submitted by TL Village President, David Parro
Attention Tower Lakes seniors and handicapped:
There is an underutilized local transportation service that your Village government helps to provide. We think it is underutilized because it is underpublicized. I am talking about our Barrington Area Pace Dial-a-Ride service. I think most folks are aware of the Pace Suburban Bus system. They run fixed routes & schedules but they don’t stop in Tower Lakes anymore. Less people know that Pace also sponsors a door to door, on-demand, mini bus service called Dial-a-Ride and it does come to Tower Lakes.
One reason Dial-a-Ride is less well known is that its rules and coverage are not universal across the metro area. The service differs from area to area and this makes it harder to get the word out about what the deal is for any one specific area. Naturally, this is a funding issue. Pace doesn’t have the money to unilaterally deliver Dial-a-Ride everywhere, so they have partnered with local governments and charities to set up many, many different Dial-a-Ride projects in many different zones. Each has its own phone number, rules for rider eligibility, territorial limits, fares, etc. according to the priorities of the participating partners.
Here’s how it works for Tower Lakes: Eligible riders are Seniors over 65 and Disabled of any age. You must call to make a reservation 1 day in advance at 800-273-5939. Doctor visits can be booked up to a week in advance. They come to your driveway with a mini-bus, van or car on the appointed day and time and take you to your local destination (and back at an agreed time). You pay a fare of $2. Trips can be made 9-4 M-F. They can take wheelchairs. You can go anywhere in the “Barringtons” (train station, shops, restaurants, Good Shepherd, Dr. offices, drug stores, friend’s house, etc.) or Deer Park or the Rt. 12 corridor of Lake Zurich. Wauconda is not included – they are on a separate system. These details are available at http://www.pacebus.com/sub/paratransit/sd_dial_a_ride.asp#Lake. Note: Good Shepherd Hospital also runs a separate transport service to its campus from anywhere in 60010 for a nominal fee with a reservation 1 day ahead at (888) 574-5700. Don’t have to be a senior for that one.
Our Barrington Area Dial-a-Ride project is sponsored jointly by the two townships and the handful of Villages centered around Barrington, including Tower Lakes. Some administration is provided by the Barrington Area Council On Aging (BACOA). As an aside, BACOA is a great charity that has lots of additional offerings for area seniors and caregivers. Check them out at the Garlands or at www.bacoa.org. Those low fares cover about 5% of the service cost. Pace funds ~50%, Cuba Township and Barrington Township together pay about 30% and the balance is paid by the Barrington area villages in proportion to their citizen’s participation. Last year TL averaged 2 trips a month and we will therefore be paying $200 for our share of the subsidy in 2016. The year before, there was more use in TL and we paid $500. So, should we as a government, be satisfied that our cost went down by $300? The thing is, this is such a fantastic leveraged deal for us that we don’t mind a little bigger outlay in proportion to more transport service for our seniors and disabled who need it. Well, why worry if only 2 a month need it? Here are some facts that make us worry that lack of publicity is driving low utilization more than lack of need: Barrington village, which has 8x our population had 59x our rides. Lake Barrington, which has 3.8x our population had 26x our rides. Well, both those towns have senior housing, so what about North Barrington which is closer to us demographically (and also with minimal publicity)? They have 2.3x our population but used 7.3x as many Dial-a-Rides. This and other evidence says we have a need and an affordable solution which just require connecting. I know not everybody will read this article to the end and more still will read and forget because they don’t need the info today. So, the rest of you, please spread the word among friends & neighbors in Tower Lakes about Dial-a-Ride for seniors and disabled and hopefully some of us will be able to enjoy living in Tower Lakes a bit better and longer.