What are the transportation options for those who no longer drive?
 

What are the transportation options for those who no longer drive and need a ride to the grocery store or to their doctors appointments?

Neighbors, Uber, Lyft.

Thanks. Both my husband and I still drive, I was just thinking about down the road when we decide that we aren't comfortable driving a car anymore. I assume that regular golf carts on the Village golf cart trails would be an option, too?

I also heard that there is a shuttle that you can catch in Brownwood that runs to/from the airport although I don't know the details on that.

assisted living?

Why? If you are still dressing, bathing, cooking, taking care of yourself and walking around alright, why would you go to assisted living? A golf cart is slower speed and a bit less of a handful than a car is. So one might be able to drive a golf cart even if a car seems to be a bit too much for them.

My sister and brother-in-law have lived in The Villages since 2008. Neither one drive a car but each of them own and drive a golf cart. It was a bit scary in the beginning but they've both learned to master getting around in their golf carts. Sometimes they've had to rely on friends to drive them to doctors that aren't golf cart accessible but they are living a full life without their own car. You can definitely do it! Good luck

Your county may have a senior transportation system.
Hopefully self drive cars will get hear before we have the problem.

I have several friends who do not drive and they do just fine. Some of them have neighbors who will help them, but there are other options. Sumter County has an excellent program for those who need help. You can have food delivered from all the surrounding stores.

You do lose the convenience of being able to jump into a car and do whatever you want to do, when you want to do it, but with age things change.

I am fortunate and still manage, but I do have a wonderful lady who specializes in taking people to their doctor appointments, dentist, shopping and anything else they need. She is reasonable and very obliging and will do everything she can to help those who need it.

With all due respect if you realize you shouldn’t be driving a car then assuming you can drive a golf cart is a mistake. Let’s say you have a normal cart with a fold down enclosure and no windshield wipers and you are going to the store. A thunderstorm hits and suddenly you need to drop and zip the enclosure, turn the lights on and drive in the cart lane next to and then possibly merging with cars.

Good for you for trying to plan ahead, but I'm not sure why you think a golf cart would be less of a handful than a car. Most of them don't have seat belts (you can get them installed after market though), the lever for forward or backward is harder to do than any feature on a car, the headlight system is not that great (that too can be upgraded), you have to manually operate the turn signals off (which makes it impossible to know if a signal is really meant from oncoming traffic), groceries are not always easy to stow away safely, carts are hard to keep cool or warm in our extreme temperatures here (unless you buy a very expensive car-like one), and most of all you can have very narrow lanes to operate in. I personally feel so much safer in a car, even though a golf cart is very convenient to get into tight parking spaces, and avoid major street traffic.

[QUOTE=La lamy;1917762]Good for you for trying to plan ahead, but I'm not sure why you think a golf cart would be less of a handful than a car. Most of them don't have seat belts (you can get them installed after market though), the lever for forward or backward is harder to do than any feature on a car, the headlight system is not that great (that too can be upgraded), you have to manually operate the turn signals off (which makes it impossible to know if a signal is really meant from oncoming traffic), groceries are not always easy to stow away safely, carts are hard to keep cool or warm in our extreme temperatures here (unless you buy a very expensive car-like one), and most of all you can have very narrow lanes to operate in. I personally feel so much safer in a car, even though a golf cart is very convenient to get into tight parking spaces, and avoid major street traffic.[/QUOT

Upgrades make all of your concerns a mute point except the narrow lanes. But the lanes are not so narrow relative to size of the carts. And the speeds are much slower than a car which is a huge plus.

You already know the options and the shiuttle to the airport is The Villages Shuttle.

A person can chose what weather to drive in and stay home if it’s bad. Pop up storms are brief and easy to wait out in the store or on the side of the golf cart path.

There are services that your medical insurance may cover or you may decide to pay for on your own. Visiting angels, Helping hands etc.

Both Sumter and Lake County have services for seniors who can no longer drive, they pick you up at your door and bring you back again. They will not wait, but will come back. You have to call and arrange it all ahead of time. Many local Churches also have people who will volunteer their time to drive you to doctor appts. Call around. This is a wonderful community.

Rollerblades
 

Rollerblades, skateboards, hoverboards

Sumter transit. A neighbor drove for them. At that time it was .25 if picked up at postal station; .50 at your door. They are not allowed to advertise in the villages. Go figure?

If you are in Sumter Co. call Sumter Transit. For a small fee they will pick you up take you to the doctor and grocery shopping then come back and take you home. The service you are talking about at Brownwood is transportation to and from Orlando Airport

United Way for Transportation
 

United Way provides transportation. Simply dial "211" from your phone and they will put you in touch with your local organization or go to unitedway.org.

