Car Lite & Medical Appointments

[fallstoclimb]

How do those of you who don't live in a city manage this?  We are, really and truly now, thiiiiiiis close to selling my car.  However I've been in physical therapy for like a year for a back problem I've been having.  About to quit on the PT, since clearly its not helping, but that means I'll probably be heading out to several specialist appointments in uncontrollable locations in upcoming months.

My regular doctors are easily bikeable (or even walkable), but this isn't an option for specialists, and for something like PT doing Uber all the time would really add up in costs.  I don't even think buses are an option given the time suck.

Are there any creative solutions I'm not thinking of?   We've got car sharing figured out now as far as our work and social lives go, medical appointments are just about the last frontier...

[lauren214]

Maybe a long shot, but I would check into your local public transit system to see if they have any sort of "flex" type program in your area. They have this in my area and in some others I've seen. Basically, if you're going anywhere in the area that the flex system serves, you just call 30 minutes ahead of time and they'll take you where you need to go in a big van, likely with some other passengers. It's around 2x bus fair.

[TrMama]

Our city has a volunteer run service for getting people to medical appointments. I think it's designed for seniors though. Not sure if they'd be open to taking an otherwise capable young person who doesn't feel like having a car.

[fallstoclimb]

LOL yes TrMama I agree -- when I first googled this all I found was services intended for seniors and low income folks, which I do not feel comfortable taking advantage of! 

I'm pretty sure we can still make this work though -- I can just drop DH off at work when I have an appt.  Not the most convenient solution, but doable.  I was just wondering if there was another creative solution I hadn't thought about.