National Transit Award Presented
to MoDOT
JEFFERSON CITY - The Community
Transportation Association of America has honored the Missouri
Department of Transportation with its 2005 State Leadership Award.
The award is given each year to recognize state
agencies or associations that are responsive to local transit
systems and have consistently provided support, advocacy and technical
assistance.
MoDOT was recognized at
the CTAA annual EXPO in St. Louis for its support of transit operators
through driver training; vehicle purchasing; communication and
advocacy at the local, state and national level; and a comprehensive
statewide marketing program.
"We're quite proud of this
award," said MoDOT Director Pete Rahn. "We work diligently to
serve all of Missouri's transportation customers including those
using public transportation."
The department's Transit
Section provides financial and technical assistance
to Missouri's public transit and specialized transit providers.
This function is carried out through the administration of state
and federal programs related to general public transportation
and specific transit programs for agencies serving senior citizens
and persons with disabilities.
"MoDOT Transit is a small
group of public servants that does a big job very well with rare
recognition," said OATS Executive Director Linda Yaeger. "These
efforts make a positive difference in the lives of people in communities
around our state who depend on or choose public transportation."
The Federal Transit Administration
provides grants to states on a formula basis for nonurban transit.
Rural transit providers and intercity bus carriers apply to
MoDOT's transitsection for these grants to carry out rural public
transit related service, planning and capital projects.
These grants assist the
state in serving the mobility needs of senior citizens and persons
with disabilities. MoDOT helps purchase vehicles, and with federal
grants funds 80 percent of the cost of vehicles
for agencies with developmental disability resource boards, sheltered
workshops, senior citizen services boards, senior centers and
not-for-profit medical service agencies.
MoDOT's transit section
also administers national discretionary transit capital grants
that fund 80 percent of the cost for replacement transit vehicles,
vehicles for service expansion, transit facilities and equipment
in support of transit services.
The transit section also
assists rural transportation by providing training and some technical
assistance. Free on-site training courses offered to rural transit
agencies include defensive driving, CPR, first aid, passenger
assistance techniques and emergency procedures.
The state of Missouri provides
state funds to both rural and urban public transit agencies, including
10 Area Agency on Aging districts statewide, that help defray
costs of providing community mobility services to senior citizens
and persons with disabilities.
The federal planning funds
for public transportation in urban areas are allocated based on
population by MoDOT's transit section to locally designated metropolitan
planning organizations.
