Distributing Transportation Information to Older Adults in Conjunction with Meals and Activities

Description

On the Go: Enticing Seniors to Try Salina’s Public Transportation program began in 2022 as a partnership between the Salina Senior Center, OCCK Transportation and the Mobility Manager for North Central Kansas. The goal of the program was to increase the number of senior citizens using Salina’s public transportation system.

To promote its On the Go program, the partnership chose to leverage existing senior services to share information on public transit. On Valentine’s Day 2023, goodie bags filled with program information, free transit vouchers purchased by the Salina Senior Center, and chocolate candy were distributed to 250 Meals on Wheels participants, and an additional 350 seniors participating in senior center activities. Special color-coded vouchers were printed so the program could track the utilization rate of specific populations.

Thus On the Go provided incentives for seniors to travel within the community using either CityGo, the fixed route bus, or the complementary paratransit service. Information was also provided to seniors about travel training opportunities organized by the mobility manager. 

Impact

Collaborating with other partners on outreach activities expanded the number of encounters and reach of the marketing effort. About 600 seniors were informed about transportation options in Salina. Within two weeks of launching the service more than 50 coupons were used. Since the successful implementation, the Senior Center and the Mobility Manager have continued their partnership and held additional conversations about next steps and future plans for continued senior engagement and education.