'A little bit of comfort': Donations help disability service with new van

Some clients of P.E.I.'s Pat and the Elephant will enjoy a quieter, more comfortable ride because of donations from two community groups.

The non-profit provides transportation to people who have limited mobility, which includes people of all ages. The service has purchased a new $80,000 van with the help of donations from Charlottetown Rotary Club and 100 Women Who Care. It will replace one of the seven older vans in the fleet.

"We have two vehicles that are ready to come off. They're into the 400,000-kilometre range, so they're getting old, they're getting tired, they're getting noisy," said Pat and the Elephant manager Halbert Pratt.

"A little bit of comfort, a little bit of quiet, so this will help tremendously."

Pratt said demand for the ride service has risen in recent years, and he expects that to continue. Calls during the week are mostly for medical appointments and essential errands, but during the weekend the requests are more varied.

"We take them to weddings and funerals and birthday parties and anniversaries and movies and out to dinner," he said.

On average, he said, the group takes about 120 calls a day.

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