Northern Kentucky has a new rideshare program catered to transporting folks with disabilities.
Ride A Wav (Wav stands for wheelchair-accessible vehicle) is different from other rideshare companies because it provides door-to-door service, as opposed to curb-to-curb service. The company allows people to schedule rides day-of, like with Uber or Lyft, to get them around anywhere they want.
“So if a person is in a wheelchair, or blind, or has Multiple sclerosis, ALS, or anything that keeps them from being able to drive, what we are focused on is not so much medical transportation because most of that is covered either through insurance or Medicare or Medicaid but if these folks want to go anywhere else—a family gathering, a wedding, a birthday, graduation, even Christmas there’s not transportation for these things,” Ride A Wav Ride Coordinator Lori Meininger said.
The company was started in New York City and has been operating for a little over a year. It was brought to Northern Kentucky after it saw success in New York.
Meininger said the work she does with Ride A Wav is extremely gratifying. She recalled a time they gave a ride to a woman who hadn’t been to her family’s Christmas celebration in two years.
“She was absolutely giddy the whole way there, and when we got there, her whole family was outside on the sidewalk cheering for her,” she said.
Fort Wright resident Jenn Martinkovic is an occupational therapist who recommends Ride A Wave to her patients.
“That’s one of the hardest things (transportation) when there’s somebody who needs assistance or is in a wheelchair,” Martinkovic said. “Most of the transportation companies in this area that I’ve run into with my patients is like you have to have weeks’ notice or qualify for a special program, or you can’t qualify because you’re low income or things like that. There’s not a rideshare program for someone that needs assistance that is day of or day before.”
Martinkovic said even if someone has a family member who can take them places, they don’t always have an accessible vehicle. She said her patients often had to set up a ride weeks in advance or opt not to attend an event.
“They weren’t able to go to the social things, you know, they can go to a doctor’s appointment or things like that, but the fun stuff, as I call it, they weren’t able to get to,” Martinkovic said.
Ride A Wav treats all its vans with a non-toxic anti-microbial as part of its safety measures.
“We take out the glovebox and pull the cabin filter out, start the van, and run it all through the ductwork in the van so that nobody will get COVID-19, pneumonia, the flu or any of that stuff when riding in our van,” Meininger said.
Ride A Wav is dog-friendly, and a friend or family member can join the ride at no extra cost.
The company covers Boone, Kenton and Campbell Counties and tries to stay within the 275 loop. Rides cost $48 plus $2.40 per mile.
Those interested in requesting a ride from Ride A Wav can contact (859) 918-9900, where a person can answer the phone seven days a week. There is also an app called “Limo Anywhere” that people can use to request a ride.
“We’re trying to break barriers for these folks so that they can access life again and do things that are fun and fulfilling that they’re not able to do now,” Meininger said.