This is a huge problem with a lot of 55+ communities their are a hand full that have for community travel vans the village is one that doe's not have any. Which to myself and to a great deal of future buyer is not good at all and will not buy at The villages. The older seniors that are looking to reside at senior community that facilities community travel to markets, Doctors. Store, rec centers

We know about assisted living facilities but a great deal of us do not want to go their because of what has happened to NY, NJ, Penn. Facilities during the beginning of the pandemic..55+ communities are a great deal safer like the The villages

The bus to the airport leaves from either lake Sumter or the Brownwood hotel and spa- it is called Workman transportation. If you want door to door service in a small van with other people you could look into Groome transportation or The Villages Airport Shuttle but the last one sometimes goes to Leesburg first and takes longer. Private car services I have used and like are Creative Concierge and Dave’s transportation.

Does Sumter Transit advertise at all? How are you aware they cannot advertise in TV?

Transit | Sumter County, FL - Official Website

The service to the airport is not the villages shuttle there is no such company called that ,it is village airport Van they do door to door service 24/7, the price is $40 to Orlando and 65 to Sanford airport, and remember these drivers do work for tips.

Sumter Transport and Swifttrips
 

Either of these will take you to doctors visits and home again. They will take you to the airport or pickup . They are a husband and wife team. Very pleasant and helpful. Call Mike at Sumter Transport 352-446-4987 or Jan does than medical trips, call her at 352-630-4359. They will help you.

Listed below is the contact information for the airport transportation service (referred to as the “Airport Shuttle”) that picks up and drops off passengers at Lake Sumter train station and, as of March 1st, the Brownwood Hotel & Spa:

Phone: 352-259-9398

Website: Schedule & Information | Workman Transportation

Sumter Transport does advertise in the Daily Sun!

Hi there, Gulfcoast. Groome Transportation provides door to door service between your home in The Villages and the Orlando airport for $33. Have a great day!

Not too sure how safe self drive cars will be in the round abouts

Couldn't be worse than at present, but probably a whole lot better, given some of of the posts describing 3000 different ways to navigate a roundabout here on TOTV!:icon_wink:

Many of the Medicare advantage insurance plans now give you the option of free transportation to and from Dr and hospital appointments. You can also buy a monthly card for shopping that pays for delivery of your groceries to your home from many stores. Good luck you will find The Villages people are very friendly and many will help you out.

My mom used to say man plans and god laughs. Worrying about what could be might be. I deal with what is. Wife worries all the time. I sleep good at night, wife never does.
My cholesterol is very low, hers with drugs is high we are on the same food.

As to original posts, many groceries sell on line and deliver. Frankly, i enjoy grocery shopping. All the meat may be labeled the same but in the same display some is better than others. Fruit, the same is true.

As to getting to a doctor. You might call the doctor. Likely they all have patients in the villages and have heard of solutions on how to deal with it. Many of the doctors have more than one location that they work out of. The obvious,uber, lift a cab

Paratransit van...operated by Sumter County. $5 fare each way.

[QUOTE=kendi;1917788]If the lanes are not so narrow relative to size of the carts, why do so many of their drivers have a problem staying within them and out of the car traffic lane (and I'm not talking about preparing for a left turn)? Then again, many car drivers within The Villages refuse to pay attention to lane markings on the roads either.

Ah yes you can certainly drive golf carts, I assumed you meant "couldn't drive at all" meaning - no longer capable, limited vision, reflexes, or mobility. If you "can't" drive a car, you probably "shouldn't" drive a golf cart either. Especially since golf carts are MUCH more dangerous than cars are.

There you go again...using common sense. I know a person who lost her drivers license because of vision impairment. Not to worry, though, she drives a cart.

This must have to do with old 2nd hand golf carts. We just bought one last year. Yes, the reverse thing is in the middle of the front row of seats, but it's an easy up and down. Our blinkers work the same as our cars do, and the fact that they are actually 'on' when we think we have put them in motion, shows up on the side rear view mirrows. I haven't driven ours at night, but, I'm pretty sure the lights come on as easily as the blinkers. With regard to protecting from the wind/rain/cold....we just look on our phone to see if weather is predicted, and prepare accordingly. We opted NOT to get the one with the doors, but, if that's a concern, just get the one seater cart with the sliding doors, or, prepare before you leave home, by rolling down and zipping up. Golf carts are good for folks that cannot drive cars, but I would suggest that you get the golf cart gps app on your phone, and learn how to use it NOW, and travel as much as possible in the golf cart now...since you are planning ahead. Keep enjoying life in TV!!

I get around by hot air balloon.

Good point! Tricky scenarios for a computer.

What part of The Villages is in Sumter county? I guess I'm confused, how many counties does TV span?