It’s time to get creative! Last week, Michael Shaughnessy wrote in this newspaper about transportation, and the need for bus service in the Windham area. I want to tell you about other ideas for transportation, some available now, and some that would take some initiation and imagination. All are worthwhile programs and would address our energy and transportation needs.

One program that began here in Maine, and is now available nationwide, is called the Independent Transportation Network (ITN). It provides dignified transportation for senior and persons with visual impairments. Though it is not now available in Windham, it serves areas in all surrounding towns. If Windham residents wanted to bring the service to the Windham area, and were willing to begin volunteering to provide rides through the ITN, I feel sure it would soon be effectively serving our Windham senior residents.

ITN volunteers are trained to ensure safety, comfort and mobility to those who can no longer drive safely. ITN customers enjoy door-to-door transportation, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. ITN customers set up a personal pre-paid Transportation Account to be used for their monthly use. And, those who can no longer drive, but still have a car, can donate their vehicle to the ITN and get the value of the car put into their ITN account.

Another idea catching on at Maine’s universities is car sharing. A for-profit company, Flexcar, offers car sharing for individuals who only need infrequent use of an automobile. Members pay an annual fee that ranges from $25 to $75 that covers gasoline, insurance, maintenance and cleaning. The hourly fee varies from $5 to $10.

The company offers late-model vehicles plus light trucks and minivans. Each vehicle has a home location, and the vehicles are returned to their home location daily.

Bates College in Lewiston is the first university to make Flexcars available to students and faculty. The University of Maine at Orono announced they will offer the service, and the University of Southern Maine is looking into the possibility. Perhaps St. Joseph’s College could offer this service to their students? And it doesn’t always have to be universities and colleges. How about a vehicle to be available for a neighborhood or community?

Flexcar is now linking services with Metro bus services. The motto is, “When you don’t need a car, take the bus. When you do need a car, use Flexcar.”

Another possibility is car-share ownership among several families. Once the financial hurdles are solved, it would only be a matter of scheduling the use of the car for a single family member or ride sharing with the families in the group.

Saving lots of money is only one aspect of the benefits of using these innovative systems. Flexcar works with a forest company to assure that enough trees are planted every year to offset the carbon output from the entire fleet of its vehicles. They are the first company that can claim to be carbon neutral.

Now that we know what is available, all it takes is for someone in the Lakes Region to choose one or more of the options and make it happen. Is that someone, you?

Sally Breen lives in Windham.