Specialized Transportation
The Specialized Transportation Program for the Elderly and People with Disabilities is a Federal Transportation Agency (FTA) program designed to improve transportation options for the elderly and people with disabilities
Specialized Transporation Program
The Specialized Transportation Program for the Elderly and People with Disabilities is a Federal Transportation Agency (FTA) program which is also referred to as FTA Section 5310. The program is designed to improve transportation options for the elderly and people with disabilities by providing 80% of the purchase price of capital equipment for transportation programs run by lead coordination agencies, registered private nonprofits (501)(c)(3) or local government agencies. These funds are primarily used to purchase accessible vehicles, but also can be used for radio and computer equipment to run transportation programs. The program is administered by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) with assistance from Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO’s). MVRPC is the responsible MPO in the Greater Dayton Urbanized Area. The program description below is from ODOT’s website:
Program Goal and Brief Description: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) provides Federal funds for the purchase of equipment to support transportation services for the elderly and people with disabilities where existing transportation is unavailable, inappropriate, or insufficient. The Federal Transit Administration provides 80% of the cost of capital items; the remaining 20% must be provided by local funding, which may include transportation funding from other federal programs other than U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) programs or from DOT's Federal Lands Highway Program. ODOT writes the specifications and purchases the vehicles with costs reimbursed by FTA and the recipient.
Who Can Apply?: Private nonprofit (501(c)(3)) corporations, public bodies identified by the state as lead agencies in a coordination project, or public bodies which certify that no private nonprofit corporations exist within their jurisdiction for the provision of elderly and disabled transportation.
Application Process: Funds are available each Federal Fiscal Year and are distributed through a competitive application process. There are two types of applicants - those from urbanized areas and those from non-urbanized areas. While ODOT administers the program for the entire state, certain responsibilities are assigned to the seventeen Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO). ODOT has established the eligibility requirements to be used for all applicants. Each MPO may establish additional eligibility requirements and deadlines to fit its urbanized area's needs so long as such requirements and deadlines are not less restrictive than ODOT's.
ODOT Contact Person: Josh Gearhardt, joshua.gearhardt@dot.state.oh.us or (614) 644-7362
MVRPC Role in Specialized Transporation
The Specialized Transportation Program is administered by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) with assistance from Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO’s). MVRPC is the responsible MPO in the Greater Dayton Urbanized Area. MVRPC’s role in this process is to fourfold:
- assist ODOT in publicizing the Letter of Intent Process in our Region
- provide technical assistance as requested to agencies within the Greater Dayton Urbanized Area (Greene, Miami, Montgomery and northern Warren Counties) during the Letter of Intent and Application processes. (Rural counties apply directly to ODOT).
- receive applications, conduct the initial review of those applications and rank the applications in terms of completeness, regional priority and consistency with the locally-developed Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Coordination Plan for Greene, Miami, Montgomery and northern Warren Counties
- inspect ODOT funded vehicles in our Region as long as they are titled to ODOT.
It is important to note that this is a two-step process; only agencies which successfully complete the Letter of Intent process are eligible to access the actual application. The Letter of Intent process is now closed for 2011. The process usually begins in late Fall but there are no specific dates yet available for the 2012 process. MVRPC will notify the agencies on our Human Services Transportation contact list of the next Letter of Intent cycle. To be added to that list, please send complete contact information to Bob Steinbach, Director of Regional Initiatives. For more information about the program, you can also reach Bob Steinbach or Kjirsten Frank at 937.223.6323 .
A Map of Agencies in Greene, Miami, Montgomery and northern Warren Counties with active 5310 vehicles can be found below.
View MVRPC 5310 vehicles in a larger map