KENTVILLE, N.S. — The importance of the transportation services they provide was perhaps never highlighted as greatly as during COVID-19.
The Kings Point to Point Transit Society (KPPT) is a non-profit organization offering transportation services to residents of Kings County from east of Aylesford to Hants Border. Manager Faye Brown said a common misconception is that the service is just for seniors and people facing mobility challenges but this is not the case. Anyone can use it.
The service can take you anywhere in the province and back, with the majority of rides they provide dealing with medical appointments, education or other essential services. Brown points out that they have clients who they take to both Berwick and Halifax for dialysis, for example, and they take passengers, including cancer patients, to Halifax daily for medical appointments.
“During March, when COVID hit, we didn’t shut down because we still had people that had to go, that had no other way,” Brown said.
This was particularly true for clients in wheelchairs, for example, who account for 22 per cent of ridership and who couldn’t necessarily take a regular taxi. For those relying on KPPT to get to and from medical appointments, the service could literally mean the difference between life and death. For others, it represents independence.
Brown got to experience first-hand the importance of KPPT when her mother was faced with mobility challenges and needed such a service.
“I feel that we provide a very much essential and necessary service to the residents of Kings County, especially seniors and those living in poverty and those with challenges,” Brown said.
KPPT provided nearly 27,000 trips in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, which ended March 31. However, the pandemic had a significant impact on KPPT, with ridership dropping by 84 per cent from April 1 to June 30 compared to the first quarter of 2019.
Full-time drivers became part-time drivers while part-time drivers were laid off. Brown said they kept schedules as consistent as possible in order to limit the potential exposure to the clients and drivers and so that they could do contact tracing for those who were in the vehicles if necessary. She said their drivers go above and beyond and even though they get paid, they certainly demonstrate volunteer spirit in the lengths they go to help clients.
They have since rebounded to approximately 50 per cent of their pre-pandemic ridership. Brown said the pandemic had a significant financial impact on KPPT as they missed out on the revenue from rides. They are funded approximately 45 per cent by municipalities and the province with fares accounting for the rest.
Brown said she was busier than ever, as there were new public health protocols to be implemented. She had various grant and program applications that had to be submitted and personal protective equipment to be secured for drivers and clients, as well as the regular reporting requirements. Brown said they greatly appreciated all the support they received from various sources.
Thanks to provincial and municipal support, KPPT added two new vans to its fleet in the past year. The society no longer has to rely on an aging fleet as in the past. This has helped to greatly reduce what was once spent on maintenance and repairs.
KPPT currently has 10 vehicles, including four small minivans (two of which are accessible); five full-sized accessible vans and one accessible 18-passenger minibus.
Brown said they are looking for volunteers with their own, reliable vehicles and clean driving records who would be willing to make longer-distance trips to various destinations. KPPT will reimburse volunteers for mileage and expenses. KPPT also greatly appreciates donations.
For more information, including fare rates, visit www.kppt.ca. To book a ride, email [email protected] or call 902-681-2846.
