Mobility Ambassadors
Program Partners: Foster City Senior Wing, Redwood City Veterans Memorial Senior Center, City of San Mateo Senior Center, San Carlos Adult Community Center, Little House, and Menlo Park Senior Center
The Mobility Ambassador program trains volunteers and stations them at senior centers throughout the county to provide assistance to seniors and people with disabilities with using transit, remaining a safe driver, alternatives to transit, and walking. The volunteer Ambassadors are stationed at host senior centers and conduct various activities that include but are not limited to:
- Making educational outreach presentations
- Conducting group and one-on-one rider training
- Organizing transit field trips
- Distributing information and guidance on transit options
Program implementation began in January 2010 and will expand to additional senior centers under a New Freedom Cycle 3 grant.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer Mobility Ambassador, please contact Jean Conger at ambassador@samtrans.com or 650-508-6362.
Vehicle Sharing Demonstration Program & Vehicle Inventory
Program Partners: San Mateo County Park & Recreation Directors Association, Peninsula Congestion Relief Alliance, public, private, and non-profit agencies
The purpose of the vehicle sharing demonstration program is to create vehicle sharing partnerships among public, private, and non-profit entities to better serve the transportation needs of their clients and/or to realize cost savings or revenue generation. Implementation of the demonstration program is scheduled for late 2010. As a first step, a comprehensive inventory of existing vehicle resources in the county has been conducted to explore potential partnerships. If you are interested in participating in the Vehicle Sharing Demonstration please contact Ronny Kraft at kraftr@samtrans.com or 650-508-6367.
Senior Mobility Guide
Program Partners: Peninsula Library System – Community Information Project
The Senior Mobility Guide provides information about transportation options for seniors, including driver safety, shuttles, public transportation, walking, and other mobility topics. To date, more than 6,000 copies of the Guide have been distributed throughout the county. The next update will occur in late 2010 and will include preparation of accessible formats. The guide is available in print in English, Spanish, and Chinese and online at
www. peninsularides.com and at www.seniormobility.org. To request printed copies of the guide please contact Ronny Kraft at kraftr@samtrans.com or 650-508-6367.
Volunteer Drivers
Program Partners: Family Service Agency
The Volunteer Driver program has included assisting the Family Service Agency of San Mateo County recruit volunteer drivers for its program known as TRIP (Transportation Reimbursement Independence Program) through expanded outreach efforts. TRIP ceased operations in June 2010 due to lack of funding.
Another part of the Volunteer Driver program includes education and promoting the development of other forms of volunteer ride programs in the county under the auspices of public, non-profit and private entities. The Family Service Agency and the District will host a Volunteer Driver Symposium to educate partner agencies about the various approaches to implementing volunteer driver programs in late 2010 or early 2011.
Telephone Information & Assistance
Program Partners: Senior Mobility Steering Committee, Lighthouse for the Blind, Golden Gate Regional Center
The telephone information and assistance concept involves a centralized point of contact where seniors and people with disabilities can access information about their mobility options. The toll-free service would seek to provide:
- Individual mobility assessments
- Personalized transportation information and trip planning
- Customer follow-up to gather feedback regarding transportation needs and services
A recently completed feasibility assessment concluded that telephone information and assistance should be explored further in the context of a regional network of call centers.