Pennsylvanians are urged by officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Human Services (DHS) to use Find My Ride (FMR) to learn about public transit options and apply for transportation assistance programs. The participants underscored transit's critical role in getting people to work and medical appointments while connecting them to their communities.
There is a great deal of public transportation options in Pennsylvania, including shared ride services in all 67 counties, fixed route bus service in 49 counties, and fixed route rail service in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
"Transit provides a vital connection to jobs, to medical appointments, and to our communities," said Jennie Louwerse, PennDOT Deputy Secretary for Multimodal Transportation. "We urge Pennsylvanians to try transit, and we're excited that it's now easier to access these services."
Citizens are encouraged to utilize FMR Apply, an online tool that streamlines the application process for the five largest transportation assistant programs in the state. Additionally, FMR Apply allows third parties, such as a family member or healthcare provider, to apply for services on behalf of a rider.
24.4 million trips supported by these programs were provided to Pennsylvanians in the 2020-21 fiscal year.
Since the rollout of FMR Apply in May 2021 via transit agencies, assistance-program applications have been processed for nearly 8,000 Pennsylvanians and benefits to transit agencies, PennDOT, DHS, and customers have been considerable. Customers do not need to determine what programs they are eligible for, and this, coupled with the user-friendly application has resulted in an increase in applications submitted. Automatic data validation within the application has resulted in improved data accuracy, saving transit agencies time and money in processing applications. Transit agencies can process applications more efficiently, which allows transit users to access benefits more quickly.
"The Wolf Administration is always working to make the services we provide easier to access for the people we serve, and the Find My Ride tool is an excellent example of collaboration between state agencies in making this happen," said Andrew Barnes, Deputy Executive Secretary for DHS. "Nobody should let a lack of transportation keep you from getting to a doctor's appointment or filling your prescription. I encourage anyone who needs transportation to their physician, pharmacy, dentist, or other necessary medical services to apply today."
Find My Ride's education and application modules were developed over two years, made possible by $1 million from the Federal Transit Administration and $1 million in state transit funding.
----------------
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
