How to use Go Go Grandparent transportation service

While we know intuitively that loneliness is damaging for seniors, Dr. Holt Lunstad, a psychology professor at Brigham Young, has found in a large-scale analysis of 70 studies, that "insufficient social connection is a bigger risk factor for mortality than obesity or smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day." She also found that lonely people are more than twice as likely as the non-lonely to develop Alzheimers.

One reason seniors suffer disproportionately from loneliness is the loss of the ability to drive.

While GoTriangle and other services offer free transportation to seniors, sometimes seniors require transportation that cannot be met by these services.

Go Go Grandparent is a useful resource for these times.

It can be intimidating for seniors to set up. Here are the basic instructions, as well as answers to the most common questions seniors ask.

Before you or your adult child go online,

1. Have this information ready: To create an account for yourself, your parent or your friend, you will need the name, home address, birthday, and cell phone number, as well as a credit card. You can indicate if there are visual, hearing or memory issues; if there is a need for a vehicle that can accommodate a walker, wheelchair, oxygen tank, or service dog. There is also a way to add special instructions.
2. Set up an account online at https://gogograndparent.com/ or by calling 1-855-464-6872
3. Once you have an account set up, you only need to call this number and press #1 to order a ride to pick you up at home. Or press #6 to speak to an operator.
4. Within 30 seconds of your order, drivers from Lyft and Uber see your order. As soon as a driver takes the assignment, Go Go Grandparent sends them any special needs you have as indicated in your profile (for example, "car must have space for a wheelchair.").
5. Your ride should arrive within 15 minutes.
6. At the end of the ride, the charges will be posted to your credit card. In the Triangle area, there is $3.75 base fare plus $.76 per mile plus $.14 per minute plus $.27 per minute concierge fee for the call center. In other words, a five mile trip taking ten minutes would cost $3.75 + $3.80 + $4.10 = $11.65.