veteransrideconnect

Cherokee Nation partners with Grand Gateway Community Development Foundation

Wed, 07 Mar 2018 14:02:20 GMT

(L-R) Cherokee Nation Tribal Council Deputy Speaker Victoria Vazquez, Grand Gateway Economic Development Association Director of Transit Kendra McGeady, Veterans’ Ride Connect Regional Mobility Manager Lisa Boren and Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr.

BIG CABIN, Okla. – The Cherokee Nation recently partnered with Grand Gateway Community Development Foundation to ensure safe, reliable transit services for Cherokee Nation veterans in northeast Oklahoma.

A four-year agreement worth $10,000 between the tribe and foundation provides veterans transportation to medical appointments. Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Tribal Council Deputy Speaker Victoria Vazquez met with leaders of the Veterans’ Ride Connect program last week to sign the memorandum of understanding.

Veterans’ Ride Connect is a consortium of six transit providers working together to take Cherokee and non-Cherokee veterans where they need to go throughout more than 25 counties.

“This generous donation from Tribal Councilor Victoria Vazquez will help enable us to offer discounted or free rides to our Cherokee citizens who have so valiantly served our country,” said Kendra McGeady, director of transit for Grand Gateway Economic Development Association. “We could not be more grateful for her generous support and the support of the Cherokee Nation.”

The tribe donated the money from its special projects fund. Projects funded through the special projects fund are selected by Tribal Council and Principal Chief Bill John Baker’s office and allow the tribe to partner with communities and organizations on projects that benefit both Cherokee Nation citizens and non-Cherokees alike.

“Veterans’ Ride Connect is such a benefit to hundreds of Cherokee Nation veterans in northeast Oklahoma,” Vazquez said. “This program is ensuring veterans have reliable, safe transportation services to get them to their medical appointments and other destinations, and I’m proud the Cherokee Nation is able to offer our support both now and in the years to come.”

Transportation services are provided to all veterans regardless of age or financial status. Each transit provider uses ADA-compliant vehicles, including minivans and shuttle buses, to accommodate veterans with wheelchairs and walkers, and travel aides can ride with the veteran at no additional cost.

The consortium uses one state-of-the-art call center in Big Cabin to provide veterans with a single point of contact to find available transit services.

“This program is a vital link between Cherokee veterans and the medical care they need in northeast Oklahoma,” Hoskin said. “Grand Gateway Community Development Foundation and the six transit services participating in Veterans’ Ride Connect are dedicated partners, and I’m proud to say the Cherokee Nation is committing to this program now and in the future.”

Participants include Pelivan Transit, Cimmaron Transit, Ki Bois Area Transit System, Morton Comprehensive Health Services, Muskogee County Transit Authority and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Veterans’ Ride Connect also works with Veterans Transportation Service through the Jack C. Montgomery VA Hospital in Muskogee.

The service area includes 25 counties: Adair, Cherokee, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Haskell, Hughes, Kay, Latimer, Le Flore, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Nowata, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Pittsburg, Rogers, Sequoyah, Tulsa, Wagoner and Washington.

Veterans with transportation needs anywhere in the service area can call Veterans’ Ride Connect at 855-735-4826 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., to learn about transportation options, transit fares that may apply and to schedule a ride. Long-distance trips should be booked at least three days in advance.

For more information about Veterans’ Ride Connect, log on to www.veteransrideconnect.org or email info@veteransrideconnect.org .

South West Transit Association (SWTA) story about Veterans Ride Connect

Tue, 21 Nov 2017 14:03:50 GMT

Veterans Ride Connect

BIG CABIN, Okla. , October 23, 2017 (Veterans Ride Connect) — What began as a mission to provide safe and reliable transportation to enhance the quality of life of the more than 118,000 veterans living in northeast Oklahoma has now become a ground-breaking agency that is realizing that goal on a daily basis.

Veterans Ride Connect is a cooperative agency of transit providers working together to get veterans where they need to go. The consortium provides services throughout more than 25 counties, including Adair, Cherokee, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Haskell, Hughes, Kay, Latimer, Le Flore, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Nowata, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Pittsburg, Rogers, part of Seminole, Sequoyah, Tulsa, Wagoner and Washington.

The Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative (VTCLI), a program of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, awards grants to local transportation providers and other groups so they can better coordinate and deliver important transit information through “one-call” or “one-click” centers.

The Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG) was awarded two consecutive VTCLI grants to create a 25-county one-call center coordinating transportation in and around the Tulsa and Muskogee Veterans Administration medical clinics, incorporating urban, rural, tribal, Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and VA transportation.

An invitation to participate in the project went out to transit providers across the region, and six well-known and well-established transit services responded.

