- Registered 450 residents of the six towns for Dial-a-Ride service with ridership matching the desired demographic targets; and
- Increased ridership use for medical transportation to 27% in 2013, up from 21% in 2012.
The actual number of rides for health-related visits (1,050) was lower than the projected number of 3,000 rides per year. Contributing factors included: a delay in offering rides to clinics in northwest Connecticut where a significant number of the region’s residents receive their medical care because of Dutchess County’s close proximity to the Connecticut border; the ride limits imposed by the County’s Dial-A-Ride service, which only allows one subscription (or repeating ride) each week, thus reducing its usefulness for patients receiving dialysis, physical therapy, or chemotherapy; and the rural setting of many locations, which the large bus used by the service cannot easily access (e.g., long driveways where it would have to back up to get out).
NECC continues to offer its bus service; through the rollout of a more rigorous media campaign, ridership has increased significantly. NECC has identified other funding sources and will continue to provide this vital service to the region at least through 2015. A new round of federal funding will soon be available, which would allow NECC to purchase and manage its own smaller buses and address many of the factors that prevented NECC from reaching its initial goals.
