One of the immediate tasks of the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) was to investigate the transportation needs of the elderly, handicapped, Welfare-to-work population and others with special medical and job service needs. The TAC found that the transportation needs of these segments of the Jefferson County population are not being sufficiently met. The key issues surrounding this finding are: 1) insufficient funding for current providers; 2) communication between service providers is limited; 3) there is no mass transit available in the County; 4) data on needed services is not available; 5) there is no standard on data collection; and 6) the County is not accessing all the money available to resource transportation services. All of these issues impact the physically disabled, the elderly, and others with medical and job service needs.

The TAC has the following short term recommendations to address these issues: 1) contract a public transit needs study; 2) create a centralized automated information center; 3) expand dialog with mass transit providers; 4) research the availability for potential funding sources; and 5) implement strategies based on the findings of the transit needs study.

Steps are being taken to secure a grant from East-West Gateway Coordinating Council to fund the Transit Needs Study. Once the grant is secured, the TAC will begin the process of selecting a consultant to conduct the study. The Transit Needs Study is anticipated to be done late this year.

Following are the appointed members of the Transportation Advisory Committee:

Bill Rutlege (Chairman), Progressive Patient Care, Inc.
Dr. Anthony Casey, Commission for the Handicapped
Gary Cronin, Gateway Ambulance
Craig Henning, Disability Resource Association
Bill McKenna, Jefferson College
James Shiels, Jr., Jefferson County Community Partnership