Transportation

Automobile/Van Adaptations

Programs that pay for or provide automobiles or vans which have ramps or wheelchair lifts, or seats or steering, signaling, gear shift and braking controls that have been modified for use by people who have disabilities; or that help these individuals to obtain this type of modification for their own vehicles. Also included are organizations that offer devices to facilitate the operation of specific functions within the vehicle such as car door openers, car door reachers, gas cap openers, seating restraints, especially designed rear view mirrors and other accessories which can be installed in or used with automobiles or vans.

Disability Related Transportation

Programs that provide door-to-door (or curb-to-curb) transportation for purposes of shopping, banking, social events, medical appointments, getting to and from work, and similar activities for people with disabilities who need special accommodations and are unable to utilize other available means of transportation. Also included are programs that provide transportation for youngsters with disabilities who have no other means of accessing necessary specialized services and activities. Some but not all vehicles used for this purpose are equipped with wheelchair lifts.

General Paratransit/Community Ride Programs

Programs that provide flexibly scheduled and routed door-to-door (or curb-to-curb) transportation services for the general public. Patrons generally have no private transportation and are unable to use the fixed-route public transportation system; or live in a rural area not served by a public transit system.

Non-Emergency Medical Transportation

Programs that provide transportation for medical appointments, trips from and between hospitals, to nursing homes or other special-care centers or for other non-emergency medical needs for individuals who, because of financial problems or their physical condition, are unable to use other means of local transportation. NEMT service providers are able to transport riders who require a wheelchair lift equipped vehicle with appropriate protective restraints or a van that is designed for gurney/stretcher transportation, or has other types of features to meet their safety needs.

Senior Ride Programs

Programs that provide door-to-door (or curb-to-curb) transportation for purposes of medical appointments, shopping, banking, social events, and other similar activities for older adults who need special accommodations and are unable to utilize other available means of transportation.

Bicycle Donation Programs

Programs that accept bicycles, repair them, if necessary, and give them to individuals or families who have no means of transportation, donate them to other community-based organizations for distribution to the people they serve, or sell them to raise money for agency programs.

Local Bus Fare

Programs that provide cash or tokens for individuals who have no personal means of transportation and are unable to use public buses for necessary local travel without assistance with the fare.

Long Distance Bus Fare

Programs that provide bus fare for people who need to travel out of town (e.g., for a funeral or to stay with relatives) but do not have the means to do so.

Transportation Passes

Programs that issue identification cards or vouchers that people can use in lieu of cash to pay for transportation.

Travelers Assistance

Programs that provide supportive services including information and emergency assistance for tourists, travelers or other visitors who have encountered problems, need directions or trip planning services to reach a destination or require information about the local transportation system.

Automobiles

Programs that pay for or provide new and/or second hand automobiles for individuals who qualify on the basis of income, age or disability. Also included are organizations that sell new or used automobiles at very low prices, refer people to automobile dealerships, provide money to help people whose cars have failed an emissions test to purchase a replacement vehicle or otherwise help people acquire an automobile.

Automotive Repair and Maintenance

Programs that pay for or provide maintenance and repair services for people whose automobiles, trucks, trailers or other motorized vehicles are due for regular maintenance or have mechanical or structural problems. Also included are work experience programs that provide automobile repairs for the general public.

Carpooling Programs

Programs that make arrangements for people to travel together in private automobiles and/or vans during busy commuting hours or which provide a central telephone number for people to use to identify others who are commuting to and from the same general area with whom they might share. Vehicle options include vanpools and carpools. Vanpools may be publicly or employer operated or organized by an individual who owns or leases a van; the drivers are generally participating as commuters themselves, so are not paid.

Employment Related Transportation

Programs that provide transportation, generally by automobile or van, for people who need to go to a job interview, need a reliable way to get to and from work in a timely manner, participate in work-related training sessions or engage in other similar activities, and have no other options. Some programs may work with designated populations such as low-wage earners, older workers, people with disabilities, veterans or homeless families; and other eligibility criteria may apply.

Local Bicycle Transportation

Programs that provide services which support people's ability to use bicycles for local transportation purposes. Included are programs that provide bicycles for people who don't have them, generally community bikes that people can use when they are available or bicycles made available on a rental or free loan basis or kept permanently; Earn-A-Bike programs that provide refurbished, donated bicycles for youth who complete a course where they learn the basics of bike repair and maintenance, safe urban riding, health, and nutrition; bicycle buddy programs that encourage people who have never commuted by bicycle to try it; bicycle commuting education programs that provide route information and other tips for commuters; and bicycle commuter registries that connect people who want to ride their bicycles from outlying areas to city centers in the company of other commuters, often using off-road trails and bicycle lanes or routes that funnel traffic from outlying/suburban areas into the city center. Commuters meet at pre-agreed locations along these routes, often park-n-ride lots to begin their common commute.

Local Bus Services

Programs that utilize buses to transport people to a specific destination (e.g., an airport or senior center) or to other locations within the community (e.g., a shopping mall or downtown) following standard and regular routes and fixed time schedules.

Local Rail Services

Organizations that provide fixed-route rapid rail services which transport people within the limits of a city, a metropolitan area, the county, or a multicounty region, or which move people from outlying areas into a city or metropolitan area. Included are streetcar services, rail-connected trolley services, metro rail services, monorail services and elevated railway services.

Long Distance Transportation

Organizations that provide transportation for individuals whose destinations are outside the local area. These organizations also provide information to the public about rates, schedules and routes for these services.

Neighborhood Shuttle Services

Programs that provide fixed-route shuttle services with designated stops within the boundaries of a particular community.

Ride App Services

Companies such as Uber or Lyft (formally known as Transportation Network Company Rides or TNCs), which provide prearranged ground transportation that is booked via an app or a website and connects passengers with drivers who use their own, noncommercial vehicles. Various levels of service are generally available and passengers only share the vehicle with others when service at the least expensive level is booked. Some companies may offer a variant arrangement where the passenger uses an online marketplace to retain a driver who drives the customer's own car for them; and a limited number offer accessible transportation options such as wheelchair accessible vehicles equipped with ramps or hydraulic lifts or door-to-door support for riders who may need help with wheelchairs, walkers and scooters or who have a service animal. A number of communities, governments and organizations have established rules and regulations that specifically govern TNCs and, in some jurisdictions, TNCs are completely illegal to operate.

Transportation Organizations

Organizations that are responsible for operating and/or managing the public and/or private transportation services that are available in their communities, and/or for providing information and/or services that enable residents to make effective use the transportation system.

Travelers Assistance

Programs that provide supportive services including information and emergency assistance for tourists, travelers or other visitors who have encountered problems, need directions or trip planning services to reach a destination or require information about the local transportation system.