Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Paratransit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Presenter traces Dial A Ride history, credits community grants and fundraisers for keeping service running
Summary
A presenter recounted how Dial A Ride began in 1975 as one man and his car and grew through city grants, foundation donations and local fundraisers while repeatedly facing funding and vehicle reliability challenges.
Presenter, a staff member, recounted the history of Dial A Ride, a community paratransit service that began in 1975 in Jacksonville and relied on city grants, foundation gifts and local fundraising to provide rides for residents who had lost independent mobility.
The presenter said Dial A Ride started in 1975 “with one man and his car” to meet transportation needs of people affected by illness, injury or disability. The program’s early volunteers included Robert Glover, Nels Faulk, Ol Marcussen, Gus Offenburg, Don Jordan and Emmett Doak.
According to the presenter, the program acquired its first multi-passenger bus in 1977 with funding from a City of Jacksonville grant and a donation from the Mott Foundation; the Mott Foundation covered the bus’s expenses for about a year. The presenter said Dial A Ride was declared a model program nationally in 1981 and that ridership and the vehicle fleet grew to three vehicles by 1985.
The presenter described later financial difficulties: public grants and funding “dried up,” and vehicles began showing age-related failures. Local organizations and community fundraising kept the service running, the presenter said. The transcript lists support from Jacksonville Beaches Woman’s Club, Beaches Watch, Beaches Rotary Club, the Catholic Coalition of Women, Sandy Crafters, Pablo Towers, Palms Presbyterian, Beach Methodist Church, First Christian Church and St. Paul’s Catholic Church. The presenter also credited a bowlathon organized by City Councilman Tom Taylor with fundraising help from Susan King.
The presenter said vehicle reliability again became a problem in February 2014 when mechanical failures, including a failed wheelchair lift, reduced reliable service. The presenter named additional donors and supporters, including the Stein Foundation, Atlas Medical Centers and other local groups, and said the service faced the threat of permanent closure multiple times before community support kept it operating. The presenter said the program was celebrating 40 years of service.
The transcript does not record formal actions, votes or details about the program’s current operating status, budget, or governance structure; those items were not specified in the recorded remarks.
