The Franklin Regional Transit Authority recently provided the Southwick Senior Center an additional bus for the town’s elderly residents. The new bus has a 14-person capacity and a wheelchair lift, which is shown in the photo.
Reminder Publishing photo by Cliff Clark
SOUTHWICK — For Senior Center Director Lisa Anderson, the addition of a second bus for senior citizens that need rides to doctor’s appointments or to buy groceries was a real need.
“Before, we were only in Springfield two days a week. Now I don’t have to say no to people. If they want to go to Springfield, they can on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,” Anderson said about the brand-new bus that was provided by the Franklin Regional Transit Authority a few weeks ago.
Anderson said that when she was appointed as the center’s director, she realized the need for additional transportation options for the town’s elderly residents.
One of the reasons was because of the feedback she was getting from other elderly residents in town asking why, when they were at a doctor’s appointment in Agawam, for example, did they always see buses from the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority dropping off people.
“If you live in Westfield, in the PVTA district, you can get wherever you need to go, but in Southwick, it’s either your family or a ride share,” she said.
The Senior Center, which coordinates the bus schedule, was also having to say no to dialysis patients.
“With the new bus, we can’t refuse them anymore,” Anderson said, adding that there are three or four dialysis patients in town who need to go to the treatment center at least three times a week.
With those needs, Anderson said she approached the town’s Chief Administrative Officer Nicole Parker to find a solution.
Anderson said Parker, working with Michael Perrault, the deputy administrator for the FRTA, “figured it out” by providing a new bus from the authority with drivers provided by Hulmes Transportation Services.
Before the new bus arrived, the center could only offer rides from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, but now the two are available for use 8 a.m to 4 p.m.
Hulmes Transportation Services driver Donna Hartman will be the primary driver of the new bus.
And it is brand new, she said, with seating for 14 and a lift for those who are wheelchair bound.
“It’s really nice,” Hartman said while showing it off and waiting for her first pickup of the day.
Anderson also said Parker will be exploring offering the bus service for the elderly in Granville and Tolland.
“I think it’ll be great for Tolland and Granville if we can” said Denise Siebert, the center’s transportation coordinator.
The additional bus means more coordination from Siebert, who said she urges everyone planning to use one of the buses to contact her at least a week in advance, but a longer lead time is preferable.
“I like to know as soon as possible even if it’s six months away,” she said.
She understands the importance of the service, especially for those elderly residents who live alone.
Siebert spoke of a group of elderly women, some who lived alone, that would use the bus service and twice a week the bus would take them to a fast-service restaurant.
“We would drop them off at McDonald’s and pick them up. They lived alone. They just want to go out,” she said.
She spoke of another woman who would schedule a drop off and pick up at Congamond Lakes.
“We’d drop her off and pick her up and hour later,” Siebert said.
One of the interesting aspects of the service is that it is paperless and there is little or no contact between the drivers and Siebert.
She said she inputs the ride schedule into an FRTA computer program and the drivers download the schedule each day and just follow it.
