Going from Dodge to Dial-a-Ride down New Mexico way The buses, which carry 14 passengers, are equipped to hoist wheelchairs aboard, have comfortable belted seats, and are colourfully decorated with Road Runner. The friendly, helpful drivers do not start off until certain all belts are fastened. There are emergency exits, all notices are in Spanish and English, and riders are politely asked not to chat to drivers so they can concentrate on driving. One wickedly icy day, I watched one driver hop out and help a frail woman over dangerous pavement to her doctor's door. Service animals such as guide dogs are carried and small pets, crated, can be taken to the vet. A passenger who needs extra assistance, such as someone seriously disabled, can have a companion ride for free. People needing this extra help must, of course, say so when booking a ride. There is a bag limit of four paper sacks or eight plastic. Despite being politely asked to be ready at the front door, there are always those who have to run back one more time to check the stove, or the mail box ... drivers will wait five minutes then go, to keep on schedule. Flapdoodlers who are constantly late or "no-shows" are allowed three "sinnings" within a three-month period and then can be temporarily suspended. Continual "no-shows" can lose riding privileges. People can be ferried to anywhere within city limits - libraries, doctors, the fitness centre and pool, etc. Those living further out are taken home first, so, making the best of longer rides, one often sees spectacular sunsets and small places one would not otherwise visit. Quite often one makes new friends, as has happened to me. Perhaps romances have even blossomed! Certainly, and more poignantly, one is reminded to be thankful for one's own good health on seeing tremendously handicapped folk being hoisted aboard, or a young partially sighted student being dropped off at the university campus. To be eligible for the Dial service, one must be vouched for by a doctor or other health professional and fill in a form for the co-ordinator. Before my happy discovery of Dial, I talked with another outfit that stated firmly that if one employed its people for driving (in the company's vehicles) and went for a meal or a movie, one was expected to pay for a meal or ticket for the employee! Besides Dial, we have a pretty reasonable taxi service. Expat readers may recall the unusual cabbie I wrote about back in Feb 2013, who knew more about Richard III than many medieval scholars. And we have a Volunteer Driver Network, which will also ferry the homebound. Volunteers with clean licences who are 55 and older can be reimbursed mileage and get free supplemental insurance coverage while working. Their vehicles must pass a roadworthiness test and be safety-inspected. I don't need to call Dial too often as I am fortunate enough to be able to employ Eva G, a recently widowed Latina who needed to make some extra money. Since she has no children or immediate family I am not subject to the sudden crises and cancellations that those situations often engender. For $15 per hour, about double the current minimum wage, she drives me to the market or the mall. A fellow dog-lover, she cheerfully transports my three small rescues to the animal hospital. Friends monitor all this, seeing, of course, the handwriting on the walls of their own stuffed garages. So, farewell to that sickening silence when one turns the ignition key, to slimy pools on the garage floor, and to mechanics rubbing anticipatory oily hands. Now, when I smugly contemplate my empty two-car space, I happily echo the famous joke about the dwarf who, seeing the Fat Lady of the circus waddling towards him, crowed: "Acres and acres ... and ALL MINE!" Dr Tessa Nelson-Humphries is a retired academic who hails from Yorkshire