SOUTH DEERFIELD — Seniors in southern Franklin County will soon have a new option to travel across county lines for medical appointments, shopping and recreation.

Thanks to a $16,612 Service Incentive Grant from the Massachusetts Councils on Aging and a partnership between the South County Senior Center, Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA) and Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA), seniors in Deerfield and Whately will be able to travel to PVTA’s region and Sunderland seniors will be able to travel to FRTA’s service area through their agencies’ on-demand van services, according to Senior Center Director Jennifer Remillard.

Broken down, $11,500 of the grant will be used to fund trip fares — covering up to 2,000 one-way rides — and up to $3,612 will be used to pay a van driver for trips not covered by the regional transit authorities. The remaining $1,500 will go toward administrative expenses.

“Our goal is to facilitate direct service from point A to point B. With the grant we received, our goal is providing financial support for the fares and to supplement service with our Council on Aging van if the (transit authorities) cannot provide service at the requested date or time,” Remillard said. “For example, those who live in Deerfield or Whately are bound by the FRTA service area and cannot travel without a connecting bus to points in Hampshire or Hampden County.”

The new program will begin next week. The transit authorities and the Senior Center will also have more information at that point. Folks living in Deerfield, Sunderland and Whately who are interested in registering for transportation can contact Outreach Coordinator Chris Goudreau at 413-768-1066 or Remillard at 413-665-2141.

Throughout the period of the grant, the South County Senior Center will also be collecting ridership data and surveys to inform potential future partnerships and programs with the two transit authorities. Remillard said stakeholders hope the data will provide strong evidence to both local and state officials that public transit is a viable option for older adults and that funding could bolster it further.

“This will show if there is a need for support. Western Massachusetts tends to receive less funding even though the areas of service cover a larger area,” she said. “Some areas are not only lacking public transportation options, but also ride-share options, such as Lyft, Uber and others.”

Transportation has been one of the South County Senior Center’s major focuses in the last year, especially in the last few months with the formation of a workgroup to address transportation challenges, alongside two community conversations with FRTA and PVTA administrators.

At those community forums, folks said the biggest issue was the lack of information about programs available, as well as the disconnect between Sunderland and the rest of Franklin County because the town is a member of PVTA’s system due to its proximity to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Hadley and Northampton.

To further address the disconnect, PVTA has applied for a grant that could pilot a transportation route that would connect Greenfield, Deerfield/Whately, Leverett, Shutesbury and Amherst. The proposed route would start in Amherst at 9 a.m. and return at 10:30, with a second route beginning at noon and returning at 1:30 p.m. It would operate four days a week. There is the chance, however, that PVTA does not receive the grant.

“What the attempt with this grant is, is to see how much of the need there is to go from [Amherst] to [Greenfield],” PVTA Administrator Sandra Sheehan said at the late June community forum. “We’re asking someone to fund it for us. We’ll work it out, see how it goes and we’ll sit down with all the stakeholders.”

Outreach grant

Alongside the transportation grant, the South County Senior Center also received $13,135 for the development and implementation of outreach programs to provide increased access to new residents, including those who recently moved to Sanderson Place in Sunderland.

One of the major goals of this initiative, Remillard wrote in the grant proposal, would be offering additional information and opportunities for older adults to age in place by using the services offered by the center and other community partners.

“The proposed outcome of the project would be to increase contact with older adults, including homebound seniors. Through an initiative to better familiarize and educate older adults about the programs and services offered through the South County Senior Center, our anticipated impact would be to reach those most in need,” Remillard wrote.

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