Norwalk Senior Center to end transportation service at end of year
They will stop providing the transportation service at the end of the year.
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The Norwalk Senior Center has informed members that it will stop providing transportation service at the end of the year. It is a service that many use to get to and from the building.
"It gives us an opportunity to talk with people who are our ages," said Dolores Roman, a legally blind member who says she is at the Senior Center five days a week. "It's really a wonderful place to come to, and it gives you a reason and a purpose to get up every morning."
Roman estimates that around 40 people take advantage of the service each day.
"The van also provides other services. It takes them shopping, and it takes them other places as needed," explained Santos Cancel, another member.
"You feel secure in the van because you know the driver, he knows you, he knows your needs," added Roman.
Both say members of the center were caught off guard when they received the letter saying that Dec. 31 would be the last day of the service.
"I was extremely upset and disappointed," said Roman. "Not just for myself, but for the other members here."
In a statement, the Center tells News 12, “Recently, steep increases of operational costs, especially insurances & maintenance for our fleet of 3 mini-buses surpass our limited resources."
"There was a lot of dissatisfaction, a lot of sadness and some of the members felt as if they were hopeless," Roman said.
To make sure all of the members still have a way to get there, the center says it will be offering information and assistance about Norwalk's city bus system, including staff helping everyone out with the on-demand Wheels 2U shuttle service
"It is going to be something new," said Cancel. "(Members) would have to eventually adapt to a different environment, a different driver."
As well as a new price. The current center-provided service is $20 for a month, while Wheels 2U charges $2 for each one-way trip.
That means someone going Monday through Friday would be spending that same $20 in just a week, if all they use it for is going to and from the center.
"I've spoken to a number of people. Now they're saying 'I may not be able to come five days a week, I may not be able to afford to,'" said Roman, who also has concerns about availability.
"There's been many times where they've said due to high incidents of calls, 'you're going to need to call back in 15 minutes,'" she explained. "They don't really have that many Wheels 2U vans out when it’s around the time we need to be picked up."
The center says it will be working with the Norwalk Transit District to try to make sure all of the members are able to get the service that they need.
