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Photograph by George Sakkestad
Dr. Betty Murdock takes classes and participates in activities all over the valley. Her son-in-law started My Driver for people just like her. Her driver Ron MacGregor is giving her a hand as she gets in the van.
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Local seniors gain newfound mobility with driving service
By Amy Golod
Los Gatan Wendell Ross doesn't allow advancing years or paralysis to keep him from traveling throughout the world. Since experiencing a stroke five years ago, Ross has visited Sweden, Alaska, Hawaii and the Columbia River by boat. While traveling the world may sound more complicated than a quick trip across town, that's not necessarily the case, as driving in Silicon Valley can be a bit of a chore.
Wendell enjoys exploring San Jose in addition to worldly monuments, but cannot always take spur-of-the-moment drives. His wife, Katherine, uses My Driver, a limousine service for senior citizens, as a one-day-per-week reprieve from driving Ross. My Driver recently drove Wendell on excursions to the Hayes Mansion and Alum Rock Park, both in San Jose.
Los Gatos-based My Driver began in 1998 when its president, Wayne Higashi, needed a transportation service for his parents and mother-in-law. Higashi hired a personal driver for them and realized the cost would be lowered if the driver were to serve others with the same needs, prompting the idea for the company.
Betty Murdock, Higashi's mother-in-law, continues to use My Driver to go to her weekly destinations. In addition to reading English and Japanese literature in her classes at Evergreen Valley College, 80-year-old Murdock takes ballroom dancing lessons and is a member of a walking club that treks through the Great Mall of Milpitas before stores open.
Prior to My Driver, Higashi co-founded Adaptec Inc. in 1981 to build controllers for disk drives. Higashi left Adaptec in 1986 to form the Epilogics Group, and patented the one-way clutch, which the group now licenses to automotive suppliers. The group manages and shares office space with My Driver at 160-C Albright Way in Los Gatos.
My Driver is a luxury service, costing $512 for 32 one-way rides per month. Each additional one-way ride costs $16. The Rosses were former clients of the nonprofit Outreach, a similar, less expensive service for senior citizens, but decided to use My Driver because it seemed more flexible and offers more personal attention.
"Wendell is a world traveler and he can maintain local travels with this service," Katherine said.
My Driver's clients are all over 50, but most are in their 70s and 80s. Rides, which cannot exceed 30 minutes, take clients to recreational destinations such as golf ranges and restaurants, but also to doctors' offices and grocery stores. The Rosses also used My Driver to pick them up from the airport.
Another client, Alice Weiss, received a My Driver gift certificate from her daughter and was treated to a month of service to take her to medical appointments. "I think it will be a good service for people to get out and do what they used to do," Weiss said.
Weiss and other clients call an assigned driver directly when they want a ride and create weekly schedules to avoid conflicts with other clients. Generally 25 to 30 clients sign up each month, according to Roseanne Wagstaff, executive vice president of My Driver.
"We find that sometimes seniors limit their activities because they don't want to drive. It's been really fun to see them expand their activities," Wagstaff added.
The desire for a My Driver service is not unique to local areas. Residents of San Francisco, Gilroy and Morgan Hill have expressed interest in My Driver, and Higashi has created a waiting list for those potential customers with hopes to expand the company.
"We hope to franchise [My Driver] and go nationwide," Wagstaff said.
For more information, call 379-5200.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
