Volunteer Transportation Network (VTN)
Do you live in the greater Brunswick area and need rides during the week to pick up groceries or prescriptions, to medical appointments, or for errands and social activities? The Volunteer Transportation Network (VTN) provides up to four free rides a month for residents of Brunswick, Harpswell, or Topsham.
Our volunteer drivers can also run errands for you if you are housebound, picking up and delivering groceries and prescriptions.
This free service is available Monday through Friday, during normal business hours, mostly 9am to 5pm (but can be slightly earlier or later).
How Do I Get a Ride?
- Please review our VTN Procedures.
- Complete a Rider Registration form and mail or bring it to us at People Plus, 35 Union Street, Brunswick, ME 04011.
- Once we receive your application, we’ll call to make sure you understand how the program works, and to answer any questions.
- Then, simply call us at 207-729-0757 a minimum of three full business days before your ride, with the date, time, and address of your destination.
- Your request will be included in a daily email to our drivers, and if your ride is picked up by a volunteer, they will call you to confirm the date, time, and destination.
- On the day of your ride, they will call once they have arrived to pick you up.
Are Rides Guaranteed?
Because our volunteer drivers are donating their time, there is a chance that your ride may not be picked up by a driver. This sometimes happens, and is more likely if your destination is a bit outside of the Greater Brunswick area. If this happens, you’ll receive a call the day before your ride (Friday for a Monday ride) so you may either reschedule your appointment, or find an alternative way to get there.
The best thing you can do to increase the odds of your ride being picked up by a volunteer driver is to give as much advance notice as possible of the rides you’ll need. People call us weeks or months in advance if they know they have appointments on their calendars.
How Do I Volunteer to Drive?
Our volunteers are central to the success of our transportation program. We hear from riders every day saying how grateful they are for these rides. Sometimes, our drivers are the only people our riders regularly see, and so volunteering is a meaningful way to make an immediate difference in your community! We especially need drivers during the winter months, when many of our drivers have moved south temporarily.
- Please review our VTN Procedures.
- Complete a Driver Application form and return it to People Plus at 35 Union Street, Brunswick, ME 04011. We require a clean driving record, current drivers license, and current registration and motor vehicle insurance.
- Once your background check is complete and you are approved, we’ll call to make sure you understand how the program works, and to answer any questions.
- You’ll receive login instructions to create an account in Assisted Rides, the online program we organize our rides through.
- Assisted Rides will send you an email each weekday with upcoming rides needed in the next 10 days.
- Once you accept a ride in Assisted Rides, you’ll call your rider to confirm time and destination.
- On the day of the trip, once you arrive to pick up your rider, you’ll call them to let them know you’re outside.
For more information call 729-0757.
- mail: PO Box 766, Brunswick, ME 04011
- drop off: 35 Union St, Brunswick
