Silver Key fills in where Fort Carson bus service left off

Editor's note: This version corrects the phone number for transportation reservations.

Blind and elderly, Erika Richards relied on the municipal bus service to get to Fort Carson so she could pick up her medicines and buy groceries.

When the bus route ended Jan. 1 because of budget cuts, she was devastated.

“It’s been hard,” she said. “You have to ask somebody to take you. Most of the time, nobody really wants to take you.”

Starting on Monday, she’ll be back on the bus to Fort Carson —  but not because the route is being restored. She’ll be on a Silver Key Senior Services bus, thanks to the efforts of a determined employee, Lisa Waltman.

Waltman, who works for Silver Key's transportation office, made it her mission to get the nonprofit agency onto Fort Carson once she realized the city bus route was being cut.

She knew that seniors who use Fort Carson’s services could get their meds elsewhere, but it would cost them more.

“Some of them take 10 to 15 different prescriptions a day,” Waltman said. “That’s quite a bit of money to fill them at Walgreens when they can get them for free at Fort Carson.”

With support from her supervisors, Waltman started planning a Fort Carson route in December, and the agency got clearance to get its vehicles on the post.

“I’m so excited,” said Richards, a 77-year-old military widow. “It means everything to me because I’m blind and I can’t go get my medicine. I need a lot of medicine.”

The Area Agency on Aging gave Waltman the names of 15 people who might use the service. When she called them to let them know it was starting, some cried, she said.

“They said ‘we didn’t know what we were going to do,’ ” Waltman said.

The Fort Carson service will operate on Mondays, but it could be expanded if demand warrants it. Eventually, she said, Silver Key hopes to add service to Peterson Air Force Base.

“This is our pilot program, and we need riders. We need to see if there’s a need,” she said.

As with Silver Key’s other services, the Fort Carson route is for people 60 and older. Riders are picked up at their residence and asked to donate the fare, but they aren’t turned away if they don’t.

“If you can donate, that’s great,” Waltman said. “If not, we’re not there to take food off of your table. We’re there to get you around town and keep you living independently in your home.”

Silver Key officials note that its services are not income-based, so even seniors who own luxury cars can turn to them for transportation if they don’t like to drive in bad weather or across town.

It’s a point that Waltman’s supervisor, Patrick Kopach, emphasizes as he works to build ridership, which could translate into more evening, weekend and recreational trips.

“We’ve never really reached out for passengers,” he said. “Now, we’re trying to provide more of a service to people who may even have cars but would elect to go with us.”

The Ride to Fort Carson
Silver Key service to Fort Carson uses wheelchair-equipped buses and vans. Pickup begins about 8:30 a.m. Mondays at riders’ residences. No service is provided east of Marksheffel Road, south of Drennan Road or north of Old Ranch Road. For reservations on the Fort Carson route or for other transportation services, call 884-2380.
To become a volunteer driver, call 884-2313.