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Not difficult situations. We're talking physically tight spots.
Dave Kilmer, RRTA's executive director, on Monday announced the addition of eight new Chrysler minivans to the Red Rose Access fleet, which will help the service's drivers reach elderly and disabled passengers who live in tough-to-reach locations.
"We've had some real difficulties over the years getting into some people's driveways," Kilmer said.
Red Rose Access is RRTA's "paratransit" door-to-door service for elderly and disabled county residents.
The service provides about 340,000 trips each year throughout the county and beyond to places such as Hershey Medical Center.
Until now, Red Rose Access utilized the RRTA's fleet of 43 14-passenger, full-size vans that Kilmer said burn a lot of fuel and are not suited for maneuvering in tight quarters.
When a full-size van is used to pick up a passenger who lives in a narrow alley or similarly troublesome location, Kilmer said, the driver might have to park away from the building and the passenger must walk or be wheeled in a chair farther to get to the van.
"We found we had a real need for smaller vehicles for getting into tighter places and if we're traveling longer distances with only one or two passengers," he said.
The past few years, RRTA has been receiving about $100,000 per year from the federal New Freedom Initiative, which is designed to help the disabled integrate more fully into their communities.
RRTA saved that money to buy the eight wheelchair-accessible minivans at a total cost of $349,848 from Rohrer Bus Sales in Duncannon.
Each minivan is capable of carrying five ambulatory passengers, or one person in a wheelchair and three ambulatory passengers.
RRTA's Red Rose Access providers, Easton Coach Co. and Eshbach Bus Service, have the vans and are inspecting them to make sure all the equipment works properly, according to Kilmer.
Drivers are expected to train in the new vehicles soon, and they should be out on the streets within the next two weeks.
The full-size vans still will be in use, Kilmer said, but the minivans can be deployed when the Red Rose Access providers know a passenger lives in a hard-to-reach place and when a trip for only one or two passengers is scheduled.
"Basically, they're going to give us more flexibility," he said.
E-mail: preilly@lnpnews.com
