Multipurpose Vehicles as a Solution to the Need for Transportation of the Elderly and Handicapped in Small and Isolated Communities

This paper describes how a key element in bringing the elderly and handicapped into the mainstream of community life is the provision of adequate transportation services. In recent years there have been a number of advances in the field but they have been largely confined to urban areas or heavily populated areas. To meet the need for transportation of the elderly and handicapped in lightly populated area, the Province of Manitoba introduced a program of assistance to communities designed to conform to the demographic characteristics of the Province. A challenge that has fascinated the administrators of the province’s rural program is the question of the minimum size settlement for which a transportation service for the elderly and handicapped can be justified. While it is evident that Manitoba is providing service in communities much smaller than considered feasible in other jurisdictions, there are realistic limitations to what can be done. It has been widely accepted that the establishment of transportation services for the elderly and handicapped is feasible only in those areas where there is a sufficient user population to justify the purchase and operation of a vehicle and a tax base sufficient to support the services.