Gasoline Prices Impacting Transportation Service

Guest Blog Post: Steve Maricque, Executive Director, American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter

The steady increase in gasoline prices has impacted the lives of many in our community.  This impact is no different on our Transportation service here at the American Red Cross. Our service provides rides to medical appointments, the grocery store or employment for individuals over 60 or with a disability to enable those individuals to maintain a self-sufficient lifestyle.

Typically in a month, we will spend $8,000 on gasoline.  The increased gasoline price has raised that expense 25% to now $10,000 a month.  The Transportation service is primarily funded through state funds that are passed down to the local level and managed through Brown County via the Aging and Disability Resource Center.  This is where the majority of funds are provided to support the service.  Additional funding is provided by the United Way of Brown County, individual donors and a minimal rider fee. 

This overall funding and our investment several years ago in an automated transportation scheduling and routing software and staffing changes has enabled us to manage the increasing cost of gasoline and maintain our fee of $2.00 a ride at this time.

It has been almost 5 years since we last raised our rider fee 50 cents to its current level.  We understand the need to maintain a low cost transportation option for those on fixed incomes.  If gasoline prices continue to rise, we will engage our current funding partners to request additional assistance along with asking for help from our community donors.

We will continue to do everything we can to maintain our service at its current fee level to meet the transportation needs of our clients. 

Your support and help is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Steven J. Maricque