Idaho non-profit brings subsidized transportation to rural residents

Reliable public transportation has long been an issue for rural communities, but one Idaho non-profit is bringing new transportation sources to the Twin Falls area. "By aggressively seeking federal grant monies and dedicating a large share of staff time to implementing a voucher system, the Living Independence Network Corporation now offers transportation to more than 1,000 local residents," Laura Tillman reports for the Daily Yonder. The program provides free blue vouchers to people who work, attend school or volunteer more than 16 hours a week and $4 white voucher for seniors and disabled residents to get discounts for bus rides and participating taxi companies.

Drivers then return the vouchers to LINC for payment. LINC saw the need for a subsidized transportation system because many disabled residents without adequate transportation struggled "to undertake even the basic activities most people take for granted," Tillman writes. While Medicaid provides transportation to and from doctors appointments, it covers no other rides. The program now has five participating taxi companies and around 1,050 members. "If we were to start advertising this service, we’d be out of money in five months,"Advocacy Director Melva Heinrich Heinrich said.

"Though the Twin Falls program has been a success, LINC employees say that they don’t expect to see many other non-profits starting similar programs," Tillman writes. Only 10 percent of the grant money LINC receives can go to administrative costs, meaning LINC employees receive their salaries from the profits LINC makes through its home health service." With a measure of trepidation, LINC employee Sue Brown admitted that 'transportation has taken over' the Twin Falls office, making it difficult for the staff to put time into other programs, like helping people access and learn to use assistive technology," Tillman writes. Still Brown notes the importance of the transportation program. "Transportation is a huge issue," she told Tillman. "If they don’t have it, they can’t meet their own needs." (Read more)