Merced County’s taxi program picked up by The Bus
A taxi program used by the elderly in the Atwater and Winton area has seen some changes but will continue, officials said on Monday.
As of Tuesday, Merced County paratransit buses will accept taxi scrip, according to Stacie Dabbs, spokeswoman for the Merced County Association of Governments.
The taxi scrip program launched several years ago by Merced County Transit/The Bus in Atwater and Winton lets seniors age 65 and older buy higher-value booklets of scrip.
The scrip works like cash and can be used to pay for transport. The $8 booklet is worth $40 in taxi scrip.
There are no taxi services in town that will accept the scrip, Dabbs said.
Dabbs said the program has about 150 users and average about six calls for service a day. She said it will continue to operate as it did before, but riders should call the paratransit line and will be picked up by the bus rather than a taxi.
This is going to prompt us to look at what the long-term solution is. We have no idea what that’s going to look like at this point.
Stacie Dabbs
spokeswoman for the Merced County Association of GovernmentsThe service was developed for people older than 65 who need the transport but do not fit into the Americans with Disabilities Act definition of disabled.
The taxi scrip allows riders to pay about 20 cents on the dollar, an 80 percent savings.
Dabbs said the use of the paratransit bus is a short-term solution to keep the service running. “This is going to prompt us to look at what the long-term solution is,” she said. “We have no idea what that’s going to look like at this point.”
To ask for a ride from the paratransit bus, call 209-384-3111. For any bus-related questions, call 209-723-3100.
For more on the program, go to www.mercedthebus.com/168/Purchasing-Taxi-Scrip.
This story was originally published August 31, 2015 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Merced County’s taxi program picked up by The Bus."