Franklin County Access Pilot for Nonprofits

Description: In November 2021, Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) a new program, entitled the Franklin County Access Pilot for Nonprofits. It was created for a coalition of local health and social service agencies. FRCOG had funding from a state legislative earmark that they originally planned to use to subsidize Lyft rides. The Lyft pilot was delayed due to lack of Lyft drivers in the rural area, and in the meantime, FRTA’s in-house ride-hailing program, Access, launched, so FRCOG pivoted to subsidize microtransit rides instead of Lyft rides.

FRTA’s Advisory Board met in May 2022 to discuss the future of these initiatives and voted to make the FRTA Access a permanent program.

Impact: The program not only expands clients’ access to mobility, but also promotes awareness of FRTA Access to agency staff. Once FRTA added the bike racks to the microtransit vehicles in March 2022, riders – not just from the partner agencies – immediately began to use them.

Lessons Learned: Participating health and social service agencies can schedule free FRTA Access rides for their clients. The program not only expands clients’ access to mobility, but also promotes awareness of FRTA Access to agency staff – and has other benefits as well. In March 2022, at the recommendation of one of the agencies, FRTA added bike racks to the microtransit vehicles to facilitate multi-modal trips.