A local program designed to give people rides to medical appointments can no longer keep up with the demand.
Castlegar Community Services executive director Reidun Rossi told city council last week that the West Kootenay Volunteer Driver Program has been operating in some form for 20 years. Volunteers give rides to people who can’t otherwise get to their appointments. Drivers are reimbursed for gas.
Rossi said the demand for rides has skyrocketed in the past few years. In the 2022-23 fiscal year, they provided 766 rides. In 2023-24, there were 1,156. In 2024-25, there were 1,887. And in 2025-26, they expect to provide 2,600, a 27 per cent increase over the previous year.
“For the first time, in late 2025 we were unable to meet all requests for rides,” Rossi said. “We are able to meet them up until September-October. Some regular clients have been informed that ongoing rides cannot be guaranteed. There’s a lot of people now that cannot get rides because we have so many demands.”
The problem is not a volunteer shortage, but a lack of funding, she said. They have 30 volunteers ready to provide three times the number of rides presently offered, but the organization doesn’t have the budget.
The program is supported by client fees, the United Way, Interior Health, a Columbia Basin Trust ReDi grant, and a gaming grant. However, Rossi said these are primarily one-time sources with no guarantee of ongoing funding.
The program costs $120,000 to $140,000 per year to operate and in its busiest month it offers about 250 rides. Some funding streams are for seniors specifically and others for anyone over the age of 18.
Rossi said they collaborate with other local agencies who provide similar services. While each area has a local program, they come together on rides of 100 kilometres or longer.
She added that the program used to provide recreational rides to get people to activities in addition to medical appointments, but they can no longer do that.
While she didn’t ask the city for funding, she did request that council advocate for the program with provincial agencies.
Rossi also said they are working with Interior Health to see if any changes can be made within the health authority’s internal booking system that would allow for multiple people to catch rides on the same trip.
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