Human Services Transportation In Greater Dayton
HSTC Tranportation Provider Directory
HSTC Provider Directory (
:111 kb)
This guide is a snapshot of most of the human service and public transit agencies which are providing transportation as part of their mission in Greene, Miami, Montgomery and northern Warren Counties.
Updated April, 2008
Human Services Transportation primarily refers to transportation for three groups of people who are sometimes identified as “transportation disadvantaged.” The groups are: those seniors and people with disabilities who do not drive, as well as low income people without a reliable way to get to work.
The Greater Dayton Region is very automobile-dependent. The vast majority of trips for work, recreation, education or essential errands are made in a privately-owned car. If you are able to drive and own a dependable car, our Region is pretty easy to navigate. The traffic isn't too bad, and for most people, the commutes are reasonable. But if you are a non-driving senior or a person with a disability who doesn't drive, getting around can be a challenge. The same is true for a person without a reliable car who needs to find a job or needs to get back and forth to that job. As a matter of fact, reliable transportation is the second biggest challenge (behind childcare) for many people entering the workforce.
There are options for non-drivers. If an individual lives near a bus line, and can use standard bus service, there are many destinations that are accessible. Many organizations also provide specialized transportation, usually in the form of small vans, for people with special transportation needs. The problem is that providing transportation in a Region that continues to "spread out" is complicated and expensive. Many suburban neighborhoods and destinations are not accessible by fixed route bus and are isolated from shopping, doctors and other essential services. As more seniors “age in place” in car-dependent neighborhoods, the transportation challenge will grow.
Often, different vehicles from different agencies may start out in one suburb and end up at the same hospital across town. Sometimes, each of these vans has only one passenger. In addition, many non-profit agencies spend their limited resources on vehicles for "their" clients. While these vehicles may be essential several times a week, they may also sit, unused, much of the time. There are a lot of inefficiencies and overlaps built into the current system for providing transportation to people who can't or shouldn't drive. Addressing these challenges takes dialogue and planning.
To make better use of the limited transportation funds available to non-profits and governments, and to make more transportation available to those who need it, our Region is beginning a Human Services Transportation Coordination planning process.
This plan will also ensure that the Miami Valley Region is in compliance with recently-enacted federal legislation. This legislation requires that starting in FY 2007, projects funded through three programs - Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC), New Freedoms and the Formula Program for Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities – are required be derived from a locally developed, coordinated public transit - human services transportation action plan.
About 75 people attended a lively kick-off event for that planning process on September 27, 2006. Jon Burkhardt of WESTAT Consulting presented "Coordination 101" (PDF or MS PowerPoint) - an overview of the benefits and challenges of coordinating human service transportation.