BRIGHAM CITY – Senior citizens in Brigham City are still trying to adjust to not having a city-run transportation system. The city stopped transporting seniors to different locations two years ago.
Kathleen Vasquez is a 71-year-old resident who uses a wheelchair and says transportation is hard for her since Brigham City stopped their Senior transportation system.
There are some nursing homes that have transportation services for their people, but she lives in an apartment building located on the old Indian school in Brigham City and resources are limited there.
Vasquez has been disabled for about ten years and most of her relatives work so they can’t take time off work to take her to the store, doctor or dentist.
When they had the senior citizen transportation, they would pick up people from Honeyville, Willard, Perry and Tremonton. They could make doctor appointments and get a ride to the grocery store.
“Today the UTA bus drops me off at a bus stop, usually a block but sometimes more than a block from where I’m going. They won’t pick me up at my door anymore,” she said. ”In the winter when they drop me off it’s a block away from where I am going. It’s hard at my age.”
She doesn’t take the paratransit bus anymore because it’s usually overcrowded.
“Everyone in my apartment building has been stranded ever since they quit the senior citizen bus service,” she said. “Seven people have died in our building since then, and I wondered they couldn’t get a ride to doctors that could have helped them.”
The Senior transit not only took older folks to hospital outpatient appointments and doctors, but they also took them to eye doctors and any store in town.
“They also took us to the barber shop, the beauty salon, any bank, insurance office and even fishing,” Vasquez said. “They would take us to the movies and the theater. Now we suffer in isolation.”
Vasquez said she didn’t want her picture taken because she was afraid of retaliation.
Rayola Nielsen is 91, disabled, blind and on hospice and said she finally got a ride service from Bear River Association of Governments. They pick her up from her home to take her to appointments.
“There are many people in my building alone and may only get out once a month,” she said. “I have a companion from BRAG who takes me to get groceries and other places for two hours twice a week.”
Nielsen said in 1971 she went to visit the Governor of Utah and talked to him about the problems seniors were having. She talked to the senate about their plight too.
“The governor put those senior centers all over the state,” she said. “Brigham City turned their Senior Center into a Community Center and gave all the busses and cars away.”
Every little town had senior centers after that.
“I worked darn hard to get one in Brigham City,” Nielsen said. “I would like to let our governor know what they have done to us seniors.”
Mykail Boling, RN, BSN, MPH, said there is no one to blame for it. It is a situation that someone should take a look at.
Boling is worried senior citizens in Brigham City are not getting out of their apartments and are feeling isolated from the community. Many senior citizens are having a significant reduction in physical and mental health.
At one time the city had a good transportation system that helped older residents get where they needed to go. That system ended due to budget cuts two years ago.
The city cancelled transportation services due to costs, many senior citizens are having a significant reduction in physical and mental health.
“Prior to cancelling transportation, senior citizens were able to visit local community centers, visited with friends and were able to go to physician appointments to receive their healthcare needs,” she said. “Now, stressed, limited and exhausted home health physicians visit senior citizens for their primary cares in their homes, only to be limited on what cares to provide for these seniors as they lack the transportation to get to their appointments.”
Boling would like to see better transportation for seniors and people with disabilities to help them get where they need to go and return home in a timely manner.
“Some seniors are using UTA’s paratransit to go to appointments and return to their homes,” she said. “They get to the doctor’s office and if the doctor runs late people have to leave to catch their ride home before they’ve been seen by the doctor.”
Some people can’t be picked up at home because it is deemed unsafe for one reason or another so they get to place where they can be picked up.
Many UTA bus lines are located on busy roads and are difficult for these 70- to 90-year-olds get to where they need to go. With the previous transportation system, the rides had to be scheduled at least a few days in advance, and the folks could be picked up from their homes to get them to the places they needed to be.
Several citizens in Honeyville are also affected since Brigham City requires all senior citizens to ride the UTA lines for transportation.
There seems to be a significant public health need that should be addressed to help this growing population get the care they need.
The city has opted for UTA’s Flex Route F638 and reduced fare program to handle these transit needs, leaving the city without a dedicated, direct municipal transport program. UTA also has a call-in advance-reservation paratransit service.
“Logan provides disabled transportation through Connect Transit operating zero-fare fixed routes with ADA-compliant, wheelchair-accessible buses,” Boling said.
When they had the city-sponsored transportation, they would pick up people from Honeyville, Willard, Perry Tremonton and other small towns.