At its April meeting, the TPB approved six projects for $532,218 in funding through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (CRRSAA). These projects will help organizations providing transportation assistance to older adults and people with disabilities and are impacted by COVID-19. These groups include people who may be at higher risk of contracting the virus and already faced limited transportation options before the pandemic hit.
As Designated Recipient of the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) 5310 Enhanced Mobility program, which provides matching grants to improve mobility for older adults and people with disabilities in the DC-MD-VA urbanized area, Transportation and community planners felt it was important to shed light on the specific impacts on these populations, and the agencies who serve them. COG and TPB staff worked with agencies who have received grant funding in the past, to collect details in quarterly reports, presentations, and memos. COG and TPB have brought awareness to the significant impacts COVID-19 has had on these service providers which include:
- Decreases in ridership
- Declines in drivers willing to transport others
- Declines in the number of volunteer drivers, who are often older adults themselves
- Shut down of adult day and vocational programs and the resulting drop in revenue
- Costs of PPE and COVID cleaning/sanitation supplies required to keep vehicles, riders, staff, and the workplace safe
- Significant transportation program deficits due to the need to continue to cover fixed operating expenses despite limits to our not operating transportation services (the Arc of Prince William/INSIGHT, Inc. reported a $100,000 transportation program deficit)
- Facility rent and utilities
- Staff salaries
- Vehicle insurance even when idle
- Health insurance of furloughed workers
While the providers and agencies have risen to the challenge and developed innovative ways to provide continued support to older adults and people with disabilities, financial relief now available through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (CRRSAA) and American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) are a welcomed development.
On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed CRRSAA into law. It includes $50 million for the 5310 Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities program, which wasn’t eligible for previous COVID-19 relief funding. The purpose of the funding is to support expenses eligible under Enhanced Mobility, but payroll and operational needs are priorities and transportation to vaccination sites is an allowable expense. The funds are 100% Federal, which differs from the Enhanced Mobility program where subrecipients provide 20% or 50% matching funds.
Doug Pickford, President and CEO of the Dulles Area Transportation Association, highlighted how important it is for people to be able to get to their vaccination appointments. “While collaborating with the Northern Virginia Veterans Association, it became apparent there was a dire need to provide transportation services to disabled and senior veterans, particularly on-demand services to reach their COVID-19 vaccination appointments. The CRRSAA grant will fill this needed gap in services by providing taxi vouchers and we hope to leverage this effort with other local programs,” he said.
About the CRRSAA Projects
Capitol Hill Village: Mobility Management services for transportation to vaccination sites. Expenses include staff salary and taxi vouchers.
Geographic Focus: DC
Amount: $90,000
Dulles Area Transportation Association: Mobility Management services for transportation to vaccination sites for Veterans who are seniors and/or have a disability. Expenses include staff salary and taxi vouchers.
Geographic Focus: Northern Virginia
Amount: $80,000
ECHO: Vehicle operating expenses and maintenance. Expenses include driver salaries & benefits (to avoid layoffs), fuel, insurance, preventative maintenance, and licensing.
Geographic Focus: Northern Virginia
$100,000
Prince George’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation: Expansion of an existing taxi voucher program to include transportation to vaccination sites. Expense is taxi vouchers.
Geographic Focus: Prince George’s County, Maryland
Amount: $107,218
Regency Taxi: Mobility Management services for transportation to vaccination sites. Expenses include staff salary, training, driver salary for escorted transportation service, and marketing.
Geographic Focus: Montgomery County, Maryland, some DC
Amount: $75,000
The Arc of Greater Prince William/INSIGHT, Inc.: Reestablishment of transportation for individuals with developmental disabilities. Expenses include salary and benefits for furloughed drivers, fuel, preventative maintenance, and repairs.
Geographic Focus: Prince William County, Virginia
Amount: $80,000
Paul Donohue, CEO of ECHO talked about how important the funding will be to return to service. “The CRRSAA funding will be impactful in our quest to keep our fleet in place so that it is able to perform transportation services for adults with disabilities when they return to services,” he said.
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 Solicitation
Organizations providing transportation assistance to older adults and people with disabilities and are in impacted by COVID-19 will have another opportunity to apply for stimulus dollars under the Federal Transit Administration’s American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed ARPA into law. It includes $30.5 billion in federal funding to support the nation’s public transportation systems as they continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and to support vaccination. $50 million is to be distributed to the 5310 Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities program through formula grants.
The Washington region will receive $532,226 to award to projects. Eligibility and selection criteria for ARP mirrors CRRSAA and will be open to existing subrecipients and recent Enhanced Mobility subrecipients (or JARC and New Freedom projects funded under an Enhanced Mobility solicitation) who qualify. The solicitation will launch May 21 and applications, which must be for the benefit of the same project as the existing or recently closed award, and/or for transportation to COVID vaccination sites, will be due at 3pm on June 21.
2021 Enhanced Mobility Solicitation
TPB’s biennial Enhanced Mobility solicitation is also scheduled to occur in 2021. Every two years the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) selects and awards federal grant funds to projects and initiatives throughout the Washington DC-VA-MD Urbanized Area aimed at improving mobility for seniors and people with disabilities. Over the years, dozens of non-profit agencies, local governments, transit agencies and private-for-profit providers of transportation have received funding through the Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities program. The 2021 solicitation will be open from July 1 - September 1, 2021 and required pre-application conferences will begin in June.
Approximately $6.3 million in federal funds will be available be available in the 2021 solicitation; funds must be matched by the applicant: 20% for capital or mobility management grants and 50% for operating grants. Matching funds must be identified by the time of application.
Learn more about the Enhanced Mobility program.
Lynn Winchell-Mendy is a COG Transportation Planner and the Grants Manager for Federal Transit Administration funding that supports the mobility needs of older adults and people with disabilities.