The six founding transit providers — Pelivan Transit, KI BOIS Area Transit (KATS), Cimarron Public Transit System, Morton Comprehensive Health Services, Muskogee County Transit Authority and Muscogee (Creek) Nation — saw the need for coordinating transportation resources for veterans and understood the importance such a system would be for the veteran community of northeast Oklahoma. These transit agencies now work together as Veterans Ride Connect.

Pelivan Transit in Big Cabin, Okla., offered to use its Call Center as the central hub for the project. The grants helped facilitate the upgrades needed at the existing location, bringing about a state-of-the-art call center and the technology to support it. The project was completed in late 2015.

Today, veterans with transportation needs anywhere in the service area only have to make one call to the Veterans Ride Connect call center at (855) 735-4826 to learn about transportation options and to schedule a ride.

Veterans Ride Connects services are provided to all veterans, regardless of age or financial status. Any person who has served in a military force is considered to be a veteran.

There are fees for the transportation services but an ongoing goal of the consortium is to bring veterans costs down through donations and grants.

All of the Veterans Ride Connect transit agencies use ADA-compliant vehicles, including minivans and shuttle buses. And, its drivers are highly trained in wheelchair securement and all other aspects of transit safety.

Veterans answered the call of duty and served their country. Veterans Ride Connect is now ready to answer the call and be there for them.

For more information about Veterans Ride Connect, visit its website at www.veteransrideconnect.org or on Facebook at Veterans Ride Connect.

Learn More

Congratulatory letter from Transportation Resource Coordinator, Irene Martin – Governor’s Oklahoma United We Ride Council

Wed, 15 Nov 2017 14:11:20 GMT

Governor’s Oklahoma United We Ride Council (Council) members, designees, advisors and friends: Please see the attached October 23, 2017, press release concerning the Veterans Ride Connect.

In years past, “… the Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG) was awarded two consecutive grants to create a 25-county one-call center coordinating transportation in and around the Tulsa and Muskogee Veterans Administration medical clinics, incorporating urban, rural, tribal, Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and VA Transportation.”

INCOG is a Community Government Organization serving in an advisory capacity to the Council. Since the initial concept was presented to the Council, and before INCOG was awarded two consecutive grants to create this project, we were invited to sit on advisory groups to offer our ideas for the grant proposal; we have supported INCOG and the consortium of transportation providers, medical facilities, and other stakeholders who have come together to make Veterans Ride Connect the “first-ever mobility management center in Oklahoma.“

This accomplishment is what “coordination of community transportation” looks like and is what this Council is all about.

Veterans Ride Connect has been added to the MyRide website to help veterans looking for transportation in 25 counties locate their ride.

This is exciting news…and a big congratulations goes out to all who made it happen.

Irene Martin, M.Ed., Transportation Resources Coordinator

Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services

Governor’s Oklahoma United We Ride Council

Veterans Ride Connect Press Release

Mon, 23 Oct 2017 14:15:49 GMT

Transit Agencies Unite to Serve Veterans in Northeast Oklahoma

Veterans Ride Connect provides veterans with safe, reliable and local transportation services throughout more than 25 counties.

What began as a mission to provide safe and reliable transportation to enhance the quality of life of the more than 118,000 veterans living in northeast Oklahoma has now become a ground-breaking agency that is realizing that goal on a daily basis.

An invitation to participate in the project went out to transit providers across the region, and six well-known and well-established transit services responded.

Veterans Ride Connects services are provided to all veterans, regardless of age or financial status. Any person who has served in a military force is considered to be a veteran.

There are fees for the transportation services but an ongoing goal of the consortium is to bring veterans costs down through donations and grants

All of the Veterans Ride Connect transit agencies use ADA-compliant vehicles, including mini vans and shuttle buses. And, its drivers are highly trained in wheelchair securement and all other aspects of transit safety.

Veterans answered the call of duty and served their country. Veterans Ride Connect is now ready to answer the call and be there for them.

For more information about Veterans Ride Connect, visit its website at www.veteransrideconnect.org or on Facebook at Veterans Ride Connect.

ABOUT VETERANS RIDE CONNECT

Veterans Ride Connect is the first-ever mobility management center in Oklahoma. This ground-breaking agency is the first of its kind with the six founding transit providers working together to provide transportation services to veterans in more than 25 counties. The transit providers who make up the Veterans Ride Connect consortium include Pelivan Transit, KI BOIS Area Transit (KATS), Cimarron Public Transit System, Morton Comprehensive Health Services, Muskogee County Transit Authority and Muscogee (Creek) Nation. All transits are invited to join Veterans Ride Connect in this noble endeavor.

We are social!

Thu, 24 Aug 2017 14:19:07 GMT

Are you on Facebook? We are too! Make sure you "Like" and follow our official Veterans' Ride Connect page. We will have feature Veterans, information on how Veterans' Ride Connect works, Feature drivers, upcoming events and so much more. And while you are there we would greatly appreciate you inviting your friends and sharing our post.

Here's the official Veterans' Ride Connect Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/VeteransRideConnect/