When someone has a true passion for something it tends to show. Especially if that passion is altruism, a character trait that is far too rare in this day and age but clearly not gone entirely. Dan Callaghan is such a person.
If you don’t know the name, then you haven’t had the opportunity to make use of an invaluable transit service here in Pembroke. Namely, Handi-Bus.
Manager Dan Callaghan and a handful of folks who truly know what Customer Service and kindness mean are at the heart of this service that since 1989 has been getting elderly and disabled folks of all walks of life here in Pembroke to and from where they need to be. At a reasonable cost and with a smile. Dan himself explains how it works:
To say that nothing is cheap anymore is an understatement at best, but affordability of the service is critical to Dan because that’s what his clientele require. Keeping his costs reasonable isn’t an easy tasks and it takes hard work as Dan explains.
Pembroke Mayor Ron Gervais has been a supporter of Handi-Bus and a close ally of Dan’s for well over 20 years. As a long time Board Member and a man who has a lot on the go in this city, I asked Gervais simply – why support Handi-Bus?
The city of Pembroke is going to be implementing a public transit service sometime this summer which is being touted by City Council as a 3 month pilot project. Among a number of factors, what is yet to be determined is how the fare structure of this system will work. While Callaghan certainly understands the need for a service that provides transportation for a wider sector of the populace, there is still concern about how this will impact his business. Mayor Gervais says that there is going to be an effect but what that is will remain to be seen.
Handi-Bus, like most other not for profit businesses in Pembroke, relies heavily on the support of various revenue streams from government and tax relief systems but by and large, they roll up their sleeves and fundraise as a very large part of their income. There’s lots going on in that regard says Callaghan.
How many times have we picked up the phone to order a service only to have a mechanized voice walks us through a maze of options with only the click of a button required as an answer? Not at Handi-Bus says Dan.
A service by real people. For real people. It doesn’t get better than that.
(Written By: Richard Evans)