Updated 1/26/2024
The City of Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) is seeking applications from agencies interested in helping adults 60+ years of age maintain their quality of life and age in place by providing community transportation services. A Request for Proposal (RFP) posted January 17 will invest in community transportation to improve the mobility of older adults in King County.
What We Fund
Funding supports community transportation services in two arenas:
- Health Services Transportation allows people to access healthcare by providing trips to medical, dental, and other essential appointments, as well as trips to access services and activities that promote social, emotional, and physical health. This service will prioritize clients with the greatest economic and social need, particularly those individuals with no other way to access healthcare and health-related services.
- Food Access Transportation allows people to access healthy food in the setting of their choice, including culturally relevant options, at HSD-funded community meal sites, food banks, farmers’ markets, and grocery stores, including sites that participate in SNAP, Fresh Bucks, and/or the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP).
Approximately $600,000 is available through this RFP from the Older Americans Act Title III-B and Washington State Senior Citizens Services Act (SCSA). Seattle General Funds may be allocated when 2024 budgets are finalized.
Background
Most older adults prefer to live independently in the homes and communities of their choice as they age. Unfortunately, many older adults in King County lack transportation options that meet their mobility, affordability, scheduling, and safety needs. This can result in isolation and disconnection from critical activities and services. Community transportation that is affordable, accessible, and easy-to-use plays a critical role in promoting health equity.
Access to health services and food contribute to a person’s ability to remain healthy and independent. Lack of financial resources can limit a person’s transportation options and make independent living more challenging. Black, Indigenous, and other people of color indicate more regular King County Metro ridership as well as a higher reliance—5% of white Metro riders relied on Metro for all transportation needs, compared to 8% of African American/Black riders, 12% of Asian/Pacific Islander riders, and 20% of Hispanic/Latinx riders (Source: King County Metro Transit, May 2022). It is important that alternatives exist when traditional transportation options are unable to meet the needs of older adults of color.
Current HSD-funded community transportation programs include:
- Volunteer Transportation, which involves recruiting volunteers who use their own vehicles to meet the transportation needs of older adults. This program gets clients to medical, dental, and other essential appointments. Clients are required to contact assisters via telephone by Tuesday of the week before their appointment to request a driver and schedule a recurring or one-time ride.
- Nutrition Transportation, which utilizes shuttle vans (cutaways) to provide grouped trips to HSD-funded congregate meal sites.
- A transit fare subsidy program, a component of Nutrition Transportation, which provides funding for the purchase of transit tickets through the King County Human Services Bus Ticket Program. Tickets are used to pay for transit trips to congregate meal sites.
- The Driving Companions Pilot, which operates similarly to Volunteer Transportation with the distinction that program participants recruit their own volunteer driver from within their social circle or caregiving network.
Proposals are not required to include these four (4) programs.
Who Should Apply
Potential partners include public transit agencies, rideshare/transportation network companies, and nonprofit community transportation providers. Creative partnerships with nonprofit agencies, for-profit firms and/or public agencies are strongly encouraged.
Information Sessions
Any agency interested in learning more about this RFP is encouraged to attend one of two information sessions and ask questions; however, attendance is not required:
- Wednesday, January 24, 2024, from 9:30-11 a.m. PST in-person at Aging & Disability Services, South King County office, Mt. St. Helens Conference Room (600 SW 39th Street, Renton, WA 98057).
- A virtual Information Session has been rescheduled to Thursday, February 1, 2024, from 1:30-3 p.m. PST. Virtual meeting: Microsoft Teams link. If you require technical assistance, e-mail hsd_adsplanning@seattle.gov.
The last day to submit questions is Wednesday, February 7, 2024, by 12 p.m. PST.
Application Due Date and Submission
Completed applications must be submitted before 12 p.m. (noon) Pacific Time, on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Links for online or e-mail submission are available on the funding opportunity webpage.
E-mail Lori Mina, Funding Process Coordinator, Seattle Human Services Department, Aging and Disability Services division, at Lori.Mina@seattle.gov with any questions about this RFP or to request an accommodation for the information session.