Driving Miss Daisy Whanganui owner Clive Aim has new driver and wheelchair accessible vehicle

Driving Miss Daisy Whanganui franchise owner Clive Aim and new driver Joy Pointon with the business's wheelchair-accessible vehicle.

They were born two weeks apart in New Plymouth, spent 15 years working together and now they've teamed up again at Driving Miss Daisy Whanganui.

The local franchisee is Clive Aim, who in 2017 restarted the companion driving service previously operated by Stephanie Bishop. Since then Aim has had the help of relief drivers but has now taken on long-time friend Joy Pointon as a part-time driver.

The pair know each other well after working for the same Whanganui organisation for years and when Aim decided he needed to employ another driver, Pointon immediately came to mind.

"Our wonderful new driver Joy is the most exciting development for the Whanganui franchise," Aim said.

"Joy is absolutely fizzing with enthusiasm and absolutely loves her work."

Pointon said that after 40 years working at a desk, her dream in "retirement" was to work with people.

"When Clive approached me and said 'you'd be a good Driving Miss Daisy driver', I said 'I think so too'," Pointon said.

"I love my little job. I love the type of work and the satisfaction is the gratitude of senior people and people with disabilities that they give for a ride somewhere, being helped into a waiting room and made to feel safe. It's the companionship they get from the very first meeting, knowing that there are people who care and will come back another day for them.

"For senior people, giving up their licence is the biggest thing they have ever done and they feel they have some independence back if they can go places with Driving Miss Daisy."

Driving Miss Daisy has a range of clients and Aim's other new initiative means they can offer a more comfortable service for wheelchair users.

He has purchased a second vehicle, one which can carry people in their wheelchairs.

"It has a ramp-based system that can take wheelchairs rather than the slightly hairy system of having a hoist and being taken off the ground," Aim said.

Driving Miss Daisy Whanganui is Total Mobility approved (about 85 per cent of users are Total Mobility card holders) and is an ACC registered vendor.

The business provides a range of services, including hospital, school and airport drop-offs and pick-ups, and can travel out of town "as far as you like", Aim said.

It also provides companion outings for individuals and small groups.

"I take a guy from a rest home out and we drive around and look at things he wants to look at," Aim said.

"It's just so much fun - tootling around, being around town and helping people in simple ways. They really appreciate it."