AMBAG is required to develop a Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan (Coordinated Plan) for the tri-county region. Under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) legislation, this plan must be completed and used in developing grant applications for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Transportation for Elderly Persons and Persons with Disabilities (Section 5310) grant program. The plan identifies local transit needs for the elderly, disabled, and low-income, and facilitates applications for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5310 grant program.

The 5310 program provides formula funding to assist private non-profit groups and transit operators in meeting the transportation needs of the elderly and persons with disabilities when the transportation service provided is unavailable, insufficient, or inappropriate to meeting these needs. The funds are apportioned based on each State’s share of population for these groups of people and awarded to projects through a statewide competitive selection process. Funds may be used for capital or operating expenses. The Coordinated Plan, as required by the 2015 FAST Act, must include the following elements:

• An assessment of available services and current transportation providers (public, private, and non-profit);
• An assessment of transportation needs for seniors and persons with disabilities. This assessment can be based on the experiences and perceptions of the planning partners or on more sophisticated data collection efforts, and gaps in service;
• Strategies, activities, and/or projects to address the identified gaps between current services and needs, as well as opportunities to achieve efficiencies in service delivery; and
• Priorities for implementation based on resources (from multiple program sources), time, and feasibility for implementing specific strategies and/or activities.