By Mark Abromaitis
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

According to AAA MidAtlantic, the average price of gasoline in Pennsylvania is sitting around $4 a gallon. But people who live at Maris Grove, an Erickson retirement community in Delaware County, Pa., are taking advantage of the local transportation offered to them by the community.

The service is included in their monthly service packages, which also includes one meal a day at any of the community’s restaurants, all maintenance and repairs on their home, taxes, and all utilities except telephone.

“Our residents are doing their share—saving gasoline and saving money at the  same time by consolidating their trips and using our campus shuttles,” says Maris Grove Retirement Counselor Julieann Brant.

A culture shift
Brant says the high price of gasoline has forced a culture change. “We are seeing more and more shuttle riders each day,” Brant says. “I really think our residents and Americans as a whole have had enough and are consciously changing how they live.”

“It seems like they [gas prices] don’t want to stop going up,” says Maris Grove resident Ike Watkin. “I guess we’re lucky compared to other places around the world like Canada and Europe who are paying even more for gas. But it has certainly changed our lifestyle.”

He adds, “We don’t just drop everything and run to the store for a gallon of milk like we used to. Now we plan ahead, consolidate our trips, and use the shuttle service to shop.”

Watkin says the shuttle is convenient. “It’s easy to use, the drivers are great, and it seems like there’s a bus coming along every five minutes or so.”

Maris Grove estimates more than 60% of the residents use the community’s transportation system on a regular basis. Free local transportation is one of the many amenities offered to residents at Maris Grove and all other Erickson communities around the country.

A spike in ridership
At the beginning of the year, the community projected an increase in the number of riders.