Riders Club of America

Riders Club of America We manage senior transportation.

Riders Club of America provides transportation to people ages 55+ who no longer drive, as well as those with medical conditions that prevent them from driving. This is done by coordinating volunteer drivers with Riders Club of America members to provide a low cost transportation option within the metro areas we serve.

07/23/2021

Riders Club of Cedar Rapids manages transportation for those who no longer drive in the Cedar Rapids area. We are looking for a part-time driver 4 to 5 days a week for approximately four to five hours per day. Mileage reimbursement + hourly.

Must love working with seniors and driving. Background check and resume required.

10/17/2018

Driver Note: They just don’t know what they are missing

What does it mean to be a driver for Rider Club? As we look for volunteers to join our team, people often ask what it takes. We are always trying to boil the answer down to the basics, so this is what we say right now.

When someone no longer drives a car, they have lost their freedom and independence. Riders Club becomes the car they no longer drive, offering service to any destination within our service area at a low cost. Our reliability and timeliness make us a valuable asset to those needing timely, courteous service throughout the day.

After completing a background check and a single 90 minute training session, drivers set their own schedule of availability for any time during the week. The coordinator of volunteers confirms that availability on the preceding business day and then builds a path for each driver, insuring they can complete their rides and not exceed their available time slot.

Drivers can review their schedule from any computer and either print out their manifest or use a smartphone to see their rides. Mapping with turn by turn directions is available for each ride and for each transition between rides. Live support is available 24/7.

For the safety of all involved, riders must also be vetted for participation. Riders must pass a background check, sign a Rider Waiver and work within the team atmosphere of Riders Club.

Tell all your friends! They just don’t know what they are missing.

Please update your availability and “Days You Are Not Able To Drive”.

09/19/2018

Driver Note: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste
It’s hard to know how to work with some riders. Some are far smarter than me, have better vision than me, and can remember the last thing they have said. They can also remember the last thing they have said. There are others, however who make me look like a memory king!

If you are driving someone and the rider seems confused about where they are going:
Check manifest to see if they are identified as a ML1 or ML2 (memory loss slight or severe)
Call the office to see if we have more info for you so you can reassure the rider
If the rider does not need additional reassuring, call the office anyway! We track memory loss so it is easier for everyone on the team, and we can better “scale” the rider.

We want to help the team, and we can be most useful to everyone if you share your information with us! After all, a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Or was that a waist is a terrible thing to mind?

Please update your availability and “Days You Are Not Able To Drive” by 8 am Friday morning. Be sure to submit your pictures with riders.

09/19/2018

Driver Note: You Can Become a 3 Way Winner, Too!

I love to arrive early. I feel like I have earned extra time in a day and I can now spend time in my thoughts of how I have just won some spectacular event. I am a winner! I arrive so early some times that I turn off my engine so as to save gasoline (another mark in the win column).

I learned a special lesson last week. Even though I turned off my engine, the headlights on my car do not turn off automatically if the ignition switch is on (so I can listen to the radio). Therefore, if you are really early to a location, you can empty your battery and become noticeably late.

Learn from my valuable lesson; when you arrive early, make sure you turn off your lights while you are waiting. Then you can become a 3 way winner, too!

Please update your availability and “Days You Are Not Able To Drive” by 8 am Friday morning. Be sure to submit your pictures with riders.

09/19/2018

Driver Note: That is good for everyone

I am always looking for learning moments. I would like to think I know some things, and I am certain I have more to learn. My first rule is don’t bump into other cars or people; not in that order. My second rule: when you need help, ask for directions.

I know that challenges me. I know this town well! Why would I need help? Because I am human. Please, please, PLEASE, call the office number if you need help for any reason (319-365-1511). When the office is closed we have volunteers available during rides so they can help you. They are trained to deal with most situations. If they don’t know the answer they will call the backup person (Annika or I) and we will make up something on the spot. Please, please, PLEASE do not call Annika or I directly as we need to rest so we are well rested when we are on duty.

Calling the on-call person makes sure you get the best answer to your situation. And that is good for everyone.

Please update your availability and “Days You Are Not Able To Drive”. Be sure to submit your pictures with riders.

