The Free Ride Service, Wheels for Wellness Starts

Beginning Tuesday, June 1, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program of Berkshire County (RSVP) will launch its free ride service, Wheels for Wellness, for all Berkshire County residents.

Wheels for Wellness is a free ride service for county residents of all ages who need transportation to wellness-related activities, including medical and social services appointments, fitness classes, therapy, as well as transport to vaccine sites.

The program is a partnership between RSVP and the following organizations Berkshire Community Action Council, Berkshire Fallon Health Collaborative, Community Health Programs, Berkshire Interfaith Organizing, and Berkshire Health Systems.

The new service builds upon RSVP’s existing van service which specifically serves Pittsfield. Having this expanded resource creates a wealth of much-needed options for community members.
RSVP Director Jeff Roucoulet said,

" RSVP’s van service will still continue within city limits. “Over the years, we have learned that there is a countywide gap in transportation, not just for elders, but for others as well. In our Pittsfield program, at first, we only brought seniors to medical appointments, but we now know that this is just a fraction of what’s needed for good health, With Wheels for Wellness, we’ve dropped the age requirement and included non-medical health-related transit for our passengers to better assist with the county’s needs.”

Rides will be available between the hours of 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding major holidays. To schedule an appointment, please call the Wheels for Wellness hotline at 413-395-0109, which will be available 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

As masks are still required on public transportation, both drivers and guests will be required to wear face coverings until further notice. Riders must be fully ambulatory and able to get themselves in and out of the vehicle without assistance. Please note vehicles will most likely vary in size.

Get our free mobile app

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.