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This
page contains answers to common questions people ask about the Rural Transportation
Pilot Project for Persons with Disabilities. The Pilot Project ended in
June 2002, but service to the eight counties was continued. In addition,
transportation services were expanded to sixteen additional counties for
the fiscal year 2002-2003. Four additional counties were added in the
Spring-Summer of 2005. Seven additional counties will start service inearly
2006, As of April 2008, 63 of the eligible 65 counties are either providing service or will be starting soon. The transportation service
for persons with disabilities is now known as the Persons with Disabilities
Rural Transportation Program or the PwD Program.
Learn more about the Pilot
Project on this page.
- What is the
Transportation Pilot Project?
- What's the
purpose of the Pilot Project?
- Who may use
the service?
- How much will
it cost to take a trip and how will the service be provided?
- Where and
when can I travel?
- How do I schedule
a trip?
- How is the
Pilot (PwD Program) doing?
The Rural Transportation
Pilot Project for Persons with Disabilities was a transportation service
for people with disabilities living in one of eight rural counties in
PA. After more than six years of effort by people with disabilities
and advocates, the PA Department of Transportation did a study to assess
the need for transportation in rural areas. The study recommended that
a pilot project be done in Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, Greene, Washington,
Cumberland, Schuylkill, and York counties. The pilot operated in these
counties for eighteen months from January 2001 through June 2002. The
Pilot was successful in demonstrating a need for transportation people
could afford. In November 2002, Secretary Bradley L. Mallory announced
the expansion of low-cost rural public transportation for Pennsylvanians
with disabilities. This expansion means that sixteen additional counties
will have transportation services that people can afford. The original
eight counties will continue to provide affordable transportation to
persons with disabilities. [Counties added: Beaver, Blair, Bradford,
Sullivan, Tioga, Centre, Crawford, Dauphin, Erie, Lancaster, Lawrence,
Lycoming, Clinton, Mercer, Union, and Snyder.
The Pilot Project purpose
was to see how transportation for people with disabilities will work,
and whether people would use the service and how much it will cost to
provide the service statewide. People with disabilities and advocates
wanted to have a statewide program that provides affordable, accessible
transportation for people with disabilities in all the rural areas of
Pennsylvania. The Pilot Project was a beginning for this. By the end
of the Pilot, it was apparent that the Pilot was a success.
Persons with disabilities
under 65 years of age who live outside areas served by fixed-route transit
in the eight pilot counties may be eligible to use the service. To become
eligible apply to your local transit provider. You will need to fill
out an application form and provide written evidence that you are a
person with a disability. Call your provider to apply. Application materials
may be requested in alternate formats.
The cost of a trip varies
depending on the fare schedule used by your county. A person with a
disability using this service will pay about 15% of the cost of a trip
in most cases. The Pilot Project will pay the remaining fare. When you
schedule a trip, the reservationist can tell you what the trip will
cost. No Pennsylvania Lottery money was used in the Pilot Project or
for service expansion.
Transportation services are
currently provided in most counties through the Shared-Ride transit
providers. To use Shared-Ride transportation a person must call to schedule
a ride the day before the trip is to be made. "Shared-Ride"
means that the person making a trip must be willing to share the vehicle
with other riders making similar trips. Shared-Ride service may be door-to-door
or curb-to-curb depending on the policies in your county. All trips
will be provided with accessible vehicles.
You may travel anywhere within
the area currently served by your local transit provider. Trips will
be scheduled during the hours of operation in your county. Some trip
times and destinations may, however, only be available on a limited
basis. You may need to be flexible in terms of when and where you travel.
If a trip is not available when you want it, ask what times are available.
Shared-Ride service is not like one person taking a taxi. The availability
of trips on Shared-Ride depends on the number of vehicles in an area
and on other trips that are scheduled.
Call the Shared-Ride provider
in your area. You need to call your service
provider at least the day before the day you wish to travel. If you want
to travel on a Monday, you may need to make a reservation the Friday before.
Policies on reservations made more than a day in advance vary by county.
Call your provider for more information about advanced reservations.
The Transportation Project
for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) has been and continues to be a success.
The service is making a difference in the lives of humdreds of Pennsylvania
citizens in PA.
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