09/10/2018

Driver Note: I Call That a Success

We married one off! Perhaps that may sound a little too exuberant, but it was a fun weekend. It was fun for lots of reasons.

1) We gathered with family which is a rare occasion! I have one brother in San Diego and a second in Germany and my parents live in Florida. It is good to know that we kept the airlines employed this weekend.

2) I gained another daughter! She is kind and thoughtful and will keep my son in line; a difficult task when working with any Wissenberg!

3) Jim did not die while covering the office! With the rehearsal on Thursday night, we left Jim in charge of running the office from mid-day on Thursday including scheduling for Friday through Monday. Wow!

A big shout out to Jim Swales for making our participation at a wedding possible. And for getting everything done! And for the office not burning down! I call that a success.

Please update your availability and “Days You Are Not Able To Drive” by 8 am Friday morning. Be sure to submit your pictures with riders.

05/30/2018

Driver Note: Where’s the rider?

We try to keep driving interesting for you. We try to design paths that allow you maximum time with riders and minimal drives between dropping someone off and the next person to whom you give a ride. So it can be kind of confusing when a ride does not include a rider. How can it be a ride if there is no rider?

I am so glad you asked! The answer is, insurance and it keeps costs down for our riders. You see, our insurance allows us to take a passenger and whatever we are willing to put up with in the car. If we want to transport chickens, we can do it as long as the rider is with the chicken. Same with gold bars, expensive medicines, groceries; the list could be endless. And all of this hinges on whether the rider is there. If the rider is not along for the ride, our insurance costs go way, way up! There are almost no exceptions, EXCEPT non-transferable paper.

What is non-transferable paper? You guys are full of great questions today! Two examples of non-transferable paper are checks and prescriptions. If a rider has a prescription for a controlled medication (which cannot be called in by a doctor to the pharmacy), we can’t afford the insurance to transport the medication, but we can carry the prescription from the doctor's office to a pharmacy that delivers. By transporting just the prescription, the rider does not have to pay for a ride to the doctor, and then a ride to the pharmacy and then a ride home. They only need to pay for us to deliver the prescription from the doctor to the pharmacy. For us, it means we can put an extra ride in the system for you that is very flexible in terms of timing. Everyone wins!

Where is the rider? Where they belong: in our hearts!

Please update your availability and “Days You Are Not Able To Drive” by 8 am Friday morning. Be sure to submit your pictures with riders.

05/23/2018

Driver Note: I wonder what that looks like

Every now and then, Annika sends out a note saying something like, wouldn’t you like to drive tomorrow? She then describes what rides are available and wants you to call. And as you are fighting to get to the phone, you realize that the ride you have been hoping for, dreaming about, has been taken by someone else before you can even ask about it.

Have we got a deal for you! Once the manifest has been released to drivers, not only will you see the rides which have been assigned to you, at the bottom of the page you will see a list of rides which are still available for the day. Not sure if they will fit in your schedule? Select a ride group at the bottom and click on the button labelled “Try Above.” The RCA Ride Management System (RCA RMS) will place the ride in your manifest to see if it is possible. Light blue means the transition will be close. Dark blue means it is unlikely you can do it. Try as many times as you want and the system will just keep testing your combinations.

What if you want those rides? Don’t worry! Just click on the “Take Rides” button and the system will put those rides on your manifest and they are now yours! The RCA RMS even sends an email to Annika and I so we know what has happened.

You don’t want all of the other rides printed at the bottom of your manifest? No worries! The RCA RMS will only print your rides, the key, and the office telephone number.

What if you took something by mistake? Or what if you are unsure how do take a ride? Call the office and we will straighten it out!

All this magic. All for you. I wonder what that looks like in the system? Worry no more!

Please update your availability and “Days You Are Not Able To Drive”. Be sure to submit your pictures with riders.

05/17/2018

Driver Note: Apparently, that is too many words for my vocabulary.

We had a great picnic on Saturday. The food was delicious, the conversation was exhilarating, and it was the cold weekend for May, of course. The only thing missing was … pictures. I am terrible at taking pictures. As I put the final bin of “things” in the car, I remembered I had not taken pictures of our fine event.

