The three Democrats on the Town of Oyster Bay Board, Councilwomen Bonnie Eisler and Mary McCaffery and Town Clerk Martha Offerman, announced last week that the Town of Oyster Bay will be partnering with the Jewish Association for Services of the Aged (JASA) to provide a subsidized taxi service for seniors living in Plainview and Old Bethpage through JASA's program Plainview-Old Bethpage Cares.

In addition to the town and POB Cares, Astoria Federal Savings Bank in Plainview, Long Island Yellow Cab Company and Eisler also formed a partnership, with Astoria Federal and Eisler each contributing a $500 grant for the program.

Plainview-Old Bethpage Cares, a community program for seniors over the age of 60, assists residents of Plainview and Old Bethpage to find the support they need to remain in their homes and live independently.

POB Cares asks senior residents what they need and assists them in accessing services and resources available from local community organizations, businesses and social service agencies. POB Cares also brings the community together to create services that are not already available.

"Its mission is to help make the Plainview and Old Bethpage community more senior friendly by establishing partnerships and coalitions throughout the community to provide the services and programs seniors need to help them to continue to age in place," said Offerman. "Among the problems POB Cares identified was the lack of local transportation to someone who no longer has use of a car."

According to Eisler, JASA will establish a subsidized taxi transport program with the L.I. Yellow Cab Co. and the town will help subsidize the program for $50 per month, or 25 round trips, to be reviewed for renewal and possible expansion at the end of one year. POB Cares will administer the program by determining client eligibility, disseminating vouchers and reimbursing the taxi company. POB Cares will distribute vouchers to clients on an as-needed basis and the POB Cares social worker will determine which clients could benefit from the program, regardless of religious affiliation. Clients must be at least 60 years of age.

Eligible seniors will contact the taxi company directly to arrange for each ride. L.I. Yellow Cab Co. will charge a flat rate of $5 for any ride throughout Plainview-Old Bethpage for eligible POB Cares clients. Each voucher will be worth $3, of that $1 is from the town, $1 is from Astoria Federal Savings Bank's $500 grant and $1 from Eisler's $500 grant. At the completion of each cab ride, the client will give the driver a voucher and $2. At the end of each month, L.I. Yellow Cab Co. will send the collected vouchers to POB Cares for reimbursement.

L.I. Yellow Cab Co. will give the drivers $1 gratuity out of each $5 fare. Vouchers will only be valid during off-peak hours, which are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and after 7 p.m. Aides accompanying clients will not be charged additional fares.

"The POB Cares voucher program will make life much easier for our seniors in Plainview and Old Bethpage, said Eisler. "I am proud to be a partner in this program and I look forward to participating in more public and private collaborations such as this to enhance the quality of life for all of our residents."

The goal of Plainview-Old Bethpage Cares is to work with the community to build partnerships and coalitions of representatives from local organizations such as the hospital, the Y, the library, synagogues, churches, the senior club, the community center, and other local groups, clubs and organizations, the business community and individuals of all ages, to identify the specific needs of the community and come together to create new ways to help seniors now and in the future

"This program is exactly the reason for POB Cares," said Linda Greenbaum, project director for POB Cares. "We are here to identify a need in the community, which in this case is transportation for seniors. We have an advisory board made up of ten local seniors. The chair of the advisory board, Alan Hodes, and I went together to the town to discuss this and they were willing to entertain this, which is great. We are delighted that this collaboration is coming to fruition. We have been involved with this right from the beginning."

Councilwoman Mary McCaffery said that providing the necessary services for seniors is critically important. "Other nearby municipalities, such as Massapequa and Farmingdale, have similar programs to the one proposed by POB Cares and they have worked out very well for their communities," she said. "I am confident this will be a great success and we will be working to bring this type of program to other communities in our town."