12 · SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 2017 Older adults can now use car-ride services, such as Uber and Lyft, by simply making a phone call to set up the ride after registering for the GoGo Grandparent service. UBER & LYFT ... MINUS THE APP GoGo Grandparent allows older generations to use ride services without technological hurdle A new service is nowmaking it possible for older adults who don’t have smartphones to summon rides from Uber and Lyft. The company is called GoGo Grandparent, and it’s based out of Mountain View, Calif. It’s a go-between service that connects ride-for-hire drivers normally summoned by a cellphone app with seniors who call a toll-free number, and it came about because the grandmother of one of the co-founders asked him to make it happen. “It was really more like commanded,” joked Justin Boogaard, 26. “She had started to feel uncomfortable driving herself. This was two years ago, so she was 84. I didn’t have a car because I was 24, and I was that bum that lived with his grandma, and I Ubered everywhere. “Grandma saw that and asked me to give her their number so she could use them, and I had to explain that’s not how it works.” About a week later, Boogaard’s grandmother asked him to help one of her friends from bridge club download the app to her phone, but 45 minutes later, when she was still struggling, they gave up and called a cab. After that, his grandmother told him he should really make a phone number that would allow them to use services such as Uber and Lyft, which are generally cheaper and faster than traditional taxi services. He and co-founder David Lung got to work, and GoGo Grandparent was born. Although the company does not disclose howmany customers or howmany employees it has, Boogaard said their customers number in the tens of thousands nationwide. He said they’ve helped provide hundreds of thousands of rides and have dozens of “professional grandchildren” working for the company. In order to use the service, riders must first register, free of charge, either online or by phone. The company asks for the name of the person who’ll be using the service, contact information and any additional information that might be helpful for the driver to know, such as any visual, auditory or memory impairments or equipment used LENDINGAHAND BY KAREN PRICE
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