Planning for senior transportation services can present challenges in rural and frontier communities. What are some examples of how you have worked with others to coordinate planning for older adults?
I am in a rural area. We provide transportation services to seniors who cannot use or do not have access to government operated transportation programs. Have you identifed any non-profits or faith based organizations that are interested in transportation assistance?
We are contracted with the Area Agency on Aging who will be co-ordinating runs for clients with Freedom dollars. We haven't started yet, as we are waiting on ODOT to clear vehicle we are leasing, but will keep you posted. However, without a doubt, it will include more riders at cheaper costs.
One thought is to comb the community for any livery or ambulance services that could be engaged in discussion on the issue of providing some limited mobility or access to some other form of passenger transportation. Historically, rural communities in states like Iowa and Wisconsin and even New Jersey have used small livery and ambulance companies to use their vehicles to provide a form of shared ride taxi service to reduce costs per trip. In order to reduce costs to passengers further, exploring the availability of FTA rural transportation grants to further subsidize this type of service could be explored with the area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
I live in the rural Lake Santa Fe Area of North Central FL 25 miles east of Gainesville. There's no public transit and the only town on the lake is unincorporated Melrose.
"Combing the community" is very difficult because individuals aging in place here are very isolated. In the absense of a governing body, we are struggling to reach out to the people that need transportation services to get to the doctor, grocery, drug store church and social activities.
How are other rural communities like ours reaching out to people that need help?
While there may be no public transit, I would guess that somewhere near Gainesville there may be a company that operates ambulance services or some form of livery that might consider operating out of Melrose. By limiting service to 1 or 2 days per week or less, you might be able to group enough people looking to reach those activities on a shared ride basis that you can bring down the cost per passenger of this group ride service. Shared ride taxi or livery service has been the private response to creating services to meet these needs and working through the Gainesville MPO (see earlier comment)the possibility of obtaining a small amount of FTA funding that could be applied to further write-down the costs to passengers might be possible.
One option could be utilizing on-line rideshare boards, such as Zimride.com or Craigslist.org. For those without internet access, joining a faith-based or community/civic organization could be a helpful way to meet potential rideshare partners.
Comments (7)
I am in a rural area. We provide transportation services to seniors who cannot use or do not have access to government operated transportation programs. Have you identifed any non-profits or faith based organizations that are interested in transportation assistance?
We are contracted with the Area Agency on Aging who will be co-ordinating runs for clients with Freedom dollars. We haven't started yet, as we are waiting on ODOT to clear vehicle we are leasing, but will keep you posted. However, without a doubt, it will include more riders at cheaper costs.
Is anyone supporting seniors in rural or frontier communities? What issues do you face and what solutions have you used to address their unique needs?
One thought is to comb the community for any livery or ambulance services that could be engaged in discussion on the issue of providing some limited mobility or access to some other form of passenger transportation. Historically, rural communities in states like Iowa and Wisconsin and even New Jersey have used small livery and ambulance companies to use their vehicles to provide a form of shared ride taxi service to reduce costs per trip. In order to reduce costs to passengers further, exploring the availability of FTA rural transportation grants to further subsidize this type of service could be explored with the area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
I live in the rural Lake Santa Fe Area of North Central FL 25 miles east of Gainesville. There's no public transit and the only town on the lake is unincorporated Melrose.
"Combing the community" is very difficult because individuals aging in place here are very isolated. In the absense of a governing body, we are struggling to reach out to the people that need transportation services to get to the doctor, grocery, drug store church and social activities.
How are other rural communities like ours reaching out to people that need help?
While there may be no public transit, I would guess that somewhere near Gainesville there may be a company that operates ambulance services or some form of livery that might consider operating out of Melrose. By limiting service to 1 or 2 days per week or less, you might be able to group enough people looking to reach those activities on a shared ride basis that you can bring down the cost per passenger of this group ride service. Shared ride taxi or livery service has been the private response to creating services to meet these needs and working through the Gainesville MPO (see earlier comment)the possibility of obtaining a small amount of FTA funding that could be applied to further write-down the costs to passengers might be possible.
One option could be utilizing on-line rideshare boards, such as Zimride.com or Craigslist.org. For those without internet access, joining a faith-based or community/civic organization could be a helpful way to meet potential rideshare partners.