Anonymous
By Easy Lift Transportation
Easy Lift Transportation will be moving its headquarters on Tuesday, February 14 because of damage their offices sustained from the recent January flooding. Their new office will be located at 1522 Cook Place, Building 333, Goleta, CA 93117 effective Wednesday, February 15, just minutes from their previous location.
Located for over 20 years at 53 Cass Place in Goleta, this last-minute move is required due to building damage to their offices, which they rent from the Santa Barbara Airport. The organization is estimating the cost of the move and replacing damaged furniture and equipment to total approximately $37,000.
“I want to reassure the South Coast community that our move will not affect our operations at Easy Lift,” says Easy Lift’s Executive Director Ernesto Paredes. “We were able to continue providing lifesaving accessible transportation services during the flood through emergency evacuations as well as regular passenger access to medical care and grocery stores. Continuing to provide our services during our move will be easy compared to that.”
Ever thankful for the support they receive from generous donors in the community that sustains their operations and enables them to continue providing out-of-the-box transportation services not “normal” for dial-a-ride transportation agencies in other communities, Paredes remains humbled and proud of their staff.
“I remain continually amazed by the professionalism and compassion of our team,” said Paredes. “Our drivers and dispatch team have been under a lot of stress. Some live out of town and had a hard time getting to the Santa Barbara area during the flood. Plus, many are dealing with damage to their own homes and vehicles. And because our passengers are also stressed, our drivers stand in to help calm their nerves and reassure them with a friendly smile.”
Even though the move is challenging, expensive, and time-consuming, Paredes believes the organization “will be better equipped to take on any and all new transit challenges going forward.”
