By John Tompkins
Rockbridge Area Transportation System (RATS) wants city and county residents to know that its van service caters to more than just the elderly and disabled.
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“We’re not just for the handicapped. There’s a lot of misconceptions about what our business is and who can use our business.”[/pullquote]
RATS is now poised to branch out to younger people in the Rockbridge area and has already started hosting group events, said Betty LaRock, company director.
“Anybody, anybody, anybody can use our service,” she said. “We’re not just for the handicapped. There’s (are) a lot of misconceptions about what our business is and who can use our business.”
Many local residents think RATS takes only older, low income and handicapped residents to and from the grocery store, care facilities and doctors’ appointments. But in fact, LaRock said, her service transported over 100 guests for a wedding last fall and it’s scheduled for a wine tasting tour in April.
Washington and Lee University students in a public relations class found that “it’s not that people don’t know who we are and (or) that we exist,” LaRock said. “They don’t know what we do or who we serve.”
Founded by Lexington resident Joan Manley, RATS has been operating for two decades as an on-demand, low-cost transportation company whose service covers Rockbridge County, Lexington, Buena Vista, nearby airports from Roanoke to Richmond, and train stations in Charlottesville and Lynchburg.
Manley’s idea for the business came after she was paralyzed from the chest down after being hit by a drunk driver.
“I thought, golly, if I need a ride to get around, I bet there’s (are) other people like me,” Manley said. “The fact that it (RATS) grew so quickly is testament to how important it is.”
And grown it has. The non-profit business Manley started with just one van now operates 15 vehicles and the service takes in $500,000 a year. Most of its cars are wheelchair accessible. Just last year, RATS served over 650 residents in the Lexington area community, 77 percent of whom can walk.
While most of RATS funding comes from Medicaid reimbursements, it receives state and local grants and holds two fundraising letter-drives each year, LaRock said. The money raised from these drives allows her to give veterans, low-income residents, and mentally and physically disabled riders discounts of up to 60 percent.
Able, full-fare passengers can schedule rides between one and five miles for just $9. Beyond that distance, RATS charges $2 per mile for rides of up to 30 miles, $1.75 per mile for rides between 31 and 59 miles, $1.50 per mile for rides between 60 and 100 miles, and $1 per mile for rides over 100 miles.
While most RATS passengers are middle-aged and older, younger residents also take advantage of the services.
When Jennifer Bagby, a mother under 40, moved to the area in 2007, she didn’t have a car and relied on RATS to make local trips with her three children. On those rides, she befriended some of the staff and now she has worked for the company for about five years.
“If I didn’t have that (RATS), I’d have walked everywhere, and I’m glad I lived in Buena Vista, but I needed to get to work because I actually moved residences about two miles outside the city limits…and it wasn’t really safe to walk…and so having that really was great,” Bagby said.
It’s a bit more challenging for other residents to learn about RATS’ services. LaRock said information about RATS is buried on W&L’s website, making it hard for students and parents to learn about the business. She also said that many of the misconceptions about RATS in the W&L community are prevalent even among Rockbridge County locals.
Sarah Ayers, an employee at the Lexington Subway and Washington and Lee’s Hillel House E. Café, said she had no idea that everyone can use RATS.
“I always just assumed it was for elderly and disabled people,” Ayers said. “I’d love to see them branch out.”
LaRock plans to educate the public on RATS’ services. She said petitioning to attain a more prominent spot on W&L’s website and advertising through flyers or other means in local businesses may be good places to start, but nothing is in the works just yet.
“It’s not like we’re trying to make a killing,” she said. “We’re just trying to provide a service that the community needs and enjoys.”