As most of us would agree, safe, reliable and affordable transportation is key to ensuring that seniors remain safe, active and independent to the maximum degree possible. This is especially the case for those residing within small neighbourhood clusters common to our region, all the way through to the centralized Village of Nakusp and the surrounding area.
I happened to be standing in line waiting for customer service at one of the local shops when the voice of an impatient-sounding customer located next in line,decided to voice his opinion regarding a presumed lack of public transportation available.
Unsubstantiated as it appeared to be, his strongly-held opinion set me thinking about what transportation services are actually available to members of the public, especially to those of us who don’t have a vehicle of their own to get around the community. Like so many others, I had become thoroughly dependent on my little red number so I could fly off at the touch of the accelerator to wherever my needs required it to be.
I commenced to ponder on the question of accessibility, when the answer arrived quite suddenly early last summer. Admittedly, for some weeks I had begun to suspect that my almost vintage model four-wheeler had just about reached the end of its useful life on the road. After 17 years of much-appreciated service, the signs were growing more evident, as was the question of how I would manage the acquisition of a reliable replacement vehicle. How to get through at least the summer months until another suitable number could be found?
After sensing an unmistakeable shudder followed by chugging, shaking and an audible poof, the voice of silence finally descended. The end had arrived as long predicted, and now all I could do was to call on my local mechanic to hear the final pronouncement. Needless to say, the answer was clear and before the day was over, my dear old gal was hitched up and speedily headed off to the recycling yard, where it was destined to join countless other metal constructs waiting for disassembly in the wings.
The time had arrived, not long after our final parting, when I would seriously need to begin the unavoidable task of finding a way to get around consistently and without bothering all but a few of my dearly-appreciated friends and nearby neighbours who had immediately stepped in to help cover the bases until I could arrive at a final transportation plan.
It’s true that we do indeed have a variety of options available in our search to get out and about depending on individual circumstances. These include access to car rental, commercial taxi and various emergency and recreational resources for use during the warm weather, such as wheelchairs and mobility aids, bicycles (motorized or not), various traditional methods such as hitching up the horses and wagons – which in time may well become for many of us, a transportation mainstay just as it once was according to our elders. At this juncture, I was also reminded that I thankfully came into being as most of us do, outfitted with a reasonably sturdy pair of walking sticks comically referred to as “legs.”
My next column will introduce readers to another chapter concerning the joys of living and getting around the Nakusp area with greater ease than one might imagine, courtesy of our bus system within the Village, the region and beyond.