I need help! And that help is you. Please take pictures of you with your riders and send them to Annika in the office. That way we can compile all of the pictures into something beautiful on facebook.

A picture paints a thousand words! Apparently, that is too many words for my vocabulary.

Please update your availability and “Days You Are Not Able To Drive” by 8 am Friday morning. Be sure to submit your pictures with riders.

One of our long term drivers has recently moved to Maryland. Below is the note I sent to her. It expresses the appreciation I feel for each and every one of you.

It is with a sadness that I remove you from the driver list. What a pleasure to get to know you and share a common goal of serving others.

In your 6+ years of driving between July of 2011 and Feb of 2018, you changed the lives of countless people by providing 1,106 rides of the 70,680 rides during that time: 2.56% of that total. You did this by driving 3 or 4 days a month as your schedule permitted, and even jumped in when we were short of drivers. Not only did you drive for us, you made contributions to 3 different charities along the way, allowing them to continue and grow their mission.

For the families you have touched, the riders you have helped, the other drivers you have supported, the organizations you have financed, it is with a grateful heart that I thank you for all you did for our community. May your new home treat you with the honor, respect and love you have earned while you were here among us.

05/11/2018

Driver Note: It is all about you

“Hello. My name is Martin. I will be your driver today.” I begin every ride the same; partly so the rider knows who I am as their driver, partly so I remember my name. It’s a balance thing. I hope you have found an easy way to introduce yourself to the riders as you pick them up. There are a lot of us, and for our frequent riders it can get confusing quickly.

It is also important to identify yourself as a driver when you reach the “on-call” person. If you are calling on the weekends or during the week after 3 pm or before 9 am, we always answer the phone, “Riders Club emergency line. Are you calling about a current ride?” We answer this way:

1) So riders don’t try to schedule a ride when we are probably not near a computer.

2) So unless you are a driver, we will not release information about a rider. It is our way to protect people.

3) Because the on-call person is not an answering service. They have volunteered to help with rides but they do not have a steno pad. They have printed out the schedule for rides today through the next business day so they can help riders and drivers in a ride.

4) Because the on-call person will do everything they can to make sure each ride goes smoothly in off hours.

Please let the on call person know you are a driver. That way they can give you all the information you need. After all, it is all about you.

If you have not done so, please let us know whether or not you will attend the picnic tomorrow from 12 to 2 pm. Please update your availability and “Days You Are Not Able To Drive.” Be sure to submit your pictures with riders.

05/02/2018

Driver Note: RSVP - Drivers need Picnics, too

May has arrived which means we may have spring or summer for the next 2 weeks! Who knows?

To celebrate seasons and drivers (and moms), we have our annual Driver Meeting Picnic from 12 pm to 2 pm on the 2nd Saturday in May, which is May 12 this year.

To prepare for this auspicious event, I will need to you bring a dish to pass, table service for your group (including plates, flatware, your liquid to drink) and a story or two about how riders made your day a little happier.

You should also bring friends, family, neighbors, ... but let us know how many will be coming. We can only seat 108. I also want to make sure I buy enough food.

I will provide: hamburgers, brats, hot dogs, buns, condiments, paper napkins, lemonade (for people who forget drinks), back up materials, etc., and a story or two about how people made my day a little happier.

Bever Park Pavilion
(far east side of park, close to Bever Ave)
Cedar Rapids, IA
12 pm to 2 pm. (I will start the grill around 11 am so we can start eating at noon)

Please respond by calling the office, or replying to this email, or dropping by the office, or sending a letter. We just want to hear from you whether you can come or not! Remember, drivers need picnics, too.

Please update your availability and “Days You Are Not Able To Drive”. Be sure to submit your pictures with riders.

Address

Cedar Rapids, IA
52402

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 3pm
Tuesday 9am - 3pm
Wednesday 9am - 3pm
Thursday 9am - 3pm
Friday 9am - 3pm

Telephone

(319) 365-1511

Website

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Riders Club of America manages transportation for people over 55 and those who no longer drive. This is done by coordinating volunteer drivers with Riders Club of America members to provide a low cost transportation option within the metro areas we serve.