Despite fears that a Therapeutic Activation Program for Seniors (TAPS) bus would be written off after it was stolen and damaged sometime in the early morning hours of Feb. 1, the situation took a positive turn this afternoon following an inspection by ICBC.
"They said to take it to a body shop," said TAPS co-ordinator Bridget Currie.
Repairs are estimated to cost between $8,000 and $10,000. It is not yet known if insurance will cover the cost.
The 11-seat bus is used to pick up seniors at their homes, and then transport to social and recreational activities in the community. The program has a second bus, but it is larger — with 21 seats — and too big to go to the homes of over a half-dozen seniors.
“There are some who live in homes that are not accessible by the big bus and they certainly can't walk to the road,” said TAPS outreach worker Terry Nowak. “Our drivers were in tears.”
The bus was found on Devon Street yesterday morning, having been driven into a ditch and an embankment. Jim Daniels, the TAPS volunteer mechanic and a former highways ministry mechanic, inspected the wreck yesterday, and was certain it would be written off.
“They don’t fix old buses,” said Nowak. “If there’s any kind of frame damage or anything like that, that’s it.”
Purchased used in 2009, with half of the cost covered by TAPS and half from its dedicated fundraising group, the Krafty Kronys, the bus is valued between $16,000 and $20,000. It is an important part of a program is now unable to serve all of its more than 50 members.
“It’s like taking the wheelchair of a handicapped person,” said Nowak. “It’s so significant as to what is does for people and our seniors.”
For more information, TAPS can be reached at crestontaps@shaw.ca or 250-428-5585.