{"id":141073,"date":"2021-03-14T22:58:25","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T03:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=141073"},"modified":"2021-03-14T22:58:30","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T03:58:30","slug":"odot-funding-vaccination-site-transport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2021\/03\/14\/odot-funding-vaccination-site-transport\/","title":{"rendered":"ODOT funding vaccination site transport"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>VW independent\/submitted information<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>COLUMBUS \u2013 As COVID-19 vaccination efforts ramp up across Ohio, the Ohio Department of Transportation is providing extra funding to help local transit agencies and health departments to ensure all eligible Ohioans can get to vaccination sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe want to make sure all Ohioans who want the vaccine have equal ability to get the vaccine,\u201d said Gov. Mike DeWine. \u201cEquity includes having access to transportation services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/ODOT-logo-6-2017.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-89572\" width=\"202\" height=\"114\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The Rides for Community Immunity program will provide $7 million distributed across all 88 counties to help get Ohio\u2019s most vulnerable populations transportation to vaccine locations. For the 70 counties that have public transit programs, ODOT will be awarding the funds directly to public transit agencies. In the 18 counties that do not have transit service the funding will be given to the county health department and can used for purchased transportation services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTransportation should not be a hurdle to any eligible Ohioan who wants to be vaccinated. We\u2019re doing everything we can to make sure that access is available to all Ohioans, not just those with a vehicle or that live near a vaccination site,\u201d said ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All public transit recipients will work with their local county health department and local EMA to identify the best way to use these funds. Local officials could leverage existing investments, such as offering vouchers for transit passes, or use these funds in conjunction with other transportation resources to help cover any additional cost that may be associated with keeping our communities healthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGovernor DeWine\u2019s decision to provide additional funding targeted to support transportation to vaccination sites will help public transit agencies address the challenges of identifying and reaching those communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,\u201d said Claudia Amrhein, general manager\/CEO of Portage Area RTA and president of the Ohio Public Transportation Association. \u201cAs public transit providers continue serving our communities through this pandemic, we are well positioned to coordinate with public health departments and county EMAs to facilitate access to vaccination sites.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Funding will be distributed based on the most recent U.S. Census data and will not require any type of local match. Ohioans who have transportation needs are encouraged to reach out to either their local public transit agency or health department for details specific to their area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>VW independent\/submitted information COLUMBUS \u2013 As COVID-19 vaccination efforts ramp up across Ohio, the Ohio Department of Transportation is providing extra funding to help local transit agencies and health departments to ensure all eligible Ohioans can get to vaccination sites. \u201cWe want to make sure all Ohioans who want the vaccine have equal ability to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-03 09:25:55","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141073\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}