Popular Driver is Angel on Wheels
Published: January 24, 2006
Thoughtful. Loving. Caring. Special.
Those are just some of the many adjectives MoVan passengers use when talking about driver Laverne Cummings.
Cummings, 56, of Riverside, works for Diversified Paratransit, a transportation company contracted by Moreno Valley Friends of the Senior Center Inc., to drive senior and disabled Moreno Valley residents to doctor’s appointments, stores and other places within a 35-mile radius of Moreno Valley.
Monday, Wednesday and Friday are usually booked solid, Cummings said, as many of her passengers depend on the MoVan to take them to dialysis treatments on those days. Tuesday and Thursday are less busy. When she has time, Cummings parks the MoVan in front of the Moreno Valley Community Senior Center, which serves as her base of operation, and goes inside to chat with the seniors.
“I lost my mom two years ago, so working here is a real pleasure for me,” Cummings said. “I can continue giving my love to the people at the center. I go around to every table and speak to every last one of them.”
Carmen Wean, who uses a wheelchair to get around, has a long list of praises for Cummings. Wean, who rides at least three times a week, said Cummings goes above and beyond her duty as a van driver.
“She even picks up the newspaper out of my driveway,” said Wean, 82, of Moreno Valley. “She’s an angel on wheels. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t get out of the house.”
Wean, who pays $1 for each round trip between her home and the senior center, said riding the MoVan is a bargain compared to other forms of transportation.
“A taxi from home to here once cost me $6.25. I didn’t do that again,” Wean said as she waited for lunch in the center’s dining room.
The MoVan is funded with tax money received from Measure A, a federal community development block grant and private donations.
Dorothy Grzeskowiak, president of the Moreno Valley Friends of the Senior Center Inc., said donations have increased since Cummings came on board in 2004.
“She has encouraged the clients so much that she’s gotten more donations than any other driver,” Grzeskowiak said.
The low price and special treatment is just part of the reason Mary Taylor prefers riding with Cummings over using other bus services. Time is a factor as well, she said. By calling ahead and making a pickup appointment with the MoVan, Taylor said, she avoids changing buses and long waits at bus stops that would be necessary to get to the Jefferson Wellness Center Riverside.
“She’s always on time. That’s what I like about her,” said Taylor, 63, of Moreno Valley during a return trip home from the center. “This is the first bus I’ve taken where I’ve felt completely at home.”
As Taylor left the van, she reminded Cummings that she would be having dental surgery the next morning.
“I’ll call you tomorrow and check on you. If you need me, give me a call,” Cummings said to Taylor.
Many of Cummings regular passengers have her home number and she has theirs.
“If one of my customers hasn’t been around for a week or two, I call them to make sure they are OK,” Cummings said.
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