Striving to provide high quality community access to transportation disadvantaged populations in its four-county service area, the Heartland Regional Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO) recently recommended MTM Transit to serve as its Community Transportation Coordinator (CTC). Through Florida’s Transportation Disadvantaged Program, MTM Transit will help area residents with disabilities, elderly populations, and residents with low income access community services like healthcare, employment, shopping, and social activities.
As the CTC, MTM Transit will provide approximately 127,000 annual trips to passengers in the counties of Desoto, Hardee, Highlands, and Okeechobee counties in south central Florida. The contract holds a term of five years, with a start date of July 1, 2021. Utilizing a network of transportation providers and community agencies, MTM Transit plans to maximize existing transportation resources to efficiently and appropriately utilize limited Transportation Disadvantaged funding.
This program represents MTM Transit’s fourth transit operation in Florida; the company also operates paratransit and fixed route programs in Sumter County, Sarasota, and Martin County. Additionally, MTM Transit’s affiliate company MTM served as the CTC in Martin County for nine years, and currently provides non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) for more than one million Floridians across the state. While serving Martin County, MTM was named the Urban CTC of the Year by the Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged in 2017, and helped sustain and improve transportation services by applying for and obtaining New Freedom grants on behalf of the county. With this level of experience and expertise, MTM Transit looks forward to building a high quality TD program for the region and its passengers.
“The TD residents in HRTPO’s service area rely on quality-driven transportation that gives them reliable access to their daily needs within the community,” said MTM Transit’s President and CEO Alaina Maciá. “Especially now as we continue to face the challenges posed by COVID-19, we look forward to introducing innovation, creativity, and efficiencies to meet the unique needs of HRTPO’s elderly, disabled, and underserved populations.”
