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Community Corner

Many Different Options to Getting Around Town

Columnist Gregg Wandsneider highlights different transportation options in the city.

Many people ask me a question something like this,  “You do so much around Waukesha, how do you get around?”

I usually respond to this question by telling them that my limo is parked outside of wherever I am at .... and, of course, I am driving it.  This is, of course, not true.  Though I can’t wait for the day that I can have/afford a voice-activated Google car. For now, I need to depend on other friends/services to get me to where I want to go.

As a child and even into my adult life, my parents did most of the driving for me. By the way, they are absolute saints! They would drive me to friends' houses, church, 4-H meetings and school activities. My mom and I still enjoy the ride out to RiverGlen Christian Church every Sunday morning. She says it is a very scenic commute. From time to time, friends are able to transport me, mainly when I am going to the same place that they are.

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Otherwise, I have to rely on other services. Most of the time, I use the cabs, either through Best Cab or All Day Taxi.  As a person with a physical disability, i.e. blindness, I get a reduced fare. I also have been known to use Metrolift.  This call-ahead-of-time service is offered through Waukesha Metro Transit. There are some times that I do take the regular Metro Transit route such as from my house to Carroll University. I don’t have to switch buses at all from my house to Carroll as the route 8 becomes the route 4.  Transfering makes taking the regular Metro routes difficult for me, although I was taught the bus system in my high school orientation and mobility class. For medical appointments, I use ProHealth Care’s transportation service.  I just need to tell the appointment scheduler at the clinic that I am requesting transportation and they set it up for me.

These are just a few of the transportation services that I use.  I was privileged to meet Margaret Cory at a luncheon I recently attended.  Margaret is the mobility manager for Interfaith Senior Programs, Inc. based in Waukesha. We discussed the struggle that many Waukesha County residents have to know what transportation options are available to them.

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She informed me about a new, very user-friendly website that just launched recently. Find a Ride is a portal to most things transportation-related. Visitors to the site start out by choosing what city they live in and if they do or do not need wheelchair accessibility. From there, a list of services that may be able to help them is electronically generated. As a beta tester of the site, I found other transportation options in the city of Waukesha that I hadn’t even considered before.

This summer, I hope to re-learn how to walk to local businesses that I frequent.  Walking is not only a great workout for me, but it saves me money as well. When Google is eventually driving me around, I will be sure to use the drive-up ATMs that have Braille on them.

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