Feds release $35M to improve transportation for military families

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is issuing $34.6 million for 55 projects in 32 states and Guam to enhance access to local, affordable transportation services for military families and spouses, and wounded warriors.

The funds complement the Obama Administration’s Joining Forces initiative led by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden. This comprehensive, national effort is mobilizing all sectors of society to give employment opportunities and support to service members and their families.

Many military families live in suburban and rural communities where filling the gas tank for long commutes is expensive and public transportation is limited. Projects funded by the Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative will bridge the gap by enabling states and communities to build or expand so-called “one-click, one-call” centers that offer comprehensive information on local transportation option, and other community services, with just a single phone call or click of the mouse. Typically, such information is not available in one convenient place, and better local coordination will result in better services for veterans and nonveterans alike.

The FTA reviewed 70 eligible proposals representing $52 million in funding requests. Examples of key projects receiving federal funds include:

•    $2 million to the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority in central Massachusetts to expand an existing one-call center by adding agencies serving local veterans. The center will offer an array of traveler and community services and act as a one-stop shop to military families and spouses who need them.

•    $2 million to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to work with the state’s Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to create a network of four regional one-call centers and websites that bring individual transportation providers together into a regionally coordinated system to meet the needs of area military families, veterans and others.

•    $1.9 million to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority to implement a one-call/one-click transportation resource center. The project will expand access to the regional scheduling system via Internet and phone and give veterans access to a multitude of regional transportation, including public transit, vanpools and private transportation companies.

•    $614,000 to the Colorado Department of Transportation to create an information and assistance center and a coordinated scheduling center for the Denver region, which is home to nearly 200,000 veterans. Veterans are closely involved in the planning process.

•    $608,000 to the Indian Nations Council of Governments in the Tulsa, Okla. region to create a coordinated one-call transportation center covering 26 counties, including Muskogee, where a VA Medical Center veterans’ transportation service pilot project is under way. The center will use technology to connect numerous rural transit and veteran transportation providers as a way to assess and address ongoing transportation needs.

Additional information on the Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative is available here.