Rural and Intercity Transportation

Policymakers and the private sector should develop and implement transportation programs and services to improve community transportation resources for older adults. Particular attention should be given to the needs of those living in rural areas. This includes creating innovative, sustainable transportation models for older adults and people with disabilities in rural communities.

Private bus companies should be required to carry adequate insurance to cover their passengers in the event of a crash. This includes “intercity” buses (which can go across state lines), such as Greyhound, and charter buses (see also Chapter 11, Financial Services and Consumer Products - Insurance).

Public-private partnerships should be explored.

Governments should increase funding for the operating and capital costs of rural public transportation and provide for monitoring and evaluating such transportation to help identify improvement and expansion needs.

Congress should increase funding for the Section 5311 rural transit program, including the Tribal Transit Program. Grant recipients of the Tribal Transit Program should be required to coordinate transportation services with Title VI Native American aging programs funded under the Older Americans Act.

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Administration for Community Living should provide funds to state and local governments to initiate innovative, sustainable transportation models for older adults and people with disabilities in rural communities.

States should:

• ensure funding mechanisms for operating and capital expenses for rural public transportation,
• promote and monitor the coordination of transportation funding and programs in rural areas, and
• develop affordable public and private nonemergency medical transportation.

Technical assistance: State departments of transportation should provide adequate technical assistance to rural areas to support effective, coordinated transportation planning.

State departments of transportation should provide a full public outreach and education program to rural areas to ensure local governments are knowledgeable about all available federal funding for rural areas and programmatic (application) requirements.

Policymakers should support broad-based nationwide passenger rail service, including high-speed rail. Service should be integrated and coordinated with regional, state, and local passenger rail. States should establish dependable funding mechanisms for investment in passenger rail and should support passenger rail systems that are integrated and coordinated with the nationwide passenger rail system.

Congress should establish a dependable funding mechanism that ensures continuing broad-based nationwide passenger rail service, including high-speed rail. Congress should allow intercity passenger rail systems to be eligible for the broad flexible-funding provisions that govern the rest of the federal transportation program.

Native Americans and Alaskan Natives: Congress should increase funding for the Section 5311(c) Tribal Transit Program and require grant recipients to coordinate transportation services with Title VI Native American aging programs funded under the Older Americans Act.

Congress should increase funding for the Tribal Transportation Program and encourage expenditures to be integrated with economic development, housing, and land-development plans.