On Oct. 17, envida, a nonprofit organization in Colorado Springs, launched their new transportation route in eastern El Paso County ó called the Calhan Connection. Formerly Amblicab, envida provides low cost transportation and home health care to older individuals.Gail Nehls, envida chief executive officer, said that at a meeting at the community outreach center in Calhan a year ago residents requested more transportation options.ìWe applied for grants at the state, federal and local levels to meet the needs of people going to medical appointments, shopping appointments, educational classes and visits with family in town,î Nehls said.The bus will depart from the Calhan outreach center at 7:05 a.m. and 12:40 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday and stop at the following locations: Calhan post office, Peyton post office, Falcon Walmart, St. Francis Medical Center, UCHealth Memorial Hospital North and Mountain Metro Transit Hub on Briargate Parkway and Voyager Parkway, Nehls said.ìThe bus will make two round trips per day and costs $5 one way unless the person is 60 or older, and then it is free,î she said. ìWe will be tracking the number of trips per week per month; and, if there is a greater need, we will be looking at deploying the route more frequently.îUntil mid-to-late-spring 2019 when a new bus becomes available, Nehls said the bus will have seating for 10 and wheelchair accessibility.This type of transportation route is important to the community because it helps support independent living for residents without access to a vehicle, she said.ìWe heard stories about people driving back from Colorado Springs after having dialysis or those with macular degeneration who were still driving,î Nehls said. ìWe are really excited about getting this route put together and to be able to support the community in that way.îThe schedule for the Calhan Connection bus is available on envidaís website at http://www.envidacares.org.
