said. “They may still drive but feel comfortable driving in the day, but not at night or when it rains or on Nicholasville Road.”
Volunteers, who undergo some training and background checks, drive their own automobiles to ferry ITNBluegrass members throughout Fayette County.
Qualifying members pay a $50 annual fee to join, then set up an account from which the cost of each trip is deducted. No cash is paid to the drivers, and no tipping is ­allowed.
“Adult children can’t take off work all the time,” Dake said.
Barry Russell has found that to be true.
Russell’s stepfather, John Franklin, 78, attends the Alzheimer’s ­Association’s Best Friends Center, and Russell’s mother, Patricia ­Franklin, 77, likes to get her hair done now and again.
With ITN, Russell said, he can run errands for them, while ­others take over those transportation duties.
“Being a caregiver is a hard job,” he said. “My wife and I work full-time and have to take care of ourselves, too.”
He said they have been using the service since July, when it opened on a small scale to work out all the bugs.
There will be a forum Saturday at The Kentucky Theatre, during which the public can learn more about the program, and question its national founder and president, Katherine Freund.
Twenty years ago, Freund’s 3-year-old son was injured when when he was struck by an automobile driven by an elderly man. Freund realized the transportation needs of the elderly were not being met, and she started ITN in Portland, Maine, in 1995.
The forum begins at 8:30 a.m, with a continental breakfast and music. Freund will speak at 9.
At 10 a.m., there will be a free showing of Young@Heart, a 2007 documentary about a group of 24 ­seniors in Northampton, Mass., who overcame ­illnesses and a strenuous rehearsal schedule to ­perform rock and roll.
At 10 a.m., Monday, the program will start on its official 24 hour-a-day, seven day-a-week schedule, with Vice Mayor Jim Gray as the ceremonial first volunteer driver.
The cost to use ITNBluegrass varies, depending on the distance traveled. There is a $3 fee for pick-up and then $1.80 a mile.
For example, it is about 71/2 miles from my house to Fayette Mall. If I were a qualified member and wanted a ride to the mall and back, I would pay the $3 pick-up fee twice, plus $13.50 each way, for a total of $33.
The average taxi charges a $2.50 initial fee, plus $2.50 a mile. The same round-trip to the mall in a taxi would be $42.50, not counting a tip.
On LexTran, a senior would pay $1 round trip for a ride to the mall.
But, Dake said, “People who are older do not take taxis or public transportation. They either rely on friends and family or on government transportation.”
ITNBluegrass, a 501(c) 3 non-profit, offers better customer service, including carrying purchases into the home for the member, she said. With no money exchanged, it’s more like a friend or family member driving them around.
Dake said ITN is a hybrid model between business or charitable enterprise.
“Riders pay about half the true cost of their rides, so about half of our revenue comes from rider fares and memberships and the other half from ­community support and grants,” she said. “We do not take taxpayer money.”
An added benefit of the program is its use as a tool for families and physicians to persuade their loved ones to give up their car keys, Dake said.
For more information about the program and Saturday’s kickoff, or to volunteer as a driver, call (859) 252-8665.