My blind wife is the mobility recipient and I am the named driver, works quite well, she needs to get about/get out when she wants to & public transport/taxis are hit and miss as she has been ignored at bus stops as she didn’t stick her hand/leg/body out to signal to the driver as she doesn’t know its a bus. Taxis, well, they all tend to say they are busy when she calls as they don’t want the dog in the car. They don’t say so, but its because of the dog.
The car lets me take her and the dog wherever she wants to go for fun or for appointments, especially when they are too complicated to get to by public transport. She hates the loss of her independence in that she needs me to take her, rather than drive herself as she used to, but that’s just another consequence of her disability. I don’t see it that way, but then, I’m not the one asking for a lift to go see my friends etc.
There is no volunteer transport system here, but there is in Dundee, her step-father drives people about there, mostly for appointments etc. He loves it and it keeps him busy since he retired.
In life, it's not who you know that's important, it's how your wife found out.