I am excited to update you on the progress we have made with United We Ride Alabama this year. The Alabama Department of Senior Services has been awarded Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) and New Freedom grants for FY 2010 from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The funding will be distributed to seven agencies for the new fiscal year beginning October 1, 2009. Six agencies will receive funding for the JARC program and one for the New Freedom program.

I recently attended a meeting in Washington, DC sponsored by the National Center on Senior Transportation (NCST) in conjunction with Easter Seals – “Rides Change Lives: The Future of Senior Transportation”. I had the pleasure to meet with Jed Johnson, NCST Director, along with other associations involved in transportation across the nation to discuss transportation issues. I had the opportunity to proudly share the progress Alabama is making as the representative for Alabama and the National Association of State Units on Aging (NASUA) for which I am honored to be the president.

Our United We Ride Alabama Commission has been meeting quarterly and applied for a grant through United We Ride which would allow a statewide education initiative on public transportation targeting our lawmakers and the general public. We are anxiously awaiting results of the award and hope to be a grantee.

Through United We Ride, state agencies are working together to improve coordination of transportation services to our citizens who are transportation disadvantaged. This can only be accomplished through partnerships at the state, regional and local levels.

         - Mrs. Irene Collins, Commissioner