My dad recently gave up his license to drive and I can't bring him to all his appts. Any suggestions on senior transportation?

This post is from October.

Council on Aging here does a shuttle bus for doctor appointments.

https://www.aoascc.org/Services/Support-to-Live-at-Home/Transportation-Options/

In Los Angeles there’s a door-to-door bus service called Access. It’s less than $2/ride and caregivers who accompany the patient ride free. Access also can accommodate walkers and wheelchairs. I signed my Dad up for that as well as creating Uber and Lyft accounts. When I can’t drive him, I call one of them to arrange and pay for his transport to and from the doctor.

Ohio has a program called Passport. You can set up an account that will be billed automatically when they use a taxi service. Not sure what you do about tipping.

my parents small town has a Senior Transport service. Residents get 2 weekly non-medical trips and as many medical ones as needed. The rider has to be able to get in and out of the vehicle without assistance. It was a life savior and gave my parents a lot of independence.

You might also consider Uber or another ride-sharing option. Trips can be arranged in advance and you can select the driver you want.

Also check into the town bus service. In Columbus you as arrange to be picked up by a small city bus and taken to and from an appointment. I had a friend with MS who used it to get to weekly yoga classes.

If you live in a big enough city, the county will have "mini-buses" that can pick them and drop them off. Check your county online or with the Department of Aging.

Well, can he go back to driving again...that seems like it would fix your problems, or possibly check if your county of city has a Share-a Ride Option for seniors over 65, or the disabled, and possibly Uber for some trips, and perhaps a Bus at times, or local civic transportation at a severely reduced cost.
there are many options, unless you are in a Rural area, but if you are in a larger City, there a numerous possibilities.
Check with you local Civic Organizations, or even check to see if his Medicare program offers transportation, and now that we are in the Choose a new Medicare Program time until early in December, you could change his Medicare Program to an Advantage Program, and many of them offer transportation to their physicians visits. But make sure that they cover all his medications, and the physicians he needs.
So there you go, and I hope that I at least helped a little bit.
Good luck to you and your Father.

Both mine and my wife's insurance (Medicare supplements, different companies) provide for rides to dr's appts. I don't use mine as I still drive but I use it for her wheelchair only non-transferable.

If your father is OK mentally, he should be able to take Uber or Lyft or regular cabs if he doesn't use a smartphone. I've had to do that a lot since I gave up driving, but it's still much less expensive than owning a car! I keep track of all my medical rides(with receipts), and in the years when I have enough medical deductions to itemize, I deduct these costs.

Most county social services organizations has a Senior support department. And most of these have a Senior shuttle service and it is FREE! My step Mother used in Fla. THE one where we live Kitsap County, WA my in laws never used but I looked into it and is an excellent program. My little sister in central Illinois job is driving one of these Senior support vans.

Do some research, ask your Fathers Doctor office.

In Austin TC, the city has a senior transport program. There are several non profits that have volunteers that do this also. You could order an uber and have a payment option already set up in app. Some home health aides will transport

Uber or cab will be the best for him (if he can walk into the office on his own) in regard to pick up time, drop off at dr, and return drive. Some of the county/state transportation systems (as offered to Medicaid Patients) can sometimes leave a person waiting for a return trip for many hours because they are handling multiple patients.

If he gets any home health care, you could ask that agency about transportation. Just do a google search for your area, nonemergency medical transportation. I looked up a few around Texas and found $25 pick up plus $3 per mile for an ambulatory patient. Higher if in a wheel chair. There may also be a neighbor who could use a little income now and then.

Diandrea517: In Hamden, CT, I located "Piggyback Rides, LLC." Plus I would also check his town's Council on Aging as they should offer rides to physician appointments for nominal fees.

Have you tried local agencies?

Here, they have senior support. They drive you to your appointments and wait for you, Then, they drive you home.

It is not expensive.

Find your local city or County Area on Aging. They should be able to give you free or very inexpensive transportation ideas for elderly.

