Virginia Haller, 89, is all smiles whenever she talks about the Ride Hancock ride service, previously known as Hancock Rural Area Transit. The Shirley woman’s photo and testimony were shared with the program’s stakeholders and volunteers to show how the free ride service impacts county residents.
Submitted by Suzanne Derengowski
HANCOCK COUNTY — Virginia Harrell doesn’t know what she’d do without the ride service previously known as Hancock Area Rural Transit, or HART.
The 89-year-old Shirley woman has been getting free rides from the service since her husband passed away two years ago.
“Those people are absolutely fantastic. I don’t know what I’d do without them,” she said.
The popular ride service recently changed names in an effort to rebrand. From now on, HART will be known as Ride Hancock.
“That organization is such a blessing to Hancock County,” said Harrell, whose poor vision prevents her from driving.
She relies on the ride service — which is open to all ages — for routine trips like medical visits and grocery shopping, and once a year to get her taxes done.
“Anywhere that I need to go they’re there, and they’re always on time,” she said.
“When they take me to get my groceries, they load my groceries, they bring me home, they unload my groceries and wait to see that I got into the house safe. When I get my eyes treated every eight weeks (a driver) always waits to help me get back to the car when I’m done,” said Harrell. “That’s just the kind of people they are.”
For the past 17 years, HART has operated under the same umbrella as Hancock County Senior Services.
The name change to Ride Hancock is an attempt to rebrand the free ride service, which is primarily used by seniors but is open to riders of all ages.
“The service will basically stay the same, but you’ll see a different logo on our vans and hear a different name when we pick up the phone,” said Suzanne Derengowski, executive director of Hancock County Senior Services, who also oversees the Ride Hancock program.
The change came about when the nonprofit’s contract recently came under the jurisdiction of Hancock County. “In the past, our contract has been with INDOT (Indiana Department of Transportation), but now our contract is run directly through the county. The name change is to clarify the fact that Ride Hancock is a public transportation service for everyone in Hancock County, not just seniors,” she said.
County residents of any age can contact a ride through Ride Hancock, which charges $4 per stop. If a person stopped at both the pharmacy and the grocery, for example, the cost would be $8.
Those 60 and older are eligible to get free rides to essential destinations like the doctor’s office, bank and grocery store.
Derengowski said the free service is supported by grants from agencies like the United Way and CICOA, a not-for-profit agency that helps seniors and people of any age with a disability remain at home and out of institutional care.
The transportation component operates under a separate contract from senior services.
Derengowski said Hancock County Senior Services has been providing rides for seniors since its inception, but that the nonprofit started the Hancock Area Rural Transit program in 2005 at the request of INDOT, which was seeking to establish free rides for all residents in Marion County and all surrounding counties.
The regional program was designed to provide transportation for people in more rural areas who didn’t have access to more urban transportation alternatives like buses, cabs and other ride-share services.
In many counties, opening up the new transportation service fell to senior service agencies like Hancock County Senior Services.
While HCSS and Ride Hancock are both run by Hancock County Senior Services, Derengowski said they’re completely independent programs.
“The recent changes to the (transportation program’s) funding stream really isn’t going to be super noticeable to the general public, but we’re taking this opportunity to make the changes we’ve been wanting to make anyway in clarifying the program is public transportation for all and also bringing back some of the efficiencies we lost during COVID times,” she said.
That means riders who have ridden solo over the past two-plus years might now be sharing a ride, “but the service and the drivers will be the same,” the director said.
Ride Hancock has also launched new features, like giving riders a reminder call or text the day before a scheduled ride.
Derengowski said more than a dozen drivers are now employed by Ride Hancock, but that she’s always looking for additional drivers.
“There’s a little bit of physicality to it, because you have to help people getting in and out, but we provide training for all of that,” she said.
Because many riders are wheelchair bound, Ride Hancock’s fleet includes wheelchair-accessible vans.
In addition to transportation services through Ride Hancock, HCCS oversees a number of other programs for seniors, like handyman and housekeeping services and help with tax preparation, legal issues and medical care.
The nonprofit also has a robust senior support program through which volunteers help “with everything from lawn work to spending time with people and checking in on them on a regular basis,” Derengowski said.
The nonprofit also employs two trained medicare counselors who can help people navigate their medical needs.
“Open enrollment is coming up Oct. 15-Dec. 7, so it’s a key time for people to check to make sure they have everything lined up that they need,” said Derengowski, who oversees a team that covers a variety of needs.
“It’s a small team but a great team that keeps it all together,” she said.
