The second neighborhood mobi in the Kerkelanden district of Hilversum is on its way, but voluntary drivers are urgently needed to actually start driving. The golf cart is popular among the elderly who have regained their freedom as a result.
In 2018 it is Monique Gijsman neighborhood initiative started. There is room for three elderly people in the electric golf cart and the rollators can go in the back. Volunteer drivers take the elderly for a tour of the neighborhood or for a trip to the shopping centre.
Once a week Mr. Vos and his wife drive from their house to the shopping center in Kerkelanden with the neighborhood mobi. He wouldn’t be able to do that outside the car, says 75-year-old Vos, who has difficulty walking. Every Tuesday he travels with the neighborhood mobi to the indoor shopping center for a cake with his wife. “Then I’ll be away for a while, I won’t go outside any further.” For Vos, the neighborhood mobi means freedom. “It costs nothing and is also very cozy.”
Distance too far
Since the start of the neighborhood initiative, it has been a household name among the elderly in the Kerkelanden district. But the cart has a small battery, so long journeys are not possible. “Suppose you want to go to Landgoed Zonnestraal, then you can’t because that distance is too far,” says initiator Gijsman. So she started looking for a second mobi that can drive further. And she managed to find a lender.
From October it will therefore be possible to call a neighborhood mobi from Loosdrecht for transport to the Kerkelanden shopping center and the surrounding area. But two trolleys also means that twice as many volunteers are needed. So she is looking hard for extra drivers and telephone operators, otherwise they cannot drive two carts. “Anyone who can deal with the elderly is welcome,” she concludes.