This is part of an occasional series on how technology can help seniors age in place.
For some seniors, there will come a day when you need to give up the car keys.
That might not be so bad if there are other drivers in the house, but what about seniors who live alone?
Dallas Area Rapid Transit offers regular bus service to many neighborhoods, but it also offers neighborhood-based rides on demand called GoLink to 17 areas around town.
You can check DART’s website for the available neighborhoods. Rides must begin and end inside the boundaries of each neighborhood zone.
You can upload DART’s GoPass app to a smartphone, or seniors without smartphones can arrange for a ride with a phone call.
I urge all seniors to get a smartphone and learn how to use it, but I’m glad DART offers a telephone option.
Another option is a ride-sharing service like Uber or Lyft. Both offer easy ways for seniors to get where they need to go. You can also travel more “spur of the moment” with these services.
Of course, you’ll need a smartphone app to use most ride-sharing services, but did you know it is possible to use those apps to arrange a ride for another person? I did not.
In Uber’s app, when you touch the icon to arrange for a Ride, at the top of the page is the name of the person who’s logged into the app. If you touch that name, you’ll see the option Change to Switch Rider.
You can then choose a new rider. You’ll want to put that person in your contacts because that’s where Uber’s app will get their name and cellphone number.
You then choose the pickup and drop-off locations and pick the level of service you’d like to be dispatched.
When you arrange for a ride for another person, that person will get a text with information about the arrival time, driver’s identity and car, as well as the destination. The rider can also text directly with the driver. The charge for the ride will appear on your account.
In Lyft, when you set a ride destination, you’ll see a spot at the top of the page to change who’s riding. Lyft says that If the rider does not have a Lyft account, he or she will receive a link via SMS message to create an account.
If the rider doesn’t have a smartphone, you can bypass switching the rider and instead proceed as if they were choosing a ride for themselves and choose the pickup and drop-off destinations.
On the ride confirmation page, there is an option to leave a note for drivers that they will be picking up a different person.
If you live in Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston or Los Angeles, you might want to look at Dallas-based premium rideshare service Alto (ridealto.com).
Alto offers a different type of rideshare — its employs its drivers, and the vehicles are owned by Alto.
There is a monthly membership fee — $12.95 per month or $99 per year — but members receive a discount on each ride. You can book a ride as a guest, but you’ll pay more.
You can use Alto’s smartphone app to set up an on-demand ride or schedule a ride in advance. It is also possible to arrange and pay for a ride for another person.
Alto’s business model brings a higher level of rider security, which is helpful for seniors. The service area and hours are limited (no rides past midnight during the week), so check the website for details.
There is also a service called GoGoGrandparent.com with subscriptions starting at $9.99 per month. With this service, you can use a phone to arrange for Uber or Lyft rides, arrange for grocery, meal or pharmacy delivery and more.
It is like having your own concierge, but there are fees for each transaction on top of the monthly subscription costs, so do your homework.
This isn’t a comprehensive list but just a starting point. Where you live has everything to do with the choices available to you. Having your own smartphone and knowing how to use it is very helpful, but not entirely necessary.
If you have any transportation tips you’d like to pass along to other seniors or their caregivers, send them to me at jrossman@dallasnews.com, and I’ll collect them for a future column.
