At its November 17 meeting, the Transportation Planning Board approved more than $6.6 million in federal grant funding for projects that expand mobility options for seniors and people with disabilities. Combined with required local matches, this action will release more than $9 million for programs that fund things like wheelchair-accessible vans, programs to educate seniors about mobility options, and programs that provide rides to medical appointments and other destinations.

The federal Enhanced Mobility program (Section 5310) provides matching grants for non-profit organizations, local governments, transit agencies, and private for-profit providers to expand or increase access to transportation for older adults and individuals with disabilities. These initiatives generally aim to remove barriers that make it difficult for persons with limited mobility to access and use existing transportation services, or they aim to provide new services altogether to fill gaps in the existing system.

The TPB selects projects for funding every two years. Drawing upon the federally required Coordinated Plan that establishes regional criteria and priorities for Section 5310 funding, a TPB panel reviews applications and jointly recommends projects for TPB approval. Once the TPB approves projects for funding, staff helps to manage and implement the grant projects. The TPB performs these implementation activities through its administrative agent, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

Since 2014, the program has funded 92 projects totaling $34 million—including this year’s 21 projects.

The 21 projects selected this year span the region and provide wide-ranging services. The projects include Mobility Management services like options counseling and travel training, alternatives to Metro Access, support for volunteer driver programs, and wheelchair accessible taxi service. In addition, eleven projects will acquire a total of 53 wheelchair accessible vehicles to help transport residents to medical appointments, employment sites, and other activities.

Here is more information about a few of the projects selected this year:

• The Arc of Northern Virginia will receive $693,194 in federal funding to continue and expand an existing train-the-travel-trainer program using TravelMate, a specialized software program that provides step-by-step instructions to support adults and students with intellectual disabilities in independent travel on bus and/or rail. The project embeds the program into disability organizations (sister Arc chapters in Maryland, National Down Syndrome Society, Arlington Public Schools, Jake’s Ice Cream), private employment programs, and works one-on-one with individuals. This round of grant funding includes enhancement of partnerships and implementation of methods learned in prior projects.

“Receiving funding for this program means that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout the DMV region will have the travel training support they need to use the public transportation system independently and confidently," said Rikki Epstein, Executive Director of The Arc of Northern Virginia.
 

• New Horizons Supported Services in Prince George’s County will receive $190,941 in federal grant funds to procure two wheelchair accessible minivans to replace vehicles that have exceeded their useful life. The grant will also fund associated vehicle equipment and operating costs to provide transportation to community inclusion programs and state and county programming for people with developmental disabilities and older adults.

Ellen Hall, Director of Marketing & Development at New Horizons said their program “is in the process of transitioning to a community service model to deliver skills training and provide social outings to our participants with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The goal is to spend up to six hours a day in community integrated settings, which means participants will interact with people of all ability levels in public spaces. With the support of the Enhanced Mobility grant, New Horizons will have the ability to enhance our aging fleet of vehicles and provide the necessary funding for the required maintenance and upkeep of the fleet.”
 

• The D.C. Department of For-Hire Vehicles will receive $508,000 in federal dollars for operating support for Transport DC, a program that provides same day service for persons with disabilities and older adults in D.C. as an alternative to MetroAccess. The grant will include a vehicle repair fund and driver support through per trip and dead head time stipends.

“As a District resident, I’m glad to see D.C. take advantage of the funding to help seniors and residents with mobility challenges get around. It’s an easy call to me,” said TPB Chair and District of Columbia Councilmember Charles Allen. “As chair of the TPB, we are thrilled to be able to allocate this much needed assistance and look forward to seeing how these projects help remove barriers to transportation and opportunity in the region.”
 

The next solicitation for projects will occur in Summer 2023.
 

MORE: 
Memo and presentation for TPB meeting including list of grantees
Web page for Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program