Under the Biden administration, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently announced a round of $7.8 million to benefit 17 public transportation projects focused on supporting those with disabilities, older adults, and low-income individuals through various organizations.
“Transportation is a lifeline that connects Americans to essential services, like health care, and today we’re supporting innovative projects to help more people connect to the help they need,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
This is being done through the Innovative Coordinated Access & Mobility (ICAM) Pilot Program, which is designed to improve access to public transportation by building partnerships among health, transportation, and other service providers and offering competitive funding. More than $24 million provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law made much of this funding possible.
This latest round will reach 15 states, with projects such as:
- $1.8 million for the Illinois Department of Transportation to design and implement an integrated technology system for trip scheduling and fare collection to aid non-emergency medical transportation trips and interagency passenger transfers. This will benefit 20 rural counties.
- $415,900 for the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority (EMBARK) to support the expansion of its coordinated transportation services by purchasing two vehicles and associated vehicle technology systems. It will focus on helping older adults, people with disabilities, low-income individuals, and transit-dependent populations through better access to social services, education programs, workforce development programs, non-emergency medical treatment, and wellness and nutrition services.
- $269,280 for the West River Transit Authority (Prairie Hills Transit) in South Dakota to facilitate the purchase of a contactless payment technology system
“This program supports statewide and regional strategies to help ensure people who are especially challenged in accessing healthcare can reach those critical services,” said FTA Acting Administrator Veronica Vanterpool. “We are pleased to provide resources that help reach into the sometimes-overlooked areas of our nation to ensure no one is left behind.”
The selection of awards was based on 24 proposals submitted to FTA under its original Notice of Funding Opportunity.