Case Study 1 - ITN America
Areas of impact: Transportation of the elderly
Social enterprise location: Westbrook, Maine, USA
Short description of activities:
ITN helps elderly people maintain independence in transportation. ITN does this by linking elderly people with their own cars with younger people who can drive them to and from their required destinations.
ITN provides a door-to-door, arm-through-arm service to thousands of people across the US. It's a truly innovative solution with unique programmes that allow older people to trade their own cars to pay for rides and enable volunteer drivers to store transportation credits for their own future transportation needs.
ITN's ‘Road Scholarship Programme converts volunteer credits into a fund for low-income riders and the gift certificate programme means people can support an elderly person in a way that enhances their liberty.
ITN also takes elderly or visually impaired drivers off the road, making the roads safer without compromising their access to independent transportation.
Why it's a social enterprise:
The mission of ITN is to support sustainable, community-based transportation services for seniors throughout the world by building a senior transportation network through research, policy analysis and education, and by promoting lifelong safety and mobility.
ITN is the first and only national non-profit transportation system for America's ageing population. It doesn't rely on US taxpayers for support with operating expenses. ITN builds local economies by keeping and helping ageing people to stay in touch with the outside world.
ITN affiliate communities may use up to 50 per cent public funds in the first five years or service. As ITN does not want to compete with public transportation for scarce tax payer dollars, its enterprise model seeks to supplement public transportation by working directly with seniors, their families and their communities to access private resources, such as cars, and drivers’ time.
What is its design aspect?
ITN is a service design solution. It has identified the need for elderly people to remain mobile within their communities and has mapped the resources necessary to achieve this mission - eg the vehicles, the drivers, the fuel and the administrative infrastructure. This service is supported by proprietary information technology – the ITN Rides software system.
Main actors and interactions (including stakeholders, networks, services and revenue streams):
- People 60 years plus, and visually impaired adults provide the client base and the vehicles where possible
- Trained drivers (who could be family members of those benefiting from the scheme) are linked with the elderly or visually impaired clients to drive the vehicles
- ITN staff assist in the establishment of ITN affiliates within local communities and the network of service providers and clients
- Local Government can provide start up funding
- Clients’ families provide resources to maintain the programme in the form of gift certificates
Social Impact:
- ITN provides an alternative to driving that preserves for the ageing population their independence and ensures the roads are safe and communities are healthy
- Mobility was ranked the third highest issue for older people
- Seniors stay connected to family, friends and community
- Adult children find relief from a daunting and complex problem – that of maintaining mobility for their parents
- Unites older people with their communities
- Unites communities across the US
Economic Impact:
- Businesses retain their valuable customers
- The impact to the local business community of one ITN affiliate is between $300,000 and $500,000 per year
- By 2010, the expected annual economic impact of ITN affiliates will be as much as $20 million
- The ITN enterprise model demonstrates how provision of the right expertise, tools and state-of-the-art technology allows small organisations to serve more and more people without additional resources or funds
Environmental Impact:
- Promotes car-sharing for individual journeys
- Reduces the need for more vehicles on the roads by allowing individuals access to a pool of cars
Links:
itnamerica.org