SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. – Some people in Sun Prairie just want to get to the doctor, school, or grocery store but instead they finding themselves waiting as a city sponsored Taxi service struggles to keep up with demand.
The city of Sun Prairie hiring Running Inc. a few years ago to provide rides at a reduced rate specifically for people with limited or no other transportation options but the company is struggling with a labor shortage and can’t keep up.
Maureen Crombie, the services coordinator for Colonial View Apartments, said their residents—all 65 and older, have dealt with two hour wait times, and some even had to cancel doctor’s appointments after Running Inc. reduced their hours.
“They’re hours that are good for like maybe going to the library or going to Walmart,” Crombie said. “But when it comes to appointments that are essential, doctors and dentists appointments, those are usually in the mornings or early afternoon so it’s been quite a barrier.”
The city’s Transportation Coordinator Alexander Brown said they are working to find a fix as soon as possible and treating gap in service as an emergency situation.
“A lot of folks have called in to city hall about the direness and how that affects them and I just want to let folks know that we hear that,” Brown said. “We understand the severity of that and we are using literally, literally every lever that is available to us to try and get back to a state of normalcy.”
He said the city’s first approach is to pay the company more hoping the extra crash will attract more drivers. If that doesn’t work they are also considering hiring an additional taxi service or even reimbursing people who find their own rides but only as a last resort.
Many of the ride share’s users are elderly or families in need of child transportation to school.
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