CDCSS’s West Kootenay Volunteer Driver Program (WKVDP) has existed for close to 20 years. The program was initiated by a group of service providers in the Castlegar community who identified a major gap in transportation services at that time, particularly for seniors needing to get to critical medical appointments throughout the region, including to Kelowna. CDCSS went on to create the WKVDP which has since expanded to serve adults beyond the immediate Castlegar area to those who reside within the West Kootenay communities, and surrounding rural areas, of Nakusp, Slocan, Winlaw, Nelson/Kaslo, Salmo, Shoreacres, Glade, East Shore communities, Fruitvale, Montrose, Trail, and Castlegar.
Service needs have grown over the years; however, operational funding for the WKVDP has remained relatively unchanged. The program receives a small annual contribution from the Interior Health Authority along with other grant funds that change from year to year. In an effort to keep user fees affordable, fees were not designed to cover program operation costs.
The West Kootenay Volunteer Driver Program works in loose collaboration with at least three other volunteer driver programs in surrounding West Kootenay Boundary communities — Salmo, Grand Forks, and Nelson/Kaslo. Efforts were made over the past 10 years to explore a possible merge between the WKVDP program and other existing volunteer driver programs; however, no formal agreements were reached; and, to this day, each community operates its own independent program. There is no established funding model for any of the volunteer driver programs leaving them vulnerable to major program reductions in service capacity or closure.
Project Scope
This project aims to study the existing operations of all volunteer driver programs in the West Kootenay Boundary region, articulate their continued value to the overall transportation spectrum in this region, and recommend a viable business/service model going forward.
Castlegar and District Community Services Society invites qualified and experienced consultants to
submit a proposal to be part of this project.