Shown is Gary Burrill. MLA for Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley, Warden of the Municipality of East Hants, John Patterson, Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley MP Scott Armstrong and Chairperson of EHALA, Glenda Hill.

EAST HANTS: Those who are lucky enough to have personal transportation in rural areas may not have heard of the East Hants Alternative Transportation Service. But for several in many communities across East Hants, it’s an essential service.

The East Hants Alternative Transportation Society (EHATS) has been active since 2004, under the East Hants Adult Learning Association (EHALA) and has been providing accessible rides to members of the community. The not-for-profit organization started off the service with great intentions, a shoe string budget, and an unreliable van. Thanks to the $45,458 they received from the government of Nova Scotia, they’ve had one reliable van on the road since April. They were also able to purchase another wheel chair accessible van in September having received $45,616 from the federal government.

“This public transit investment will provide reliable and safe transportation for the residents of Nova Scotia; it’s an example of the government of Canada working in partnership with the province to support and strengthen Canadian communities,” said Scott Armstrong, M.P. for Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley, who was representing the federal government at the presentation.

The provincial representative agreed the funding would open new paths for the areas served.

“These buses will not only provide safe, reliable and accessible transportation for the residents of East Hants, they allow for future growth in this area,” said MLA Colchester Musquodoboit Valley MLA Gary Burrill.

An event hosted Jan. 25, at the Hilton Garden Inn Halifax Airport hotel was emceed by East Hants Warden John Patterson and saw members of EHALA, EHATS, and, society volunteers, drivers, Armstrong, and Burrill in attendance. The ceremony was held in celebration of the successful launch of the vans for EHATS and the federal-provincial partnership with Public Transit Capital Trust (PCTC).

Patterson said the Municipality supported the society in the past with grants, but is pleased other levels of government came forward to help.

“This is a very valuable service for the people of East Hants. There are people that don’t have access to regular transportation. Some (of their clients) on dialysis need to go three times a week, which is a major commitment,” said Patterson.

“This second van certainly allows us to meet the growing need for transportation service in our community. Over the past few years we’ve seen tremendous growth in the area so we’re anticipating more growth in terms of transportation need,” said Executive director of EHALA, Beth Sellick.

In 2009, EHATS provided 3,600 rides to people across the community and drove over 104,000 kilometres; this was up from 2008, when they provided 2,100 rides and covered 83,000 kilometres.

“In a year we’ve grown that much and I think a lot of that is we’ve had these reliable vans. The second-hand van that we had before was in the shop quite a bit and we weren’t able to keep it on the road as much. With these new vans there’s no problem, they’re on the road and also the demand is increasing,” said Sellick.

The vans are wheel chair accessible, and have a six passenger capacity, allowing for two wheel chairs and one passenger. They will provide rides to their over 200 members living in East Hants that pay a $20 per year membership fee, and then on a per kilometre basis. For some members, rides are provided on a per need basis. Some need transportation to the classes provided by EHALA. Others hop on a scheduled ride to hospital for services like dialysis. EHATS has one paid driver, and several volunteer drivers who use their own vehicles.

“Our van is driven by a paid driver but we certainly couldn’t operate without our volunteers, they’re on the road pretty frequently as well. Our volunteers are incredible and very reliable,” said Glenda Hill, chairperson for the board of directors for EHALA, who spoke at the ceremony on Jan. 25.

Hill said that the funding from the government offered a great sigh of relief for EHALA.

“When we had the old (van) we had to cancel rides; it made (the service) undependable for people and that wasn’t good for the association. But getting the new vans mean we don’t have to do that anymore. This means we’re safe and dependable and reliable,” said Hill.

acano@enfieldweeklypress.com