Buckeye Hills Regional Council is the designated lead agency for the administration and implementation of the statewide Mobility Management program in Washington County. On November 13, 2020, Ohio Department of Transportation approved the Buckeye Hills funding application for 2021 with an A+ score.
In Washington County, the Mobility Management program was first launched in 2020 to support and coordinate connections between transportation and human services, education, and employment. The Washington County Mobility Management program is tasked with increasing access to mobility for Washington County residents, older adults, people with disabilities, veterans, addiction recovery, and those seeking/getting to employment. This is accomplished by increasing the community’s understanding and awareness of the transportation options and needs; coordinating the transportation options and providers to meet needs identified by the community engagement and surveys, the Mobility Manager and the Way-2-Go advisory committee; seeking out and implementing solutions to gaps in transportation options; and building sustainable and healthy communities by integrating transportation into planning and programs. Transportation options for individuals can result in improved health conditions, reduced costs related to workplace absenteeism, and cost savings for medical providers attributed to missed appointments.
Additionally, the Mobility Management program in Washington County is responsible for the cyclical update and/or re-development of the County’s Coordinated Transit Plan. On December 1, 2020, ODOT approved the re-development of the Washington County Coordinated Transit Plan for 2020-2024. The purpose of a locally developed, coordinated public transit-human services transportation plan (coordinated plan) is to identify community resources for transportation and mobility, understand the gaps and unmet needs within those resources, and to determine the approach to addressing those gaps and needs.