Cut-rate cabs get seniors to medical care
North Hempstead has offered seniors use of a non-emergency medical taxi service that provides rides to doctors appointments for half off the medicare cost for a cab ride. Glenda Artsis, 63, has multiple sclerosis and uses the service at least twice a week to go to physical therapy. (May 10, 2011) Credit: Howard Schnapp
Glenda Artsis stopped driving three years ago, but she isn't homebound or entirely dependent on friends thanks to an innovative Town of North Hempstead taxi service.
Artsis, 63, of Great Neck, has become a frequent customer of the year-old Project Independence reduced-rate taxi service to nonemergency medical visits for residents age 60 and older. What had been a $15 fare to a physical therapy appointment now costs her $4.
"It's really a life saver," said Artsis, who uses the service at least twice a week. "Seniors really have difficulties with making ends meet and they really want to stay in their own homes. This helps."
North Hempstead launched Project Independence in 2009 as a broad-based initiative to give older residents access to health screenings, exercise programs, support groups and educational opportunities.
In April 2010, the town added the subsidized taxi rides in town and to Garden City. Since then, residents have made 11,732 trips, said Evelyn Roth, commissioner of the town's Department of Services for the Aging.
Participating taxi companies charge reduced fares that vary by location and fuel use.
Without the low-cost service, residents "would be spending a lot more on transportation and a lot less on necessities," she said.
Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman said he recently met with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) about using Project Independence as a model for a national taxi grant program. Gillibrand's office did not respond to requests for comment.
William Stoner, AARP's associate state director for livable communities, said North Hempstead had created "a great approach with this transportation option." The town, he said, is "probably one of the few or only ones doing this."
To use the service, riders call the town's 311 hotline to schedule a ride. They pay half the cost of the trip. The rest is billed to the town.
North Hempstead has paid about $6,250 in fares, Roth said. The program has allowed the town to eliminate a minimally used senior bus program, saving about $250,000 a year, Kaiman said.
A taxi ride from North Hills to Lake Success would typically cost $19, but totals $7.50 for Project Independence, said Andrea Majer, owner of Delux Transportation Services in Port Washington, one of four participating taxi companies.
"I think this is one of the most amazing things," she said. "The seniors are taking a little bit. The town is paying a little bit and Delux is taking a little bit by charging less."
A 2011 Hofstra University study found 89 percent of program participants surveyed would recommend the service.
"We get many repeat users," said Ed Lucas, a 311 call-taker. "Some of the seniors are so grateful that they're breaking into tears."