If you live in or near a big city, public transportation at a very low expense and with great care for the disabled is probably available. My handicapped daughter uses thepublic assisted transportation available in my city. It is very safe, courteous, and trustworthy. it is only $2 per trip.Also, possibly, there are churchesd who help with such needs.That kind of assistance is also available where I live.Call your city government and also large nearby churches, and possiblyarea agencies on aging. God bless you.In addition, all good assisted living facilities do provide transportation for their residents. Love

Because my parents both needed assistance traveling and attending their doctor appointments I scheduled the appointments to fit my little free time. As dad declined and needed a heavy wheelchair we used a patient wheelchair transport service. Dad passed and now mom uses a visiting physician service and we are thrilled. Lab draws, urine checks and even basic x-rays are done at her apartment. Often we do a virtual visit with her doctor.

Check with family and friends and Churches.

Also call Senior places and inquire about Volunteers that will drive someone to their Dr's appointment.
You might also check with their Insurance and see if they can help.

Yoy can also see if some of his appointments can be virtual.

Home care charges $.70 cents per
mile with 4 hour shift. Maybe hire them once a week or uber

My Medicare advantage plan has a number of free rides to doctor appointments. Since this is the time of year to sign up for 2021, you can go to Medicare.gov and compare advantage plans for his county.

You don’t mention his age or condition at all— my father into his mid eighties was driving, went out places here and there and was quite capable of getting about on his own— if he had decided to stop driving he would have easily been able to take a cab, in fact I know my father would have never wanted to go in a special “senior” transport service out of his own dignity and pride, it was good for his spirit to have as much independence as possible, in his case bc his age and health weren’t a factor in being able to safely do so— for someone like him being told to take a senior service would have been insulting and depressing to his strong need for independence and dignity

From the little you said it sounds like he just needs a ride but doesn’t require an aide to help him, is that correct? If that’s the case he could use a low pay ride service such as Lyft or Uber, unless his health is a real concern or factor that would necessitate using a special senior transport

Contact the local department of transportation and they will send an application for the paratransit services offered for seniors and disabled individuals.

Please help him fill it out or the answers could cause some serious challenges to getting him approved.

Depending on his physical challenges the price for the rides are scaled down, in my city a visually impaired person gets a ride for 1 dollar and their companion rides free.

They also offer taxi vouchers at a huge discount.

I would personally schedule his appointments when they were convenient for me, that way I knew what was going on with his health. That is based on my personal experience with my dad.

Best of luck and tell dad I said "Well done! for giving up the car! Takes a caring person to think about others and make that difficult choice".

You can check with the city where he lives - some places have a senior van which he can sign up to use. Check with the public transportation system in your area and explain what you need - I have a friend who used this for years with her 90+ year old grandmother. Some medical facilities have their own van which will get people to/from appointments (but not anywhere else, obviously). There is also private transport from numerous different companies which can be arranged and paid for, but it's quite expensive. One thing I'll caution you about would be that if your dad needs a lot of help with things, make sure the driver can and will help with that. For example, some drivers are not allowed to lock/unlock doors to the house and are not allowed inside the home per company policy so the person needs to be ready to go, door locked, and waiting outside for the ride. Some drivers are not allowed to assist a person up/down their front steps or roll someone up/down a ramp in a wheelchair. I'm sure there are other things. And, you also need to make sure that someone will be meeting your dad on the other end of the ride. Often, the driver will deliver the person curbside but will not necessarily walk the person to their appointment (often they will not). Also make sure that everyone understands how the return ride home will work (i.e. Is the driver coming back at a certain time, or is he/she going to wait to be called to come back). Just some things I've run into which I hope are helpful.

If your dad is a veteran, some veteran organizations have volunteers that will drive to appointments. Check with your local VA.
Our church also has a volunteer service to drive elderly people to doctor appointments. You could check local faith communities.
If you need someone to actually attend the appointment and take notes or ask questions, you can hire an Aging Lifecare specialist. Check aginglifecare.org

Some public transportation services have special services for Seniors or "dis-abled". In some cases the mini bus or van will pick up at your house and will drop you off at the location and return for you when you call or at a prearranged time. Some Senior Centers have Volunteers that will bring someone to a Doctor appointment or to the store.
Then there is Cab, Uber, Lyft or other share ride service.

Start scheduling his appointments on your time schedule

Call your local Area Agency on Aging or your state Dept.of Aging for options.

Council on Aging in my area has shuttle buses. Check to see if that is available for you.

Best wishes to you.

Uber, Lyft, senior services in his town, and there are even Uber-type companies specifically for seniors.

Check with a senior center in his area for recommendations.