A free transit program for older adults is becoming an increasingly important lifeline across Central Texas. One of the Capital Area’s Rural Transit System’s (CARTS) fastest-growing initiatives is a free ride program for older people.

Launched in June 2024 through a partnership with the local Area Agency on Aging of the Capital Area (AAACAP) and the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG), the program was designed to help seniors reconnect with their communities after the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We noticed that after COVID seniors weren’t getting back out to those congregate meal sites and weren’t going to the community centers,” said Dana Platts, the community engagement director with CARTS. “Through a partnership with local agencies, we are providing free rides to seniors 60 and above, to really anywhere they want to go, just to get them out of their houses and connected back into the communities. It has been so successful.”

This need is particularly acute in rural communities, where transportation can be a major barrier to both health care and social engagement. Studies have found that older adults in rural areas often face long travel distances and limited public transportation options. Researchers and advocates have linked those transportation gaps to missed medical appointments, reduced access to essential services, and increased social isolation. CARTS senior rides allow older adults to travel at no cost to medical appointments, grocery stores, senior centers, community programs, and other destinations, while also supporting social connections and everyday errands.

The AAACAP has long been one of the central funders and organizers of senior transit across the region, covering negotiated rates for older people across ten counties in Central Texas. Jennifer Scott, director of aging services at AAACAP, said that previous funding constraints limited free rides to medical appointments. But the CARTS program has vastly expanded transit destinations.

Read the full article about rural transportation access for seniors by Madeline de Figueiredo at The Daily Yonder.