One of the more active topics put to government officials during Mayor Brian Marl’s Senior Conference two weeks ago centered on the quality of roads. It shouldn’t take much of a leap to think that the bigger issue of needing better ways to get around to places all around the greater community is a core concern for the elderly, disabled, others who generally need assistance. [1]
A lot of the advocacy for vehicles that can drive themselves is that it will improve the quality of life for such people by providing expanded access to the world outside of where they live. Robot cars could pick you up at your door and drive you downtown to Mac’s for dinner or Emagine Theatre for a movie. Wouldn’t it be nice to be chaufferred right up to the curb of Busch’s so you can take care of your grocery shopping? [2,3,4]
But what about people who desperately need more than than convenience and “nice”?
Last-mile and basic ridesharing all have a common requirement that the customer is able to get to the pickup points for when they leave and when they return. A mere twenty feet from the door of the house to waiting Uber in the driveway can be a deal breaker — assuming that person is even able to get to their side door in the first place. Lots of people may be thinking now about wheelchairs as a factor. But what about handling walkers or recovering from a mishap with bring-along oxygen?
Access “to the world” isn’t always dining out and entertainment, either. Many people would like to stay in their homes while still needing frequent trips to be seen by their primary care physicians, physical therapists, and specialists. Even those conveniently located right here in the City of Saline. These aren’t ambulance calls dispatched from the Fire Station. [5,6,7,8]
Obviously the need is there. In fact, as Ann Arbor SPARK “Tech Trek” street setups tried to show themselves ready for customers on June 15, they seemed to be a bit out of place along with May Mobility and NAVYA vehicles. Operations such as Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority FlexRide “pilot service” and Chariot were pitching last-mile service, but without autonomous operation. Ford Motor Company GoRide was even more so, showing both here downtown and at the American Center for Mobility the day prior. [9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17]
GoRide is distinguished as a “room to room” transportation service. This means that customers can be picked up from a room within their homes and then conveyed seemlessly to a patient room within their doctor’s facilities. GoRide Operations Lead Sean Zabawa told Saline Journal that they work with both wheelchair-bound and ambulatory patients, completing a mix of on-demand and scheduled runs. Ninety percent of their work is business-to-business, meaning they are contracted by operations such as Beaumont Hospital, which pick up the cost.
Anika Brown, lead presenter for Ford Smart Mobility, went on to say that development is happening “in the healthcare space because that’s where they have funding.”
Dearborn-based GoRide started out with five vehicles last August and now serves about one hundred patients each day. Today they have twenty-five new up-fitted Ford Transit vans in their fleet. “Software is key to routing,” Ms Brown told us. “Global Data Insight and Analytics, which is a division within Ford, manages the nuances of the non-emergency mobility space.” [18]
With a service area that includes Washtenaw County, this represents a solid and necessary value-added for many of the more vulnerable residents of the Saline community. And now that it’s out of the “pilot phase” — with true competition undoubtely making preparations for their own truly parallel alternatives — perhaps we’ll see a presentation here on this in 2019 at the Eighth Annual Saline Mayor’s Senior Conference.
References
- “Seventh Annual Saline Mayor’s Senior Conference Brought Together Most Valuable Community Resources” Dell Deaton (June 22, 2018) Saline Journal.
- Mac’s Acadian Seafood Shack (home page).
- Emagine Entertainment (local theatre).
- Busch’s Fresh Food Market (home page).
- Physical Therapy In Motion (home page).
- Probility Physical Therapy (Saline Clinic page).
- HVA (home page).
- “Saline Area Fire Department” Saline.
- May Mobility (home page).
- Ann Arbor SPARK (home page).
- “A2 Tech Trek” Ann Arbor SPARK.
- NAVYA (home page).
- Ann Arbor Area Transit Authority (“The Ride”) (home page).
- “FlexRide” Ann Arbor Area Transit Authority.
- Chariot (home page).
- GoRide (home page).
- “Ann Arbor SPARK Event Truly Showed Attendees The Bigger Potential Of American Center For Mobility At Willow Run” Dell Deaton (July 10, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “Global Data Insight and Analytics” Ford Motor Company.
