43
Program helps the jobless
By D.A. WILKINSON
LISBON
A new program is helping low-income people get to their job and get their children where they need to be.
Transportation can be a problem for many people in largely rural Columbiana County.
But a JARC is changing that.
JARC stands for “Job Access Reverse Commute,” according to Quinten Melius, the mobility manager for the Community Action Agency of Columbiana County Inc. That means going and coming from a job.
The CAA for years has run a transportation program that requires payment by the rider.
The $130,000 JARC grant came from the Federal Transit Administration to the Ohio Department of Transportation to the CAA.
The funding allowed the addition of two more buses and a mini-van for the program.
To be eligible for the program, a family of four would have to make less than $33,075 a year. A single person would have to earn less than $16,245 a year to be eligible.
The riders under the program will pay 75 cents each way. By comparison, the Community Action Rural Transit System, the regular transit system, would require payment of $1.50 to $4 depending how far the rider had to go.
Melius said that in August, the program transported 34 people to 26 work locations in the county. Most of the trips are in Salem or East Liverpool because, he said, “they have the most people and places of employment.”
He said of the program, “We’re getting the word out.”
The program already has been renewed for 2011.
People must call 24 hours in advance to use the program. Many of the people, he said, “give the agency their entire schedule for the week in advance.” To schedule rides for either CARTS or JARC, call 330-424-4015.
The program runs from 5 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday in the county, and from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Salem and East Liverpool.
Phyllis Linderman, the transportation manager for the CAA, said the fees are low.
“We’ll take you anywhere,” she said.
For more information, visit http://cartsonline.org/.