Media Contact: Joe Whitman, 317-262-2660 Whitman Communications

Coordinated Transit Services

 
Meeting the specialized transit needs of targeted populations throughout the region is the subject of the next Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting. The meeting will be hosted by the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), the region's primary transportation planner, on Thursday, June 22 at 3 PM in Room 107 of the City-County Building, 200 East Washington, downtown Indianapolis. All interested parties are encouraged to attend.
 
The meeting's agenda will focus on the Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Plan. SAFETEA-LU, the new federal transportation bill, requires that the funding of projects under the Federal Transit Administration's Special Needs of Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities (5310), Job Access and Reverse Commute (5316), and New Freedom (5317) programs be derived from a locally developed Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Plan. The purpose of such a plan is to help create unified transit services for the region's targeted populations that help achieve area-wide goals and eliminate redundancy. The plan for this region will be developed through consultation with public, private, and non-profit transportation and human service providers, as well as the public.
 
"Public input, gathered at meetings like this one, is critical to our regional transportation planning process," says MPO Manager/Master Planner Mike Dearing. "Because of the subject matter, we're starting this meeting earlier than usual so that more rural transit providers and others from outside Marion County can attend."
 
The MPO founded the Citizens Advisory Committee in 1994 as a way of involving the public in proposed and on-going regional transportation planning activity. The MPO uses the public input it gathers from the CAC and other public outreach programs to advise the Technical and Policy Steering Committees of the Indianapolis Regional Transportation Council (IRTC) – the decision-making body for the regional transportation planning process. CAC meetings are held on a regular basis, promoted via advertising and media advisories, and always open to the public. Those unable to attend may watch the meeting on government access channel, WCTY (Channel 16 – Comcast and BrightHouse Networks). For more information on the Citizens Advisory Committee, visit www.indympo.org.
 

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