Partners, local and state government officials shoot off cannons filled with biodegradable confetti to celebrate the launch of RAMP in Greene County.
Need a ride?
A new pilot program designed to improve transportation services in rural areas is set to launch May 1 in Greene County.
On Thursday, the Rural County Mobility Platform (RAMP) held a kickoff event at the Greene County Fairgrounds to spread the word about the supplemental transportation service.
While Greene does have a county-run transportation service, RAMP is designed to fill in the gaps that exist with the current service. The goal of the program is to improve the quality of life for residents by providing increased access to transportation services.
“It’s not just the cost of transportation, but reliable transportation is often a hindrance to people getting jobs, getting training, health care; it’s a hindrance to economic development in this county,” said Karen Lightman, executive director of Metro21: Smart Cities Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. “What if a plant comes here or a manufacturer comes here but no one can get there?”
Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, RAMP will offer free transportation services to help residents tap into those essential services over a four-month period that begins May 1.
The idea for RAMP got its start prior to the pandemic during a joint research project with Waynesburg University and CMU. The purpose of the project was to look for ways to solve food insecurity problems in rural counties; however, researchers found a key element in food insecurity is a lack of reliable transportation.
Once transportation was identified as a barrier, CMU chose Greene County as the pilot county for RAMP and applied for a grant with the U.S. Department of Energy.
“The transportation issues are unique in rural America so it gives us, as a research institution, a really unique way to address them in collaboration with our partners,” said Lightman.
She said the RAMP program isn’t a research experiment, rather a way to potentially revamp transportation throughout the region.
“The idea is we’re doing a pilot here, but the expectation is something we’re doing with the community – not for – but with the community, with the expectation that we are going to help change transportation in this region,” she said.
So, how will it all work?
Jeff Fondelier, CEO of Blueprints, said initially there will be one van which will make regular trips back and forth from Waynesburg to Carmichaels, and two vans that will be “on-demand” as rideshare vehicles.
The vans will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. However, those hours or days could be expanded depending on feedback from drivers, riders and the community.
Blueprints has developed a web-based app at www.ramp-pilot.com, where people can request a ride. In addition, those not comfortable with the online portal, can also call 724-780-RAMP (7267).
Fondelier said they also plan to have routes from Greene County into two yet-to-be-determined locations in Washington County and two in Morgantown, W.Va. However, he said, should ridership with Greene County be in great demand, those routes may be cut in order to serve the needs of people locally.
“It is no secret here in rural communities and our county that transportation is a problem,” said county Commissioner Jared Edgren. “And, that’s not downplaying what we currently have … but this will highlight some deficiencies that we might have in our system. We’ll have some much needed data to figure out where the gaps are to try to fill those in and at the same time a much needed amenity for our community.”
While during this pilot program, the service for Greene County riders is free, Fondelier wanted to stress there is a cost.
“I hesitate to call it a free ride for a number of reasons – the connotation that term has,” said Fondelier. “There is a cost to this, obviously. The vans that we are using were given. The funding that I’m using to pay the staff was given to us. The riders during this pilot project will not have to pay for rides, but there is a cost associated with it. The system and the platform itself will collect that information, so somehow we do want to let the riders know … this is what it would’ve cost.”
Once officials work through future funding and the project is able to be subsidized, Fondelier hopes that for many who struggle economically, the cost will be substantially less than they would’ve otherwise paid.
In addition to local government officials, several state lawmakers also attended to celebrate the pilot program.
“Our challenge in rural America, and especially in Greene County, is accessibility and this goes right to the heart of it and it’s a great pilot program,” said state Rep. Bud Cook.
State Sen. Camera Bartalotta said reliable transportation is an essential need in every area, but especially in rural counties like Greene.
“This is really going to change lives for so many people because (people say) ‘I’d love to get a better job but I don’t have a vehicle and I can’t afford it.’ The only way to afford it is to get a better job.”
RAMP, she said, could help break that cycle.
