Catch-a-Ride – Lifetime Resources

Amount Funded: $7,910

Total Cost: $39,550

Catch-A-Ride is a Section 5311 public transportation provider in southeast Indiana that delivers over 82,000 trips per year across six counties with a fleet of 31 vehicles. Its vehicles were funded through a combination of Section 5339, Section 5310, ARRA, and local dollars. Although Catch-A-Ride is a public transportation provider, approximately 64% of the trips provided are for older adults and/or individuals with disabilities. As Indiana has chosen to restrict its Section 5310 funding to vehicles and Dearborn County (which accounts for approximately 37% of our overall trips) is included in OKI’s Coordinated Plan, we wanted to take this opportunity to apply for a Web Ride Request add-on feature for the Easy Rides dispatching software that we are currently utilizing. The Web Ride Request feature would decrease the time that dispatchers and clients spend scheduling rides over the phone, while increasing client satisfaction and online visibility of their upcoming trips. It has potential to increase overall trip volumes as well. If funding were to be approved, the Web Ride Request feature would immediately be available and training would be provided by the developer at our convenience. The Web Ride Request feature would first be introduced to a small group of clients so that we could ensure that we’ve received adequate training, worked out any “bugs” in the processes, and are confident in our clients’ ability to understand and utilize the feature. It would then be made available to the remaining clients in the most effective manner possible by the end of 2019.