For city dwellers, long lonely country roads can appear especially peaceful, unchoked by tight traffic grids, lines of cars, trucks, fleets of buses. For residents in such areas who lack reliable transportation, the same vast stretches can represent formidable challenges.

Even essential tasks like obtaining groceries, keeping medical appointments, or picking up prescriptions often pose considerable difficulties. Small wonder that RideLink, a call center to help arrange transportation for people in the Archdiocese’s rural northern counties, has provided thousands of referrals in only its second year.

Offered by Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley, RideLink assists callers in Champaign, Darke, Logan, Miami, Preble, and Shelby counties. The program launched in March 2016 with the help of funds from One Faith, One Hope, One Love and a grant by the Ohio Department of Transportation.

RideLink can be accessed via a toll-free number (800-521-6419). Callers receive information about transportation options from a list compiled by CSSMV across all six counties, and help with connecting to a suitable service based on location and ability to pay.

The information is free, though the transportation itself might entail a fee depending on the source. Some providers offer rides as far as Cleveland, Columbus, and some Indiana destinations.