Funds will be used for low-income transportation
A $50,000 state allocation to Fayette Area Coordinated Transportation will be used to fund transportation for 15 low-income people to and from their jobs this year, according to information from FACT. Michelle Grant Shumar, director of the Fayette County Office of Human and Community Services and FACT, recently released information outlining the county’s Welfare-to-Work program. According to Shumar, the Welfare-to-Work projection for the fiscal year 2006-07 is 2,568 one-way trips for the combined 15 clients. Those figures translate into an approximate cost of $19.47 per trip.
A state Department of Transportation grant is funding the program. Shumar said the program is administered through the state Department of Public Welfare (DPW) and the Fayette County Assistance Office. The DPW sets eligibility requirements, with eligibility determined by the county assistance office.
Shumar said transportation is considered a “support service,” and there has been a great deal of collaboration between the county assistance office, employment and training agencies and FACT for clients deemed service-eligible.
The program has been ongoing for several years, and the number of participants has ranged from 13 to 19, according to Shumar.
For the fiscal year 2003-04, FACT made 4,617 one-way trips for 19 clients with a $150,000 PennDOT grant, a cost of about $32.48 per trip.
In the fiscal year 2004-05, FACT made 4,453 one-way trips for 18 clients using an $87,500 PennDOT grant, a cost of about $19.64 per trip.
In the fiscal year 2005-06, FACT provided 2,344 one-way trips for 13 clients with a $50,000 PennDOT grant, according to Shumar’s information, a cost of $21.33 per trip.
Last month’s $50,000 FACT grant was among $2.2 million the state allocated to assist people participating in the program in 31 counties.
Modes of transportation throughout the state include fixed-route bus service, shared-ride services and volunteers who use their own vehicles. County agencies, transportation organizations and private transportation providers are eligible for grants through this program.
Last month, George Hardy, FACT manager, said FACT works with other community assistance agencies such as Community Action, Occupational Vocational Rehabilitation and the DPW to use funding for the Welfare-to-Work program. He said FACT provides curbside service and finds some fixed routes for people as a way to help the most consumers.
Hardy said Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa in Farmington is an example of one business that utilizes the service. He said FACT bus routes for at 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. are utilized to Nemacolin Woodlands for people working the overnight shift.
Washington, Greene and Westmoreland counties also received a $240,000 allocation through the Washington County Transportation Authority for the Welfare-to-Work program last month.