A new website from the Florida Department of Transportation’s Safe Mobility for Life Program, www.FindaRideFlorida.com, is designed to offer solutions to aging adults (and others) who have given up their car keys. Listings feature information on whether door-to-door service is offered, and if vehicles have wheelchair accessibility.
Your Caring Law Firm took FindaRideFlorida.com for a test drive today. Here is what we found.
The biggest advantage of this site is the sheer number of options you’ll find in one place. The biggest disadvantage of this site is the sheer number of options you’ll find in one place.
We plugged in our address in Maitland and said we’d like to take a trip to the Amway Center, 6.9 miles away. We said that we were 60 years old or older. After a minute of ‘thinking,’ the site recommended 68 different companies we might call. Sixty-eight!!!
They included van rental, taxi, and limo services. Within the mix, we saw ITN Orlando (we remain big fans), the Amtrak train, and LYNX service.
This is overwhelming, and reminiscent of old Yellow Pages books. However, with a mouse-click, you will find research available on these services.
Click the More Info buttons under each service, and you will find practical information. Fields include approximate costs, types of needs and trips serviced, special accommodations, dispatch policies and more. Until the FindaRideFlorida.com website evolves to include these fields in its ‘Narrow Your Search’ functionality, our advice is for you to take notes the old-fashioned way — on a pad of paper – while you browse the listings that look useful.
Hopefully, FindaRideFlorida.com someday will offer its search results in a chart with sort functions. We’d like to see information on whether these companies have been vetted, and are licensed or insured. Posting public reviews would be helpful.
While not perfect, this website is a huge, helpful step in the right direction. Kudos to the FLDOT for having recognized this need in our community and for providing such a comprehensive directory of transportation options.