Public Transportation
 

I just read this interesting article on NPR.org: When Should Seniors Hang Up the Car Keys?
It says "officials are bracing for a surge in senior drivers. Statistics tell us that accidents increase after the age of 65, and fatal accidents are more likely after the age of 75."
In this light, I am wondering what options for "public transportation" exist in the Villages? I am 54 and I will be moving to the Villages next year. (We are closing on our house in a couple of weeks!) Since I have lived in Manhattan for 26 years, I am very comfortable with Public Transportation. I do have a driver's license, but rarely need to use it. I wonder if I live in the Villages will I be totally dependent on a car or golf cart? What happens as people age and sometimes need to give up the car keys? (I know this is not true for all, but I am sure that there are some older drivers who just should not be on the road. Is there an option for them so that they can still maintain their independence?)

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Good question!
 

This is a really good question. Is there any form of public transportation throughout the Villages? Any TV-sponsored shuttle services? What types of private services are there, besides taxi companies? Some day many of us will need to understand the options.

There is a Sumter County Transit bus that makes a loop thru the Villages. Here's a link with the current routes and times.

http://sumtercountyfl.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DID=2841

Now a serious answer to my friend.

There are taxi's.. The assisted living facilities have larger vans that take their residents to the grocery and to medical appointments. There is a new service business here that brings groceries and restaurant take out to your home. I am sure you see their advertisements on here.

Many people do leave here as they age and move closer to family members. Many family members move here when they retire to be closer to parents who live here.

Wait...Cathy W. just posted about the Sumter County bus. Parts of The Villages are in Lake and Marion County.

A very serious situation. I was 63 years old when I moved here and received my Florida drivers license. I won't have to renew that license until I am 73 years old. If the past 10 years are any indication, I can expect some significant changes in my eyesight, reflexes, and most importantly the ability to make quick decisions about complicated traffic patterns such as traffic circles and multilane intersections. Of course, if I was 83 years old, I wouldn't have to test again until I was 93. Perhaps, as we age, we should be required to test more often. I may get "flamed" for suggesting this. One can only imagine the loss of independence that comes with the loss of driving privileges, especially in a setting as spread out as The Villages.

Funny that you mention that, Grace. I am moving to a house on the same street as my Mom's place. She is still a good driver in her 70's (and my fiance is 65 and he is a good driver), but my husband who died when he was 58 with Parkinsonism, was unable to drive for many years. I guess I know to be prepared. You never know what life brings your way. I think of Public transportation as a matter of maintaining independence.
I am happy that I will be able to walk to one Town Square from our house. I also think the golf cart offers another great option for off-highway transportation. I really appreciate Cathy W's information on the Shuttle Service. (I am sure it has the potential to be supplemented if public needs increase.)

Since I moved here I've used car services a few times, it's not that I can't drive, I just can't find anything "off-campus". The one time I dropped someone off at the airport they were back in NY and had dinner before I found my way home.

Once you reach age 80 in Florida, your driver's license is only renewed for six years and you must pass an eye test at the motor vehicle registration office. Also, if you have a visible impairment, you can be required to take a driving test.

Here's an Idea.....
 

Here's an idea. There actually is a bus that goes all around TV all day long, 7 days a week (as a sales "vehicle" for prospective buyers).
TV could just schedule pick-up and drop-off stops along the way. Or add one more bus to the route for supporting the current residents.

quirky.

There are several of those buses..BUT I think it would take a fleet to really give us public transportation.

I agree with BarryX and although I think we need to be mindful of not hurting others feelings who are older and who read this forum, NONE of us are getting younger and there is only one way outa here. We will all age and we will all lose the capability to be as independent as we once were. There isn't an easy answer for that and assisted living is probably in most of our futures.

The Morses are great thinkers and great civic planners but even they cannot take the role of personal planning and of family and of public assistance in some issues. We as a community cannot solve all social and aging problems.

As it is now, people move into assisted living or in with family when they no longer can drive.

I don't know if a truly good form of public transportation could or would work. All those buses stopping and starting and pulling out into the already horrific traffic during the high season makes me want to run and hide. We are a huge, never before happened community of seniors. We are finding out things about living together and getting older in a bunch that is truly pioneering.

Trolley Shuttle
 

Two weeks ago I submitted a suggestion to the CIC to consider Trolley Shuttle Service between Squares . This would allow you to to go to Spanish Springs and take the Trolley to LSL or BW.

This would reduce energy from golf cart usage , give residents a easier to get from square to square .

I recieved a confirmation that it has been sent to the highest level due to the merit of the suggesstion.

We will see !

Excellent suggestion! :smiley:

Great idea!
 

