CHESTERFIELD — Up until now, the Hilltown Community Development Corporation has offered transportation to residents over 60 who live in nearly a dozen rural communities it serves, including Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Westhampton and Worthington.

Now, thanks to new grant funding, the program is expanding its availability in an effort to offer “transportation for all in need,” said Joan Griswold, director of community programs for the Hilltown CDC.

The agency started the transportation program seven years ago through a partnership with the Franklin Regional Transit Authority to serve an aging population in which more than half of the people in those communities are aged 60 and over.

The new $50,000 grant from the Transportation for Massachusetts, a coalition working toward improving transportation across the state, coupled with the contribution of a seven-passenger, disability-friendly van from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, is enabling the program expand its reach to more than the region’s older populations.

Griswold explains that “all in need” includes transportation access for lower-income residents, people with disabilities, and people who don’t have a car or personal transportation. Others who may use the service include residents who have a car, but find it difficult to drive themselves to and from doctor or physical therapy appointments, and don’t have another driver to rely on.

The Transportation for Massachusetts grant is part of $500,000 that has been donated by the nonprofit across 12 municipalities to bolster transit options.

Hilltown CDC currently operates a fleet of two wheelchair-accessible vans, both able to accommodate up to 14 passengers. The agency took over these vans after the Goshen and Huntington Councils on Aging had become “inundated” with transportation requests, and could not keep up, said Griswold.

In addition to the vans, the Hilltown CDC has another grant-funded transportation service called the driver pool program that allows certified people to use their personal cars to transport people in exchange for reimbursement.

These services are vital because the Hilltowns don’t have access to fixed-route transportation such as bus service, which can make it hard for people to get to appointments or shop in larger communities. Hilltown CDC is offering what they call “microtransit,” or transportation that connects people to areas that have fixed routes.

Gateway Regional High School has requested a contract with Hilltown CDC to transport students to and from internships, which would further expand the ideal of serving “all in need,” Griswold said.

While not free, the transportation is offered at costs on par with bus fares. Griswold said making money isn’t the goal or the outcome, she said, as the program is “very expensive to operate.” Since the area served has no fixed transit system, the service is the only affordable transit option in the communities they serve, she said. Uber or Lyft drivers are another limited option, but can be costly.

In addition to Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Westhampton and Worthington, the other communities in the service area include are Huntington, Blandford, Chester, Middlefield, Montgomery and Russell.

Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com