Dec. 15, 2004

For more information contact:
Donna Johnson
515-233-7875

Iowa DOT Receives “United We Ride” Grant

AMES, Iowa - The Iowa Department of Transportation has been awarded a $30,000 “United We Ride” grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration.  It will be used to further the state’s efforts to coordinate publicly funded passenger transportation services, which help meet the needs of Iowa’s transportation-disadvantaged population.

Michelle McEnany, director of DOT’s Office of Public Transit, announced receipt of the grant earlier today at a meeting of the Iowa Transportation Coordination Council.  McEnany said, “This grant will help Iowa coordinate services for those that need it most --- older adults, persons with disabilities across the lifespan, and individuals and families with lower incomes.”  She explained that the grant is part of a federal campaign to promote coordination of passenger services across various human service programs and with public transit. 

Iowa has already achieved national recognition for its successful public transit coordination efforts.  Setting the stage for that success was legislation passed several years ago requiring various state- and federally-funded human service transportation activities to coordinate their services with the designated public transit system in their area.

Iowa has 35 public transit systems; 19 urban transit systems serving communities of 20,000 or more population; and 16 rural transit systems that serve multi-county areas.

“This grant will help promote the benefits of coordinated passenger service and explore additional opportunities to strengthen the level of coordination amongst agencies and the public,” said McEnany. 

The department will work closely with the Iowa Transportation Coordination Council in implementing this project.  The council is comprised of representatives from six state agencies that administer funding used for passenger transportation services (Transportation, Human Services, Elder Affairs, Education, Public Health, and Workforce Development), plus the Iowa Association of Counties and Iowa League of Cities.

Iowa public transit systems provided nearly 24 million rides last year and serve all 99 counties.  Most already provide a great deal of contracted transportation for local human service agencies.

For more information about public transit in Iowa, visit the DOT’s Office of Public Transit’s Web site at iatransit.com.

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