Those traveling to get their COVID-19 vaccine at clinics in or near the city limits of Gainesville can take advantage of discounted WeGo rides through June.
WeGo, the City of Gainesville’s vanpool service, operates using a smartphone app and a fleet of 10-12 passenger vans from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The service launched in December 2020 and is available to everyone, including persons with disabilities.
The WeGo app is available online in both the Google and Apple app stores. The discounted rides to vaccine clinics range from $1 to $3 and are aimed at supporting the vaccination effort in the Gainesville-Hall County area.
“Transit agencies around the nation are finding ways to help the public combat the COVID-19 virus,” Gainesville-Hall County Community Service Center Director Phillippa Lewis Moss said in a statement Wednesday. “In addition to wearing masks, frequently washing our hands and social distancing, we’ve taken the extra step of discounting fares because we want to provide every opportunity for our family, friends and neighbors to access this life-saving vaccine and do our part to end the pandemic.”
The discounted WeGo rides are expected to prove especially convenient upon the opening of a new mass vaccination site by the Hall County Board of Commissioners. The site opens Tuesday, April 6 at the Hugh Mills Physical Education Center on the University of North Georgia’s Gainesville campus and will eventually replace the Hall County Health Department’s existing clinic at Chicopee Woods Agricultural Center in Gainesville.
Following the opening of the new mass vaccination site, the Hall County Health Department will continue administering second doses of the vaccine only at Chicopee Woods through Monday, April 12. Residents who received their first dose of the vaccine March 23 or after at Chicopee Woods will receive their second dose at the new site.
“I am always reminded that as a public transit provider, we must remain agile and quickly respond to pressing community matters,” Moss said. “The COVID-19 pandemic is a perfect example where we have had to turn on our heels and adjust our operations to best serve our community.”
WeGo currently offers rides to the following vaccination sites:
- Northeast Georgia Physicians Group, 3137 Frontage Road, Gainesville
- Hugh Mills Physical Education Center at University of North Georgia’s Gainesville campus, 3820 Mundy Mill Road, Oakwood (Opens April 6)
- Chicopee Woods Agricultural Center, 1855 Calvary Church Road, Gainesville (Closes April 12)
- Longstreet Clinic, 725 Jesse Jewell Parkway, Suite 180 (Entrance A), Gainesville
- MedLink Georgia, 520 Jesse Jewell Parkway, Gainesville
- Kroger, 1931 Jesse Jewell Parkway, Gainesville
- Riverside Pharmacy, 935 Green Street NE, Gainesville
- Lawrence Pharmacy, 631 Broad Street, Gainesville
- McElveen’s Pharmacy, 1210 Thompson Bridge Road, Gainesville
More information about the discounted WeGo rides and vaccine clinics is available here.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2021/4/993653/gainesville-wego-service-to-offer-rides-to-vaccination-sites-through-june