Katherine Freund is one of my constituents and the CEO of an organization called ITN - Independent Transportation Network, which provides rides to seniors. Now if you are like me, you might have confused ITN with RTP - the regional transportation program that sends around those white buses and cars. But ITN is different - it's a private transportation nonprofit that actually does its work without government support. The key to everything is the credit system - of volunteer drivers who can use their own cars to provide rides, in the process earning credit that can be turned into later rides - either for themselves, after they get too old to drive, or for their relatives or friends. Other seniors donate their own cars to the service, in the process earning still more credits for future rides. And still others simply pay as they go, at rates that are significantly lower than taxis. As Katherine told me, "seniors have always paid for their transportation, and this gives them a chance to continue to be independent even after they stop driving themselves".
The whole concept is based on peer-to-peer association, and rooted in the notion of "paying it forward". You might ride in your former car; you might become friends with your driver. You might even be a volunteer driver in California and send the credits to a ride account that is used by your mom in Maine. I think it's extremely cool.
ITN began here in Maine, and thanks to Katherine's vision, it has spread to cities and states across the country. It's an ingenious model for service, and it fills a unique niche that complements the important services provided by other organizations like RTP. Need a ride? Want to volunteer? Click here!
The whole concept is based on peer-to-peer association, and rooted in the notion of "paying it forward". You might ride in your former car; you might become friends with your driver. You might even be a volunteer driver in California and send the credits to a ride account that is used by your mom in Maine. I think it's extremely cool.
ITN began here in Maine, and thanks to Katherine's vision, it has spread to cities and states across the country. It's an ingenious model for service, and it fills a unique niche that complements the important services provided by other organizations like RTP. Need a ride? Want to volunteer? Click here!
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