Carers That Drive is a new business recently started in Sydney servicing the eastern, northern, inner western and northern beaches areas.

It aims to provide a service to people who either cannot drive, or choose not to drive their own car, but are prepared to let someone else drive it to assist them to get out and about.

The business aims to take the stress out of outings by having a reliable service drop users off and pick them up again – a great help particularly when parking is difficult and expensive.

For families with small children there is a real benefit in being able to use your own car, with your own properly fitted child safety seats, making outings where you are dropped off and picked up more relaxing.

“It is an ideal service for non-drivers or people who are unable to drive on occasions, who need to do everyday things like go to medical appointments or treatments, go shopping, visit friends, or go on social outings,” said owner Suzie Coghlan.

“I know there are a lot of carers out there – especially working carers – who are very busy and often cannot spare the time to take the person they are caring for to their various appointments. Having a service that will collect them from their own home to do some or all of these things and drop them home again makes life easier.

“I hope our service will make it easier for them to balance their working time with the care needs of their loved one.

“We offer a personal and friendly reliable service which is available to anyone who owns their own car but doesn’t want to, or can’t, drive it. We pick you up, drive you to your destination, drop you off and park the car for you, as well as providing help and companionship during the outing – whether it is to the local shops or to a community gathering.

“Examples of our current clients are: a wonderful frail elderly woman we take to a day centre on weekends and take home again; a person who has lost their licence for a few months; and a lady having cancer treatments.  Some have regular hours booked every week while others are casual bookings.

“We can help people with their shopping door-to-door, pick up tickets to events for them, and run other small errands.”

Janice, Linda and Susan are three family members from Waitara who regularly use the Carers That Drive service to support their mother, Doreen, who is in her 80s. Janice said:  “Our mother is sight-impaired and loves to attend an activity centre every weekend, so our family engaged the service to pick mum up and return her home later in the day.

“We required a driver to understand her needs and to be flexible in their approach to assisting her. This has included locating a warmer jumper on a cold day, locating her mislaid walking stick and hearing aid, locking the door on the way out and helping her into the car and assisting her into the activity centre and upon return, seeing her safely into her home. We are happy to say that they have fulfilled all our needs and requirements to the highest order.”

Another service user is Fiona Moore, of Marrickville, who said: “I have been using Carers That Drive to drive me and my six-month-old baby to various appointments and social engagements and have been extremely happy with the service they provide. I have found everyone I have dealt with to be reliable, courteous and professional.

“Suzie has been particularly helpful and understanding of the flexibility required when planning trips with a young infant and she has done everything imaginable to make the experience as stress free as possible.

“As I am unable to drive due to extremely poor eyesight, the discovery of Carers That Drive has been fantastic - allowing me and my little boy the freedom to travel to destinations with efficiency and safety."

Carers That Drive charges an hourly fee with one hour the minimum booking. Bookings need to be made in advance.

Suzie started the business to fit in around the demands of being a carer herself, for her daughter Annabelle, who has Down Syndrome, and for her ageing parents, who need support. She is now looking for other carers interested in becoming casual drivers.

For more information, contact Suzie on 0403 057 051 or email her on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For more information, visit the website at:  www.carersthatdrive.com.au