When Patsy Nickens injured her foot two years ago, a hospital social worker encouraged her to register with Baltimore County’s transportation service, CountyRide. She still owns her vehicle, but Nickens says she prefers CountyRide whenever she goes shopping or visits her doctor.
“I don’t really know what I would do without them,” said Nickens, 66. “When you get to this age, you don’t know what’s going to happen. People won’t know how they’re going to need [CountyRide] until they need it.”
CountyRide provides prearranged transportation for medical appointments, shopping and other general trips to rural residents and people who are age 60 and older or who have a disability. Nickens of Windsor Mill said she’s grateful the program is ongoing, and that service has become more available due to declining demand.
Since the pandemic hit, the number of requested rides declined by more than a third. The program provided 1,918 trips last month, compared to 3,393 trips in July 2019. But those rides are more expensive as the program adds safety procedures and equipment. And long-term, demand is rising as Baltimore County grows older — one in four residents will be age 60 or older this year, according to county projections.
Laura Riley, the director of Baltimore County’s Department of Aging, told the county council the program is getting more ride requests as the county reopens in phases. The council recently approved an “emergency allocation” of nearly $190,000 from the Maryland Department of Transportation’s federal coronavirus funds.
The money will be used to cover expenses ranging from personal protective equipment to additional essential pay for CountyRide drivers who put themselves on the front lines to transport citizens during the pandemic, according to a county spokesman.
Those funds will be used to support drivers like Diane Krause, who quipped on a recent August morning that she “luckily enough” has Lysol. Krause said she typically drove 150 miles a day during her six years with the program.
“In the very beginning when we didn’t know much about [the coronavirus] I was pretty anxious but I’m not now,” Krause said. “I’m doing what I’m supposed to do, and our clients are doing what they’re supposed to do.”
To reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19, drivers now serve two passengers at a time on the bus for each trip to maintain social distancing. Everyone onboard required to wear a mask, and rides are being provided to any location within the county except for senior centers, which remain closed. Drivers also sanitize vehicles after each trip.
Krause said drivers are also providing food distribution during the pandemic. Drivers bring food to senior centers and sometimes drivers will bring food and essentials directly to clients who lack the mobility to get resources on their own.
“We’re a link to people who need to get around,” Krause said. “Our service is something that many people cannot do without, and they couldn’t do without it prior to the pandemic.”
CountyRide was near capacity before coronavirus slowed down demand, Riley said. The county denied approximately 11,000 ride requests a year because the program didn’t have the capacity. The rising demand spurred the county council to approve a contract with ride share company Uber — worth about $25,000 — to provide additional transportation for residents eligible for CountyRide.
Normally CountyRide operates Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., but clients will have access to rides from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Uber. The contract also allows for 24/7 service in an effort to allow for increased capacity.
Uber is planning to give the county access to a virtual dashboard for all ride data to allow the county to schedule and pay for the rides and to keep the client’s information confidential. The dashboard will also allow the county to schedule rides up to 30 days in advance. Uber, according to the council’s fiscal notes, will only be used for short trips, and clients will continue to be charged the standard $6 round trip fare for the usual CountyRide program.
Uber will start providing rides in the “next few weeks,” county spokesman Sean Naron said. The county anticipates Uber will provide up to 1,500 trips in fiscal year 2021. CountyRide’s partnership with Uber will be paid through county General Funds and not federal coronavirus funding, Naron said.
The money to the CountyRide program will cover essential pay expenses incurred earlier in 2020 related to COVID-19, Naron said, and the county is planning to use county general funds once the federal coronavirus funding runs out.
Republican Councilman David Marks lauded the county for its “terrific initiative” in partnering with Uber, adding the contract will establish a more “nimble transportation system” for the county. Thomas Kiefer, acting director of Baltimore County Department of Public Works, told the council the contract will also help the county meet demands for rides amid COVID-19.
Nickens, in the meantime, said she often jokes with drivers that weekend service is necessary for her to attend church, but she understands drivers need to spend time with their families. She said it would be “awesome” if Uber successfully complements CountyRide’s services with weekend transportation.
“It’s a blessing,” Nickens said. “I’m just grateful for the program, and I think if you spoke with anybody else they would say the same thing.”