For 25 years, Kamsack’s handicapped residents have been able to get the transportation they need around the community by making use of the Kamsack Handibus.
Because 75 per cent of the capital cost of the vehicle is provided by the provincial government, the service must be managed by a committee of six volunteers plus a representative from town council.
But two of those volunteers who have been on the committee the entire 25 years have decided to resign.
With those two resignations, and at least one other vacancy, it means the Handibus service needs a few more people to continue.
The committee sets policies and procedures for clients’ use of the bus which are then incorporated into a Handibus pamphlet that is handed out to new clients, said Darlene Brown, the committee’s treasurer, who with Zennovia Duch, the president, has been on the committee since its inception.
Committee members are expected to attend all meetings which are held quarterly, Brown said. They are also expected to understand the nature of transit service with regards to several items, including who has access to the bus, client needs and expectations to ride the bus, how to operate the bus, days of operation and fees.
“It’s time for new thoughts and ideas,” Duch said, adding that the bus provides a great service to the community’s handicapped.
To help prove the bus’s value, Brown provided statistics from 2017, when the bus provided 2,206 trips of which 45 per cent were for shopping or personal reasons; 32 per cent were for medical reasons, and 24 per cent were for visiting.
The bus averages 10 passengers a day and it is on the road four days a week. The unit is the second bus the committee has owned and it is now 10 years old, which is about time to soon consider a replacement, according to the committee.
“We can seat 16 people at one time with four dedicated spots for clients in wheelchairs,” Brown explained.
Denise Podovinnikoff is now in her third year as the driver of the bus. There are two other drivers on a substitute list plus a couple members of the staff of the nursing home are authorized to use the bus for outings for nursing home residents.
The basic fare is $6 for a return trip, Duch said, adding that there is a reduced fare for groups travelling and she said that gift certificates in whatever amount one wishes may be purchased.
A survey of several communities that have similar handibus services indicates that Kamsack has the lowest fees of them all, Brown said.
These gift certificates are great gifts not only at Christmas but for Mother’s Day or Easter, she said.
But the important thing right now is to have a full committee to help oversee the bus’s operations, Duch said, encouraging persons interested to contact either her at 306 590 7676 or Brown at 306 542 7368.
