Fare Free Transit Rolls into 41 Years

CREST HAVEN – What began 41 years ago with a used school bus, whose rear wheels fell off, today is a lifeline for many senior citizens, disabled and those lacking transportation.
Cape May County Fare Free Transportation Department is that entity. According to Director Daniel J. Mulraney the drivers and staff arrive early to ensure medical appointments are met, shopping trips are completed, and meals are delivered to the homebound. They stay late to make sure those who undergo dialysis are returned home safely.
“It’s just about the only public transportation in Cape May County,” said Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton.
Mulraney made a presentation to freeholders Oct. 27 about the agency that shuttles an average of 500-600 riders daily on 26 buses. Their trips range from local shopping trips to medical appointments in Philadelphia, Camden and Wilmington.
Few think twice when they place a call to Fare Free Transportation, he noted. “Someone calls for a ride and we take them where they want to go. There is a lot more involved,” Mulraney said as he pushed the button on a remote to change PowerPoint slides.
Four call takers field the daily array of requests. It’s up to them to schedule trips and block out time slots.
While there are 26 drivers, he noted, they are not “quite enough, but we are getting there. We want to bolster that staff to help us get through the lean time. These are the folks who do the hard work,” Mulraney said.
At 6 a.m. drivers begin to arrive at the airport facility in Erma. First order of business is to check each bus “under the hood and around the body. The tail lights, fluids, every aspect of that bus because of the precious cargo we are driving every day,” Mulraney continued.
Each of those inspections is documented, he replied to a question by Freeholder Will Morey.
Once confident that all are safe and secure, “They are off to get the clients,” Mulraney said. Those start times range from 6 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. Drivers remain on the road as late as 5:15 p.m.
Where do they go? “Food shopping, beauty salons, the library, VA hospitals, any place people want to go,” he said.
Trips out-of-county are made to medical facilities, such as in Galloway, Absecon and Pleasantville, as well as to Philadelphia and Wilmington, he said.
Door-to-door service is provided, taking into account accommodations for those with disabilities, including wheelchairs.
Service is provided to all residents of Cape May County who complete an application to ride, Mulraney said. There is a priority of senior citizens, disabled, veterans, and low-income residents, then, anyone else that can prove in-county residency.
When those applications are completed, each rider is placed under a funding source.
Space is limited, Mulraney noted, but “We have not had to turn anyone away,” he told the board.
Those who go to the same place daily or on a regular basis need not call daily to get a seat. Those are termed, “subscription trips,” Mulraney said.
“Demand responses” must have a three-day advance notice for service, “As long as they fit in times where we go, we take them. But some folks think they can call and we will pick them up. We go certain places at certain times,” Mulraney said. “We can’t go everywhere needed.”
While there is a route deviation of three-quarters of a mile, if there are many such stops, keeping a schedule is difficult, he noted.
Each vehicle is equipped with a mobile data terminal. That data is downloaded so that every mile of a trip can be verified, to ensure accurate mileage, Mulraney said.
While the agency used software that is supposed to match riders and stops, “We would like to see it function better than it does,” said Mulraney. “It should have a much greater function than scheduling.”
While funding for the department stems from multiple sources, one of the largest, from casino revenues, has been halved, to $300,000 from a one-time $600,000, Mulraney said.
Because of the meticulous requirements of those funding sources, “We have to document all times, reasons and miles, 500 to 600 times a day. Not all funding comes from outside, a great deal comes from Cape May County,” he said. Its budget for the coming year was submitted last week.
In 2014, the department had 5,841 active clients who rode a total 1,432,730 miles in 130,005 passenger trips, an average of 524 daily, Mulraney said.
Face of the Organization
“Drivers are the face of the organization,” said Mulraney. They undergo training and retraining to achieve proficiency and keep passengers safe.
“If the drivers don’t take the folks they are not going,” he stated. Many riders have no other human contact other than those drivers and their fellow riders.
Fare Free Transportation is, to such persons, a “means of socialization,” they make friends, talk to each other and develop relationships as they ride.
Other drivers deliver Meals on Wheels to home-bound. They not only deliver food, but check on the person’s well-being, and have made calls to alert police and rescue crews when someone did not seem their usual self.
Donna Groome, director, Department of Aging and Disability Services, said the partnership with Fare Free Transportation is appreciated, especially in May when over 200 seniors are taken to the Avalon Community Center for the annual jamboree, and to senior nutrition centers, where meals are served.
While not everyone who dines at a congregate meal site utilizes Fare Free Transportation, still an average 333 use the buses and vans.
Having heard the report, Thornton recalled, after hearing of all current safety checks, “I got a call at the library (where freeholders formerly were housed) from Sea Isle City that said people were on the bus and the back wheels fell off the bus. At that time we were getting old school buses. Most people don’t know we were the first county in the nation to have elderly rural transportation. It started with one bus that went up and down Bayshore Road. That was 41 years ago, and we’re still going strong.”