Many areas of the country offer coordinated transportation services for people considered “transportation disabled”. The system is subsidized through local, state and federal sources, and it provides local transportation services for the elderly, disabled and economically disadvantaged. The Lackawanna Coordinated Transportation System has about 25 small busses each equipped with wheelchair lifts and variable amounts of seating.
Right now, I am in the final stages of getting my own van, but I’m using the Coordinated Transport in the meantime. This service is getting me to work and back for a $5.00 per day round trip fee. All of the drivers I’ve had have been great, the vans are in good condition and seem well maintained, and the scheduling has been excellent.
I had one occasion where a van had an interlock problem with a lift, and the driver had to manually pump the lift to get me in. These are electric over hydraulic commercial lifts similar to the lift in my old van, and even under the best of maintenance programs, the lifts can fail. Mine is 11 years old and still works fine, but the maintenance cost over those years was a bit expensive. I know that keeping the lifts working in an entire fleet of vehicles requires good planning and procedures. Lackawanna County gets this right!
In a time where inefficiencies in government take center stage, it is gratifying to find a government run agency that gets it right. The Lackawanna Coordinated Transportation System, and the mass transit agency COLTS, is to be commended for a job well done. I am indeed grateful for this invaluable service!