This is a great idea, and a really good way to start providing alternative transportation services for current residents.

HOWEVER, for those of you who do not live here yet you will be surprised to see that the squares are not really the destination that you may think they are.

New people go and dance at the squares a lot the first year. After that, because they usually have made a number of groups of new friends, they do things with their new friends.

There isn't grocery shopping at the squares, well there is Sweetbay at LSL.. but not a lot of things to draw you there that you need for day to day living. Shopping is mostly now along the 441/27 and 466 corridors, with a lot of grocery stores sprinkled about but only ONE for now on 466A. The opportunity is there for businesses to come to these new areas and they will over time.

AND getting to the squares is another issue. Most homes are a bit of a trip to the squares and they certainly aren't walking distance.

But good minds will come up with an answer.

For now think suburban living. Don't give up the van.

I think this is a problem in a lot of communities. Some communities have buses but you still have to get to and from the bus. Hopefully the self drive cars are going to arrive or you have a good neighbor who will help you out.
What I would like to see is the use of school buses when they are not being used to transport students. This could provide full time jobs and the costs to ride should be reasonable.

My town here in IL, as most towns in the suburbs, offers a taxi service for seniors. You must register and receive an ID card, and then you are able to travel within your own town or those that directly abut your town for 5 dollars. It is subsidized by the villages themselves and I believe the county. There are also some shuttle buses to shopping areas. I wonder if something like this could work in our area in TV?

What a great idea! My parents live in TV, are in their late 80's to early 90's, still play golf and live independently. Recently, however, driving has become an issue and they would welcome inexpensive medical and shopping transportation.

Nice idea, but most of the inexpensive options I have seen are subsidized by the government with taxpayer dollars. Who is willing to pay ??

I don't know if I want strangers coming through our villages on a bus and being able to disembark anywhere

I like being able to see who is driving the carts and cars.

I don't want New York City. No thanks.

How about some 6-8 seat golf car "busses" running continuously on specified routes to major shopping areas and squares, and a person could buy a weekly or monthly pass for a few bucks?

The hospital uses them to shuttle people between parking lot and hospital and I think they're nice and easy.

Now this is a great idea..worth looking into. :clap2:

My late FIL went in at age 90 to renew his Maryland DL. My wife went with him as he had fairly advanced Alzheimer's. Every question that the examiner asked, he turned to Betsy and asked her what he should say. Betsy would tell him and he would repeat it. They renewed his license.

Betsy took him in because he was obsessing about renewing it. Of course, Betsy kept misplacing his keys... Car stayed in the driveway.

That having been said, one of the saddest days that I've had was moving my parents into assisted living in VA. At one point in dealing with all of the paperwork, my (still mentally alert) dad finally cracked and raged about "you too away my house, you took away my car, you took away all of my pills and now you tell me that I can't decide when I'm going to eat breakfast!"

We're all going to get older (hopefully) here. All I can say is that we moved here because we saw lots of happy laughing people. I always figured that I could probably deal with driving a golf cart at 20 mph a lot longer than I will be able to drive a car at 70 mph...

Where's the young guy that was looking for ideas for a business here in TV a few months ago. Kitty, didn't you know him?

I would be OVERJOYED to have as large a portion of my tax dollars as necessary go to a viable public transportation system ... in TV ... in N. Centro Fla ... in the entire state ... in the SE and in the entire USofA !!!!

In most cases,,,as desirable as it might be for many senior citizens...that would be a very inefficient use of tax dollars.

Getting insurance would be a big deal. TV could handle it.

You need to get a GPS. They're really easy to operate.

I think....... that some of you who do not yet live here are worrying about changing things that may not need to be changed.

Driving 20 mph in a golf cart is pretty safe if you are careful.

Just starting up a bus service is not exactly the easiest thing to be done. Your state DOT and the Federal DOT have a say over whether you can or cannot start a transportation business. I don't know about Florida, but in NYS virtually any previously-operating transportation business can fight the establishment of a new offering based on their operating "rights". There are large insurance coverages to be kept and paid for. Again, I do not know about Florida, but in NYS, every single bus must be up to NYS-DOT inspection every 6 months, and everywhere in the USA a bus driver needs a CDL license and must past a proper physical. So you don't just "start up" a new bus service.

At the face of it, The Villages organization (developer) would be in the best condition to handle the start-up, although there are a number of charter bus companies operating locally who might be interested.

:ddddd

Hi CBG, I just had to add this, I lived in Manhattan (upper east side) from birth to 1974. My mom and sisters still live there. We went all the time when we lived on Long Island, NY. My daughters go now to see my Mom and sisters since my husband and I moved here 2 months ago. Small world and welcome to The Villages!