Sep 15, 2006 2 min read

With the recent announcement by PennDOT and Gov. Rendell, Fayette County joined Greene and Washington counties and 40 other counties funded to provide the Rural Transportation Program for Persons with Disabilities (PwD). Largely through the efforts of state Rep. Bill DeWeese and state Sen. Barry Stout, Greene and Washington were two of the original pilot counties chosen in 2000 to provide a subsidy for people with disabilities to use shared-ride vehicles. Since that day, over 50 percent of the funded rides have been to people with disabilities going to and from work. Now Fayette County citizens with disabilities have the opportunity to go to work.

As a person with a disability, living in Greene County and advocating for nearly a decade for PwD, this was the next big step toward statewide implementation of a program utilized more often than not to take people to and from work, people who previously had no affordable, accessible way to do it.

In the six years since the pilot project, DeWeese and Stout have been joined by other local legislators like state Sen. Richard Kasunsc, state Rep. Tim Solobay, and Rep. John Maher to champion the path toward the program statewide in rural counties of the Commonwealth.

I, along with advocates in the 43 counties to be served, commend our champions for their efforts to bring economic empowerment to people with disabilities.

We know that DeWeese, Stout, Kasunsc, Solobay, Maher, and others will not quit until the other 22 eligible counties and our remaining brothers and sisters get the chance to go to work.

John Lorence, Jr.

TRIPIL

Washington, Pa.