Mostly, I try to use as many delivery services as possible. My prescriptions are delivered, the newspaper is delivered, many of my purchases are made on-line and delivered by the U. S. Post Office.
Most other medical supplies including those for sleep apnea are delivered by the post office or other carrier service. Office supply houses will deliver. I order stamps by mail and give mail and packages to my postal carrier at the door. Banking can easily be done by mail and on-line.
Trips to Southwest Eye Clinic require use of Get-A-Lift, a local service which is part of the local bus system, Golden Empire Transit Service. Get-A-Lift costs only $1.50 a trip. It provides curb-to-curb service for doctor and dental office trips. The drivers are nice and as helpful as possible. Funds are tight, so getting a convenient pick up and drop-off time can take a couple of days of negotiating. I’ve also found confirming appointments the day before helps eliminate snafus.
Get-A-Lift can take considerable time. I set aside an entire day to keep an hour long appointment with a physician across town.
The bus is specially equipped for wheelchairs and I feel safe as a passenger. Not comfortable, but safe. Get-A-Lift is preferable, in my point of view, to riding in a car. The struggles to get in and out of a car is quite uncomfortable. The bus is better, if time is not a consideration.
If wish to go only to downtown, which is close, I take the regular bus, which is fitted with a ramp that descends, scoops me up and puts me inside. The driver fastens a safety belt around the chair and off we go! I can shop at the local Rite-Aide, several antique shops and my favorite, the downtown Goodwill where I take my cast-offs and browse through the book section. Also, one of Bakersfield’s finest shoe store (Guarantee Shoe Center) is downtown.
In some cases car travel is the only way, My sons have become skilled at putting me into and getting me out of their cars.
The city of Bakersfield and county of Kern could do better at providing public transportation for wheelchair-bound people, but the situation has improved so much since I was first injured in 1972.
To obtain better public transportation services, each of us should make the effort write letters to the editor of the local newspaper and call on our various county, state and national legislators. They need to know what we need.