After four years of operating a ride service in Gainesville and Hall County, iTN Lanier officials announced this week the non-profit will cease operations.
Executive Director Dana Chapman said the non-profit fell victim to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"Our Board of Directors, most who are long time committed volunteer drivers, are heartbroken to have made this decision," Chapman said in an email statement. "After a four-month fight for alternatives, iTN Lanier is being dissolved."
Chapman said once the pandemic set in, riders did not use the service as they had in the past.
"They will likely remain more isolated in the coming years. Sustaining and re-building with available community funding directed toward the COVID Crisis, will not be possible in the amounts that we need," Chapman said, pointing out that a transportation service is expensive.
"We kept rider fees so low by subsidizing the cost with $90,000 in necessary fund raising annually, which cannot be assured as the community recovers from the pandemic," Chapman said.
Chapman said she and volunteers have worked to make personal contact with each rider to explain the reasons for dissolving the non-profit.
"We will always be grateful for having been able to serve more than 500 riders with 11,000 rides over 183,000 miles," Chapman said.
Follow this link to read a previous AccessWDUN story about iTN Lanier.
