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From: NFB-NEWSLINE Online <publications at nfbnewsline.net>
Date: July 30, 2025 at 7:15:17 AM CDT
To: Fred Olver <fredolver at gmail.com>
Subject: Article from Detroit Free Press News Section 2025 07 29

Seniors can ride for free to 77 sites MAP program teams with Wayne Metro By Christina Hall Detroit Free Press July 29, 2025 Christina Hall/DFP Sixty is the new 40 or 50, maybe, depending on whom you ask. But it's still an age for some senior discounts, such as free or discounted purchases at stores and restaurants. In metro Detroit, age 60, for a limited time, will give sexagenarians and older in the tri-county area free, round-trip transportation and free or discount passes to participating cultural destinations, parks, campgrounds and recreation areas in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. The Michigan Activity Pass (MAP) and The Library Network are partnering with Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency (Wayne Metro) in a pilot program to provide the free round trips to participating MAP destinations through Sept. 30 for Wayne, Oakland and Macomb county residents age 60 and older as well as a caregiver or companion, who could be a family member or friend. Residents need to have a library card to obtain a pass through the MAP program to the destination of their choice ' at least seven days out ' and Wayne Metro will organize the transportation to and from the venue. Wayne Metro also can assist with obtaining the pass and even take someone to and from their local library if they need to obtain a library card if they don't already have one. Residents booking a pass to the MAP destination must live in Wayne, Oakland or Macomb counties and choose a destination within the three counties. Residents can cross county lines to attend a venue. For example, a Detroit resident could go to Sea Life Michigan Aquarium in Auburn Hills or a Metropark in Macomb County and a northern Oakland or Macomb county resident could go to the Detroit Institute of Arts in Wayne County. The transportation will be catered to the person's needs, such as whether they have a service dog, use a wheelchair or need help getting from their home to the awaiting vehicle and from the vehicle into the destination they choose, said Valerie Lefler, executive director and founder of Feonix - Mobility Rising, a Nebraska nonprofit that has been providing mobility services in Michigan since 2018. The group is working with Wayne Metro to provide the transportation for the pilot program. "The goal of this program for folks 60 and older is to help people get out and about this summer," said DJ Bond, communications and member engagement manager for The Library Network in Novi. "We're hoping that we hit people who might not have transportation at all; people who have more limited mobility; who live in the more rural parts and have transportation but driving is more taxing for them. Maybe transportation may be limited, one of the factors to going out in the public and enjoying what's out there. The free transportation adds to the MAP program itself, which is nearly two decades old, and is available through 637 libraries in Michigan and has 475 destinations throughout the Lower and Upper peninsulas, Bond said. He indicated there are 77 destinations in the tri-county, metro Detroit area: 29 in Wayne County, 36 in Oakland County and 12 in Macomb County. Where to go? Here's a few of the metro Detroit destinations listed in the MAP program's Lower Mitten brochure online: Huron-Clinton Metroparks (in each county); Oakland County parks, and Belle Isle Park in Detroit Arab American National Museum, Dearborn Detroit Historical Museum, Detroit Plymouth Historical Museum, Plymouth Outdoor Adventure Center, Detroit Greenmead Historical Park, Livonia Mill Race Historical Village, Northville Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills Legoland Discovery Center, Auburn Hills Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, Rochester Hills Holocaust Memorial Center, Farmington Hills Chaldean Cultural Center Museum, West Bloomfield Troy Historic Village, Troy Anton Art Center, Mount Clemens Michigan Military Technical & Historical Society Museum, Eastpointe Selfridge Military Air Museum, Harrison Township Sterling Heights Nature Center, Sterling Heights Stahls Automotive Foundation, Chesterfield Township Michigan Transit Museum, Mount Clemens Seniors can explore; work on health, well-being The new 60-plus transportation option is unique to Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. Organizers will evaluate the pilot when it's over to see whether it will continue or can be done on a larger scale with more partners, Bond said. The pilot launched July 1. Wayne Metro is helping a handful of residents, mostly in Wayne County, book their first trips, said Megan Wilk, Wayne Metro's director of innovative programs. Wilk said the pilot program is important so seniors can "explore their local community and build connections and work on their health and well-being. Bond indicated that funding for the pilot came from a $20,000 sponsorship from United Healthcare. Transportation always has been a "thought in the back of our mind," Bond said, how to get people to destinations when getting somewhere is more limited. The goal is to help provide the connection, "make that last mile of getting someone to go to some of these destinations. We're really hoping people take advantage of it this summer. Organizers said tri-county residents aren't limited to one trip to one destination. If they like the pilot program, they can book other trips to other MAP program destinations in the three counties using the free transportation. Bond said about 18,000 MAP passes were checked out statewide during fiscal year October 2023 through September 2024, about a 35% increase from the prior fiscal year. He said more destinations are coming on board to be a part of the overall MAP program. Library patrons can check out one MAP pass per library card every seven days. Then they have seven days to use it. MAP passes can be checked out up to two weeks in advance. The transportation is always free, and each participating destination chooses the discount it will provide to MAP patrons. MAP passes can be canceled, if need be. Wilk said MAP passes can be obtained online and residents can book the transportation online. Or, they can call Wayne Metro's Connect Center at 313-388-9799, where a specialist can help them with applying for a library card online, a MAP pass online and/or schedule the ride to the destination through various transportation options, including ridesharing. She said working with Feonix - Mobility Rising will ensure the resident gets scheduled with the ride that works best for their needs. Residents typically are picked up and dropped off at their door. Wilk said the Connect Center is open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Residents can call the center during its hours to troubleshoot any issues they may experience the day of their ride to and from their MAP pass destination. Lefler said Feonix - Mobility Rising's call center also can help troubleshoot issues on trip days, particularly after-hours questions. It can be reached at 833-653-6544 and is open 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Sunday. She said if the trip is through a rideshare, residents will receive calls or texts about the car, the license plate and the name of the driver. They may get calls when the trip is confirmed and shortly before the pickup time. Lefler said other services, such as those picking up a resident using a wheelchair or providing additional assistance to the resident, traditionally call the day before or morning before to confirm who the driver is and the type of vehicle. Residents can ask for identification. The driver doing the initial pickup may not the be same person who handles the return home, Lefler said, and those details should be communicated to the resident. She said translators for Spanish and other languages are available. "Those rides are to reduce isolation, to improve getting out and be a part of the community," she said, "and that is vital. Contact Christina Hall: chall at freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter. Support local journalism. Subscribe to the Free Press. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters. Michigan .

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