Contact:  Grace Trimble
Phone:  (404)463-3192
E-mail:  gtrimble@atlantaregional.com

(ATLANTA - Dec 08, 2011)

The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is the recipient of a Federal Transit Administration’s Veterans Community Living Grant Initiative of $419,000.  ARC will use the funds to develop software that lays the foundation for a regional one-click/one-call center, as envisioned in the Regional Transportation Sales Tax Referendum project list, to link older adults, persons with disabilities and persons of limited income with more transportation options in the region.  Other partners in the grant include the Department of Veteran Affairs, Cobb Community Transit, DisAbility Link, Goodwill and One-Stop Centers of the Atlanta Regional Workforce Board.

The funds come from the Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative grant program, administered by the Federal Transit Administration. The grant to ARC is one of 55 projects in 32 states and Guam to enhance access to local, affordable transportation services for military families and spouses and wounded warriors.

Funding from this grant will support the region’s short-term goal to develop software that will link partner agencies such as the Veterans Administration, hospitals, senior centers, agencies serving disabled persons and others, to access a common database of transportation services in the 10-county Atlanta region and improve mobility options for the residents of the Atlanta region.

Many military families live in suburban and rural communities where filling the gas tank for long commutes is expensive and public transportation is limited. Projects funded by the Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative will bridge the gap by enabling states and communities to build or expand so-called “one-click, one-call” centers that offer comprehensive information on local transportation options and other community services, with just a single phone call or click of the mouse. Typically, such information is not available in one convenient place, and better local coordination will result in better services for veterans and nonveterans alike.

This project is the first step in the establishment of a fully‐integrated multi‐disciplinary one‐stop Mobility Management Call Center, one of the projects that will go before the voters in next year’s transportation referendum. As the region’s population ages between now and 2030, the demand for transportation options will continue to grow. The Mobility Management Call Center will provide comprehensive information on transportation services and trip planning assistance that matches older adults, persons with disabilities and low-income citizens with the most efficient and least expensive travel option. The center will create a physical system that allows centralized scheduling, dispatching, vehicle tracking and trip booking, while ultimately providing a fully integrated, human service transportation system across the 10‐county region.

See the complete list of projects funded through FTA’s Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative grant program.