Helping people get where they need to go

GOOD NEWS: You can now Request a Ride Online!

The demand for our ride service has increased from a few rides per week in 2020 to requests for 2-3 rides per day in 2024. As a result our amazing volunteer dispatcher spends a lot of time taking calls. She enjoys talking to our clients, but it’s becoming a full time job.

To make her workload a little lighter we have developed an online form to request your ride. It will save our dispatcher a lot of time if you read the information about how our service works on our web page and then complete the form. Click HERE to access the page.

You can use a computer, tablet, or smartphone, but you will need a valid email address to complete this form. If you are not able to do this perhaps a family member or friend could complete the form for you.

Please note you can still call to request a ride at: 250-463-4341 for those who aren’t comfortable with the online option.

About Us

The South Shuswap Transportation Society was formed in 2019 to provide a transportation service for the nearly 8000 residents in Electoral ‘Area C and G’ of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District. 

Our service will be on a first come - first serve basis, so medical appointments should be booked as far in advance as possible. If we have more than one request for a given time slot for either of our vehicles, priority will be given to clients who need a ride to a medical appointment. There is no direct charge for this service, but donations are welcomed to help cover our costs.

To request a ride you can now fill out a form on this website which will go directly to our dispatcher or you can phone 250-463-4341 at least 48 hours in advance. Please note the service is only available from 9:00 am till 5:00 pm Monday to Friday.

Volunteer drivers will provide this service and will receive driver safety training and criminal record checks. Although strict COVID-19 protocols are no longer required, drivers and or clients may choose to wear masks for additional protection in the car.

Our Team

We are fortunate to have a team of dedicated volunteers in the South Shuswap who are the heart and soul of our non-profit organization. Their expertise, experience, and time commitment ensure those in need of a ride will get to where they need to go safely.

Volunteer Drivers & Dispatchers

This group of caring individuals have volunteered to make appointments and drive our clients in need of transportation to their medical appointments and other services. To ensure clients have the utmost confidence in the service we provide; all driver volunteers are screened for a good driving record and a police information check.

To see what our clients have to say about our services click HERE.

Drivers will have completed a 4 hour classroom driver training session plus an in-car orientation in our electric car the Chevy Bolt and a coaching session. These sessions are conducted by our Safety Director who has over 40 years of professional traffic safety and driver training experience. The upside of this training is volunteer drivers will have better driving skills, they will be safer drivers, and they will understand how to reduce fuel consumption in their own vehicles.

Additional Drivers Needed

More Drivers Needed

Now that the community is becoming aware of our service we now have 2-3 bookings most days. Happily we now have an additional vehicle, a brand new Tesla Y, so we need more volunteer drivers.

If you are available during the week and interested in driving please call our Safety Director, Bryan Lowes at 778-389-4636 or email bryanlowes@shaw.ca for more information.

Our next driver training session will be on March 27, 2025 from 9 am till 1:00 pm at Blind Bay Hall.

Board of Directors

The Board of the South Shuswap Transportation Society is a group of community minded individuals who recognized a need for a transportation service as the bus service in the area is not convenient and there is no taxi or ride hailing service.

The members of the board have diverse backgrounds but the common denominator is they all want to help people in the community who rely on this service get where they need to go. In addition to their board responsibilities many of them are volunteer drivers.

We are always looking for community minded people to serve on our board. If you are interested in helping please email our President, Paul Demenok at: pdemenok@gmail.com for more information.

Our Partners

Thanks to the generosity of the following organizations, the Board was able to secure funding from the CSRD,  SASCU, and the Shuswap Community Foundation. These funds enabled them to purchase our first electric car, the Chevrolet Bolt and the charging station was installed at Tirecraft in Sorrento.  For more information about each of our sponsors and details of their contributions click on the button below.

Board members and volunteer drivers at the launch of our second electric vehicle
the Tesla Y at Tirecraft on Jan 26, 2024

Our Second Electric Vehicle the Tesla Y

It has been a long time coming but we are thrilled to announce the arrival of our second electric car the Tesla Y. The car was unveiled on January 26th 2024 at the local Tirecraft in Sorrento.

The South Shuswap Transportation Society, which operates South Shuswap Rides, was able to purchase this car as a result of a combined investment of $95,327 from the federal and local governments, as well as SASCU and the Shuswap Community Foundation to support the expansion of the South Shuswap Rides’ door-to-door transportation service.

 Announced by Minister Sean Fraser, Natalya Melnychuk, Director, Electoral Area G for the Columbia Shuswap Regional District and the President of the South Shuswap Transportation Society Paul Demenok, this investment will assist South Shuswap Rides in continuing to provide convenient, safe, and affordable transportation to residents.

The South Shuswap Rides service began in 2020 and has been growing quickly. In 2023, 19 volunteer drivers delivered 300 rides or 25,733 kilometres of door-to-door transit service to South Shuswap residents using one electric car. As a result, an additional car is required to expand the service and further support the community.

The Tesla Y provides greater range as well as larger carrying capacity. Now we can reach destinations as far away as Kelowna in the coldest weather and carry client’s wheelchairs if needed.

For details of the press release from CSRD click HERE.

Our First Car….

It’s good to be green…

South Shuswap Rides has a Chevrolet Bolt electric car for our services. The Bolt was chosen as it provides very good comfort and ease for passengers getting in and out of the vehicle.

An electric vehicle has only a small fraction of the ongoing operating costs of a regular gas engine vehicle, which is important for a small non-profit organization that has no regular sources of revenue to pay the bills. In addition, the electric vehicle has a lower environmental impact from greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

The decals on our car were created by the talented team of graphic designers at Brushstrokes Signs and Awnings in Salmon Arm, to recognize the contributions of our partners in making this service possible. To find out more about all their products and services click on their name to visit their website.