Dial-A-Ride is just a phone call away

MILLERTON — A new Dial-A-Ride service was launched this week to serve six towns in northern and eastern Dutchess County that have been largely without public transportation for several years.

The joint Northeast Dutchess Transit bus is being sponsored by the North East Community Center (NECC) in Millerton in collaboration with Dutchess County Division of Mass Transit LOOP service and the town of North East.  

The service will be available six days a week, for the towns of North East, Pine Plains, Stanford, Washington, Amenia and Dover. Those who wish to use it must preregister (which is free), and must book rides at least three days in advance. Because it is first come, first served, riders are encouraged to plan ahead. To register or book rides, people may call Justin Svingen, the Northeast Dutchess transportation director, at the NECC at 518-789-4259. The service is open to everyone. The fares are: senior citizen, $1 one way; veteran, $1 one way;  general fare, $3.50 one way.

Planning for the bus service began in early 2009, when Dutchess County ended the LOOP bus that had served the northeast part of the county for several years.  

“We knew from every study that had ever been done and from anecdotal feedback from the community that the lack of public transportation was a huge barrier that limited the quality of life of the people in our rural area,” said Gertrude O’Sullivan of the Foundation for Community Health in Sharon, Conn. “That’s why we have devoted so much time and effort to this matter over the last few years.

“We commissioned a feasibility study and we brought the local stakeholders together to get their input and to identify where the greatest needs were. We determined that a curb-to-curb service like Dial-a-Ride is the most effective solution for our towns,” she added. “Then we reached out to the North East Community Center in Millerton to see if they would take the lead in putting the plan in place.”

The North East Community Center, founded in 1990, serves Millerton, Amenia and surrounding towns with a wide range of programs, including a volunteer transportation program called the Care Car which drives senior citizens to doctor appointments.   

The NECC obtained several large grants to underwrite the service, including a New Freedom grant from the Federal Transportation Administration, for $216,000 over three years, and grants from the Foundation for Community Health, the New York Health Foundation, Sisters of Charity in Stanfordville, and the Community Foundation of the Hudson Valley.   Each town is asked to contribute funds as well towards the overall cost of the program.  

The funding covers the cost of the bus, as well as additional ride coordination services — NECC’s Program Director Svingen is available to residents of all six towns to help them plan rides using all available services — the Dial-a-Ride, volunteer services such as the Care Car and Friends of Seniors, flex service, and private cab companies, among others.

 The buses and drivers will be provided through an agreement with the Dutchess County Division of Mass Transit, which operates Dial-a-Ride in most other parts of the county.  

 Submitted by Jenny Hansell, executive director, North East Community Center.

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