Ride program frees older Fil-Ams from national crisis: loneliness

Lina Kildani shares why she doesn’t feel lonely or isolated anymore. Photo by Cherie M. Querol Moreno

DALY CITY, Calif. – Lina Obieta Kildani and Edwina Tengco have more in common than their Filipino heritage.

Both residents of Daly City, they dedicated their professional lives to the city and county of San Francisco when they immigrated from the Philippines.  Both single again, they value their independence in their 80th decade, leading lives according to their personal priorities.

They are among hundreds of Filipino Americans who can say they’re free of a pervasive problem besetting their age group in part because of a nonprofit ride program.

The two women did not know each other until last week, when they were recognized as the first-ever participants of Got Wheels!, an on-demand discounted taxi service launched in the summer of 2019 by Peninsula Family Service (PFS), a 74-year-old organization based in the city of San Mateo.

“It was the answer to my prayers,” raved Kildani, an LVN at San Francisco General Hospital until she retired over a decade ago.

Edwina Tengco saves her taxi rides for Sunday Mass, the highlight of her week. Photo by Cherie M. Querol Moreno

The life of the self-described former “social butterfly” shifted dramatically when her husband died in 2018.

“I didn’t feel like socializing.  And then I had a problem with my left hip that required a walking stick to get around,” which hampered driving.  “My children are all grown with families of their own and I really didn’t want to be dependent on them,” said Kildani, mother to a Berkeley lawyer, a San Francisco nonprofit COO and a Hollywood film production executive from her first marriage.

On-demand 24/7

Got Wheels! started as a pilot program providing affordable taxi service for Daly City residents at least 70 years of age.  For only $5 a ride and an optional tip, service is on call for any reason to any address within the county’s northernmost city at any time.

Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the program eases mobility issues confronting people of a certain age, particularly newcomers unable to drive because they have not applied for their driver’s license, don’t know how to drive or don’t own a car.

They may have disabilities or have no one they can turn to for assistance.  Because they have no means of transportation besides mass transit, they tend to put off health visits or social activities.  Many are left stranded at home, feeling sad and lonely.

Last year US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned of loneliness as a growing nationwide crisis, compelling authorities to enact policies to respond robustly and immediately.

“Loneliness is more than just a bad feeling – it impacts individual and societal health,” Murthy said in his advisory.  “It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death.

The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity.”

He recommended action to promote the “healing effects of social community.”

Like ‘manna from heaven’ 

That was four years after Got Wheels! had roared out of the gate on a one-year grant unanimously approved by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.

Learning of the pilot program in July 2019 was “like getting manna from heaven,” Kildani described her appreciation to Inquirer.net USA for the first curb-to-curb transportation specifically for older adults in historically underserved North San Mateo County.

At that time, Tengco and her sister Lourdes frequented congregate luncheons subsidized by the County at Cafe Doelger in Westlake Park, one of Daly City’s five recreation centers.  Older adults get to enjoy an affordable meal often with a special presentation by a community-based organization to enlighten attendees on resources to keep them active and engaged.

“We got excited when the subject was affordable taxi service,” said the former secretary of the personnel office at SF Library.

She never drove, she said, having been accustomed to the bus system in Manila and later in San Francisco, where she did earn a special driving permit.  Owning a car was a luxury she did not feel she needed, and the on-demand taxi program sounded like a convenience she could not pass up.  Finally she wouldn’t have to cope with stress headaches that came with her attempts to drive.

“I was starting to have all kinds of ailments and envisioned more difficulty down the road, so commuting began to pose a hindrance,” Tengco, who lives with her sister Lourdes, noted the appeal of the program.  She was already taking cabs occasionally and welcomed the prospect of doing so at a fraction of the regular fare.

Pioneer participants Lourdes and Edwina Tengco lead attendees celebrating their 5th year of accessible affordable transportation. Photo by Theresa Myers/PFS

The timing was perfect.  Between her 2014 knee replacement and 2019 hip surgery, “it was excruciating to walk” to and from the bus stop, said Tengco, whose only daughter lives in San Francisco.

The program has been a “blessing,” she said, “drivers are pleasant.”

Because rides are limited to six one-way rides (or three round trips) a month, members, as participants are called, plan ahead.

Tengco reserves her taxi rides for church service, the highlight of her week.  “I make it a point to hear Mass on time,” she stressed, and takes the bus home to extend her number of rides.  When her grandchildren visit, she takes advantage of the perk to take along two companions free of charge, provided they get on and off at the same time and place.

For recreation and other activities, she’s contented to take the bus.

Kildani says she dedicates her rides to appointments at nearby Seton Medical Center.  She likes the convenience of calling program partner provider Serra Yellow Cab anytime to pick her up within a half hour.

For long-distance destinations like her daughter’s home across the Bay, where she was preparing to go when Inquirer.net USA came for a visit, she takes Uber, unfazed by its tech process.

Expansion

Both Kildani and Tengco were elated in 2020 when they received announcement that Got Wheels! was expanding to nine more cities: Colma, Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, Burlingame, Hillsborough, Half Moon Bay, El Granada, Moss Beach and Montara, with service to San Francisco International Airport.

The program currently serves over 650 people between 70 and 101 years old.  The only eligibility requirements are for participants to be 70 years old and live in the service area upon application.

A little over five years to date, Got Wheels! marked its anniversary at the site where it was introduced to the community.  Daly City co-hosted the event at Cafe Doelger after awarding PFS a grant that allowed 20 members to sign up this fiscal year.

Kildani, Tengco and fellow members ages 70 to 96 got together to meet leaders of the organization and elected officials powering the program.

“We are grateful to the Board of Supervisors and Caltrans for supporting our efforts to provide mobility to older members of the community,” said Charles Hansen, PFS Chief Program Officer, as he urged attendees to visit www.pfso.org for said resources.

Guest of honor Supervisor David Canepa, who had proposed the initial grant to launch the pilot program, had more good news: “I’m proud to say as a member of the Measure K subcommittee we have prioritized expanding the Got Wheels program and will be bringing forth a $600,000 funding request to the full Board of Supervisors in the coming weeks to ensure this very important lifeline for our older adults continues to thrive.”

From left: Supervisor David Canepa, Daly City Mayor Juslyn Manalo and Council Member Teresa Proano commend Peninsula Family Service for its many programs for individuals and families. Photo by Theresa Myers/PFS

“Mobility and transportation are so key to help our older adults connect, get out of the house where many are often isolated and dealing with loneliness,” he underscored a centerpiece agenda.

Mayor Juslyn Manalo commended PFS for its many programs in the counties of San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Benito and Santa Cruz for individuals and families to lead successful lives.

Some 250 residents of Daly City alone enjoy mobility via Got Wheels!, majority of them Filipino Americans.  Kildani and the Tengco sisters were among six singled out by Council Member Teresa Proano as pioneer members, modeling how to live longer with caring connections.