Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Drive Happiness, an assisted transportation service for seniors with reduced mobility. We help our seniors with their groceries, accompany them to appointments and lend a friendly ear while driving. If you enjoy chatting with seniors and driving, we have the perfect volunteer opportunity for you. Our drivers make their own schedule and select where they will drive. We offer a small reimbursement to go towards gas and vehicle wear and tear.

Applicants need to be:

•   65+ and;
•  sufficiently mobile such that they can enter and exit vehicles on their own cognizant; however need to have personal challenges that restrict them from utilizing other forms of transportation such as ETS, DATS, etc.

Drive Happiness operates in over 30 communities in Alberta; check out the list here.

If you have needs and don’t know where to go, give us a call anyway. We’ll do our best to connect you with the appropriate agencies.

Riders must be able to enter and exit the vehicle on their own. Volunteers can offer a hand but remember they are only volunteers and cannot do transfers. 

Canes and walkers may be brought. 

Scooters and wheelchairs are too heavy and large to be taken on rides.

Unfortunately, no; as Drive Happiness is a rider’s only organization; you will need to qualify, apply and pay for the rider annual fee before we can begin booking rides or provide you with service provider referrals. (Standard applications are usually processed within two or three days after receipt of your application and payment) Thereafter, you need to provide us with a minimum of 3 days (72 hours) notice of your appointment before we can assign a driver.

Riders buy tickets for $10 each from Drive Happiness office. 

Payment options:

• Mail cheque to “Drive Happiness”: 9916 45th Ave. NW, Edmonton, AB, T6E 5J1
• Credit card over the phone (additional $3 fee)
• Email money transfer: payments@drivehappiness.ca with the security answer “happiness”

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1 ticket=$10 and is good for up to 90 minutes (from pickup to drop off) or 40 km. If your trip is over 90 minutes or 40km, a second ticket is required. 

If you are looking to book a long-distance ride, over 120km roundtrip, we will calculate the cost on a per KM basis that is deemed fair both both the rider and the driver.

Please call the Drive Happiness office to discuss a long-distance trip. 

We accept cash, personal cheque, email money transfers (with the security question answer “happiness”), and credit cards. There will be a surcharge of $3.00 when using credit cards as a method of payment.

E-transfers should be sent to payments@drivehappiness.ca with the Rider’s name in the memo along with what the payment is for (tickets, annual fee etc.). The security question can be anything, as long as the answer is “happiness”.

Please book your ride a minimum of 3 business days in advance: 780-424-5438 or 1-888-336-4503 (the earlier the better – rides can be booked up to 3 months in advance)

To book riders will need to provide: 

• Name
• Phone Number
• Address
• Appointment time
• Phone Number
• Estimated Length of Appointment. 

Our office is open, and books rides from 9 am-4 pm Monday-Friday excluding holidays. All rides are ultimately subject to volunteer availability.

Drive Happiness will phone the day before the scheduled ride if no driver is available.