CityVan shuttles to serve seniors during bus strike
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By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
The city is throwing a lifeline to seniors today by expanding its CityVan shuttle service to transport elderly people stranded by the bus strike to shopping centers, pharmacies and senior centers.
For more information about the Senior Van Program, call the Senior Hotline at 523-4545 or visit the city's Web site.
Business and community volunteers will drive 40 seven-passenger vans to assist seniors who have had difficulty getting around since 1,300 bus workers went on strike Aug. 26.
Information
"The need is really the senior who typically goes down the morning, gets on the bus, goes to McDonald's and spends the morning and goes shopping, picks up their prescription at Longs and then comes back," Mayor Jeremy Harris said. "Those people are basically trapped now in their housing facility."
For those with no one to drive them around, "this is meant to be a lifeline for them to be able to resume their normal life with this bus strike," he said.
Harris said van drivers will not be asking for proof of age from passengers.
The Senior Van Program has four elements:
- Expansion of the Downtown/Chinatown-Kalihi Shuttle: The shuttle service, which is not limited to seniors, has been expanded to include two additional stops. The vans will now run between the Chinatown Gateway Park, Kohou Street behind 7-Eleven, Kapalama Elementary School on School Street, near Lanakila Avenue on School Street, North King Street across from the Kalihi Shopping Center and on School Street near Kamehameha IV Road across from 7-Eleven. The last two sites are the new stops. No reservations are needed.
- Kupuna Shuttle: Vans will bring residents of large senior housing facilities to local shopping centers, pharmacies and grocery stores. Those wishing to use the service should see the manager of their housing facility to make a reservation.
- Senior Center Transport: Vans will bring passengers from their homes to the Lanakila and Mo'ili'ili senior centers, with door-to-door service in the morning and afternoon. Interested seniors should see the manager of their senior center to arrange a pick-up time.
- Senior Center Holoholo: Seniors already at the Lanakila and Mo'ili'ili senior centers can take a midday shuttle to shopping and other locations.
Reach Treena Shapiro at 525-8070 or tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Correction: Residents of senior housing facilities who want to use the Kupuna Shuttle vans should see their facility manager for reservations. Also, those who want van service to senior centers should arrange a time through the manager of their senior center. They do not need to ask facility managers to call the phone number listed in a previous version of this story.
