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Log inGas costs sap volunteer drivers
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Gas costs sap volunteer drivers
by Outspoken on Tue Jul 08, 2008 8:26 am
Gas costs sap volunteer drivers
By Meg Haskell
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News
The high price of gasoline is affecting everybody, including agencies dedicated to providing transportation to medical appointments and other health-related destinations. Three area agencies said Monday that they are still managing to transport the poor, the elderly and others who can’t drive themselves, but they anticipate harder times ahead.
At the Penquis agency in Bangor, Galen LaVertue, manager of the state-subsidized Lynx transportation system, said "the impact is huge" for his program, which uses unpaid drivers to transport people in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties an estimated 3 million to 4 million miles each year. LaVertue said seven of his approximately 100 volunteer drivers have dropped out of the program in the past two months because of the high cost of fuel.
He anticipates more volunteer drivers will leave as time goes on.
"Right now, it’s people helping people," LaVertue said. "But pretty soon, I think some of the helpers are going to need help themselves. This is going to be a really hard winter."
Penquis contracts with the state Department of Health and Human Services to drive people to medical appointments, supervised child custody visits, drug treatment programs, court dates and other meetings. Trained volunteers are reimbursed 44 cents per mile, up from 36 cents at this time last year, LaVertue said.
With a gallon of gas now averaging about $4.13, it’s time for another increase, but DHHS is cash-strapped, too, he said. While some drivers are willing to absorb the added cost in the name of volunteerism, LaVertue said the majority of his drivers depend on their assignments to actually make a small profit. A dedicated driver who works six or seven days a week and is willing to take long trips used to be able to come out a little ahead, he said, but now the price of gas, added to the cost of vehicle maintenance and repair, makes for a losing proposition.
LaVertue added that gas prices also are driving up demand for transportation services.
The Lynx program’s six- and eight-passenger vans are being kept busy, but Penquis has not upped fares in response to the gas crisis.
"We want people to be able to afford it," LaVertue said, because the more people who use the buses, the more efficient the system will be. Currently a Lynx van trip to Bangor from outlying communities such as Dover-Foxcroft and Greenville costs between $4 and $7 per passenger each way. The vans are not especially fuel-efficient, LaVertue noted, and he’s considering converting them to use less-expensive biodiesel fuel.
The state currently pays people enrolled in MaineCare, Maine’s Medicaid program, 22 cents per mile to drive their own vehicles to medical appointments.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=166821&zoneid=500
By Meg Haskell
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News
The high price of gasoline is affecting everybody, including agencies dedicated to providing transportation to medical appointments and other health-related destinations. Three area agencies said Monday that they are still managing to transport the poor, the elderly and others who can’t drive themselves, but they anticipate harder times ahead.
At the Penquis agency in Bangor, Galen LaVertue, manager of the state-subsidized Lynx transportation system, said "the impact is huge" for his program, which uses unpaid drivers to transport people in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties an estimated 3 million to 4 million miles each year. LaVertue said seven of his approximately 100 volunteer drivers have dropped out of the program in the past two months because of the high cost of fuel.
He anticipates more volunteer drivers will leave as time goes on.
"Right now, it’s people helping people," LaVertue said. "But pretty soon, I think some of the helpers are going to need help themselves. This is going to be a really hard winter."
Penquis contracts with the state Department of Health and Human Services to drive people to medical appointments, supervised child custody visits, drug treatment programs, court dates and other meetings. Trained volunteers are reimbursed 44 cents per mile, up from 36 cents at this time last year, LaVertue said.
With a gallon of gas now averaging about $4.13, it’s time for another increase, but DHHS is cash-strapped, too, he said. While some drivers are willing to absorb the added cost in the name of volunteerism, LaVertue said the majority of his drivers depend on their assignments to actually make a small profit. A dedicated driver who works six or seven days a week and is willing to take long trips used to be able to come out a little ahead, he said, but now the price of gas, added to the cost of vehicle maintenance and repair, makes for a losing proposition.
LaVertue added that gas prices also are driving up demand for transportation services.
The Lynx program’s six- and eight-passenger vans are being kept busy, but Penquis has not upped fares in response to the gas crisis.
"We want people to be able to afford it," LaVertue said, because the more people who use the buses, the more efficient the system will be. Currently a Lynx van trip to Bangor from outlying communities such as Dover-Foxcroft and Greenville costs between $4 and $7 per passenger each way. The vans are not especially fuel-efficient, LaVertue noted, and he’s considering converting them to use less-expensive biodiesel fuel.
The state currently pays people enrolled in MaineCare, Maine’s Medicaid program, 22 cents per mile to drive their own vehicles to medical appointments.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=166821&zoneid=500
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Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
