Seniors in Alberta town ferried in electric Model T replica

Getting around can be difficult for some seniors, but the Tofield Golden Club is helping with that, using a 2024 Model T.

The Golden Club is a seniors centre in Tofield that recently acquired a new electric vehicle that's a replica of the Model T Ford that was originally produced between 1908 and 1927.

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"This (vehicle) is an offer from our club to the community to pick up and drop off seniors anywhere in the town for free," said the club's Jim Robichaud.

You don't have to be a member of the club to use the Golden Club shuttle, as it's being called.

"We'll take other people, too, but it would require maybe a donation to the club or something of that nature," Robichaud said.

"The reception has been incredible."

The shuttle was a custom order from China and cost the club $30,000.

"We wanted seats that would face each other, that hadn't really been done before. We wanted something that had doors, something that was safe, something that was roadworthy," Robichaud said.

"This is not a golf cart, this is an actual vehicle licensed the same as a pickup truck or a car, anyone can drive it, and it's incredibly safe and has all the features that we need for traffic safety."

At first, people were hesitant about using the shuttle, but now, they line up for it, Robichaud added.

"It's been really good for the club already … it's getting the seniors out and about," one rider told CTV News Edmonton.

"One of the seniors needed a ride to the hospital for blood tests … so she just phoned us and somebody drove her to the hospital in (the shuttle)."

The vehicle can travel about 100 kilometres without having to be recharged. It will be stored over the winter and return to the road again next year.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's David Ewasuk