MOUNT VERNON — Transportation to medical or other appointments outside Knox County can expensive and difficult to find.
Knox County Mobility Management Coordinator Joe Porter previously said there is “a pretty big hole” in that area.
“Inside the county, we’re in really good shape. Outside the county, if you have a specialist medical appointment or if you need to get to OSU or whatever, it’s pretty expensive no matter how you slice it,” he told the commissioners on April 3.
Knox County is part of an eight-county pilot program designed to address gaps and unmet needs related to intercounty transportation.
Recognizing that Ohio transportation plans lacked coordination, the Ohio Department of Transportation Office of Transit created 10 regions. The goal is to address unmet needs and duplicate services in the existing single-county, fragmented approach to transportation.
Knox County is in Region 5, along with Ashland, Crawford, Huron, Marion, Morrow, Richland and Seneca counties.
Through an ODOT grant, the Richland County Regional Planning Commission hired a regional mobility planner, Lyndsie Martin, to coordinate the regional effort.
“We’re looking at regional plans and to partner with agencies outside the county to get people to those medical appointments,” Martin told mobility management’s Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) on Wednesday.
“Is there a program we can come up with? We’re trying to see what we can do.”
Regional coordination aims to increase mobility and ridership across the state, especially for seniors, low-income individuals, those with disabilities, and those in no-vehicle households.
Examples include individuals in Knox and Crawford counties going to Avita, Ohio Health, or the VA Clinic in Richland County.
Martin encourages Knox County residents to complete a survey to identify needs and barriers to affordable transportation outside the county.
Click here to access the survey.
Affordable transportation
TAC is developing a cost assistance program for low-income individuals who do not qualify for Medicaid. The program would also benefit those who have transportation but need help paying for it.
Additionally, Knox County Transit plans to lower its fares in June. Out-of-county fees will be $5 plus $1 per mile.
“We’re working on programs locally, but it still is going to be costly for some,” Porter told Knox Pages on Thursday.
“The regional pilot program would not only help out with that but also help with folks who want to go to another community, like Mansfield, to see a movie.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a program where someone could ride a Knox County Transit vehicle to a transfer point, and then transfer to Richland County transit and go into Ontario?” he added.
Porter said a regional program does not involve just medical or social appointments.
“It’s workforce, too. What if you can get a job in Mansfield but live in Fredericktown?” he asked. “Right now, you can’t do that inexpensively.
“If we don’t get together and start talking about this, we’ll never get anywhere.”
