CLAREMORE — The Federal Transit Administration presented the “Outstanding Public Service Award” for the Oklahoma Veterans Access Transit Project during the 20th National Conference on Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation.
The award was presented to Pelivan Transit Director Debbie McGlasson who spearheaded the project along with Jessica Brent, Mobility Coordinator for the Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG).
The project was a collaborative effort involving several rural public transits, tribal transits, and Councils of Government working with the Veterans Administration through the Jack C. Montgomery Veteran’s Hospital in Muskogee.
The Veterans Access Transit Project is a coordinated effort to establish a network of transportation providers in the northeastern and eastern regions of Oklahoma to utilize a One Click/One Call Center through Veterans Transportation Services (VTS) in Muskogee. Through the collaboration, veterans in need of transportation to area veterans’ hospitals and medical clinics will be able to access the medical care they need.
Several grants have been awarded to the providers in this collaborative project to provide the technology and equipment necessary to link the transportation providers with each other and with the VTS Call Center and coordinate daily rides for veterans to medical appointments.
The FTA awarded funds through the Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative Grant programs. These funds have enabled Pelivan Transit to purchase mobile data devises (10-inch Galaxy Tablets) for Pelivan vehicles, as well as software and data interchange programming to allow communication back and forth with the Call Centers at the VA Hospital in Muskogee and INCOG in Tulsa.
Pelivan Transit is owned and operated by Grand Gateway EDA and the Northeast Oklahoma Tribal Transit Consortium.
“This collaborative effort has infused some much needed funding into our region to address the technology needs with the area transits, as well as equipping us with software upgrades for electronic communications between the Call Centers and the transit providers,” said McGlasson.
In 2013, area transit providers will be promoting the transportation services available to veterans.
Veterans in the region of northeast Oklahoma who need transportation to any of the VA medical clinics in the region should call the VTS toll-free number at 877-905-4538 or call Pelivan Transit at 800-282-2014 for more information.
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