A.G. Gancarski
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority goes from victory to victory of late, and the JTA scored another win this week with a $399,200 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
The FTA grant, part of its “Rides to Wellness Initiative,” is intended to encourage people who need non-emergency healthcare to use mass transit, claimed the JTA in a press release
With the federal funds, JTA expects to develop an “interface between the medical system’s software and JTA’s TransPortal, the One Call/One Click Transportation Resource Center.”
That interface will allow, “with one click,” appointment schedulers to know mass transit times and costs that fit the appointments available.
That information can be used by those scheduling appointments to find the best travel option for the patient.
JTA CEO Nat Ford said this program will “help open the lines of communication between medical staff and transportation providers.”
The FTA has identified inadequate transportation as a barrier against preventive care and treatment of chronic illnesses; an estimated 3.6 million people yearly miss appointments because of transportation problems.
