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How are passenger rides scheduled?

Rides are arranged between passengers and their drivers.  This TRIP model feature provides the means for wide geographical service in far flung rural areas.  It also provides the maximum convenience for passengers and their volunteers in any locale.  Rides can be prearranged or spur of the moment, on any day, at any time, as mutually agreeable to the volunteer and the passenger. 

Volunteers are not required to be on call and do not need to schedule blocks of time to be available to provide rides as a TRIP driver.    Instead, ride scheduling flows naturally from the relationship of the passenger and the volunteer.  In our experience, many passengers have developed relationships with multiple volunteers so if one volunteer isn't able to drive them on a particular day others may be available.

Instead of getting between passengers and volunteers, the TRIP model asks passengers to have their own conversations with their volunteers.  The conversation is often more than “I need a ride” – more usually, the conversations are those that normally happen between friends.  “How have you been feeling?  I’ve been OK, but need to go to the pharmacy pretty soon – do you think we could go next week sometime?  Maybe we can stop for lunch too?  Oh, that would be wonderful.”  The idea of advance scheduling takes on an entirely different connotation. 

A very practical outcome of this feature is the elimination of centralized scheduling and dispatch functions, significantly reducing the expense of operating a program.    

The Beverly Foundation has rated TRIP as ........"the nation's best volunteer driver model"