Driving Miss Daisy - Invercargill

About this operator

Driving Miss Daisy Invercargill is the Southland franchise of Driving Miss Daisy, a New Zealand-wide companion driving network. The franchise is owned and operated by Dendra (Dee) and Mike Anderson, who describe themselves as having lived in Southland for 30 years. Mike's background is in farming and he has owned and operated Southland Monumental Masons for over twelve years; Dee's background is in reception and office roles.

### What the service is

Driving Miss Daisy is a pre-booked driving companion service rather than a taxi or shuttle operation. The emphasis is on accompanied, one-to-one transport for people who cannot or prefer not to drive themselves. Across the network, all drivers are trained in first aid and are Police vetted.

The Invercargill franchise describes its offering as a wrap-around service extending beyond the drive itself:

• Door-to-door travel to appointments, the airport, grocery shopping and general shopping trips, including a pets-to-vet service.
• Transport for children to school, after-school activities, programmes, music lessons and sports practices.
• Drivers acting as a caring companion, accompanying clients to appointments, shopping or events where help is needed getting there.

### Vehicles and funding

The franchise states that it offers a number of reliable vehicles, including a wheelchair accessible vehicle available on request. It is an ACC contracted supplier (ACC vendor number VBL805) and accepts Total Mobility Scheme cards. All vehicles are equipped with EFTPOS facilities.

### Coverage

The published territory covers Invercargill city and a wide surrounding area of Southland, including Waikiwi, Windsor, Avenal, Hargest, Gladstone, Waverley, Ascot, Glengarry, Hawthorndale, Newfield, Rockdale, Appleby, Strathern, Heidelberg, Kingswell, Tisbury, Otatara, Clifton and Woodend, extending out to Makarewa, Wallacetown, Underwood, Lorneville, Roslyn Bush, Rakahouka, Myross Bush, Woodlands, West Plains, Kennington, Waimatua, Motu Rimu, Awarua, Greenhills, Greenpoint, Ocean Beach and Bluff.

### Booking

Bookings are made in advance, directly with the local franchise by phone or email, or through the Driving Miss Daisy national online booking system. The network operates a freephone line and head office is based in Havelock North.

### Relevance to event and conference organisers

This is an assisted transport service, not a coach or group charter operator, and should be treated as such. For conference and event organisers in Southland it is most relevant where individual delegates, speakers or guests need accompanied door-to-door transport, or where a wheelchair accessible vehicle is required for an attendee. The Bluff and Invercargill Airport coverage makes it a workable option for a single accessible airport pickup or a return trip to a venue, but movements of a full delegation would need a dedicated coach or shuttle operator.