In 2023, Livingston County Cares and the Livingston County Planning Department joined together to address poverty issues in Livingston County by creating a new partnership focusing on transportation services that provide  low-income individuals and families access to critical public services.

 

As a rural County, many residents experience barriers to education, employment, medical and grocery shopping due to the lack of transportation. In order to reduce the impact of this barrier, Livingston County Cares, Inc. and Livingston County established a program to fund trips that would not otherwise be available to low-income residents. The program that was established in 2024 was funded by the Rochester Area Community Foundation (RACF). Livingston County pays for the mobility managers (represented by Medical Motor Services) who coordinate with case managers to identify unmet needs, broker trips with transportation vendors and provide the communication between residents and the transportation vendors. There is no cost for program administration, all grant funds from RACF have been utilized to pay vendors directly, demonstrating an efficient and impactful implementation of the grant funding. The partners propose that this program continue, and that funding would go to the provision of additional trips. In 2025 alone, 175 trips have been paid out through this funding. Trip purposes include children receiving early intervention care, public health trips for residents, educational opportunities, medical and grocery for older adults, as well as trips associated with mental health needs. All clients utilizing the funding are vetted through their local case manager and many shared gratitude for the opportunity and support.

 

The success of the current transportation program, as funded by RACF in 2024, demonstrates that the partners have administrative capacity, identified needs and a community driven approach to providing these services. In serving the County residents, this program has aided in poverty reduction. A few samples of cases where RACF funding was utilized included a mother traveling with her four-day-old baby escaping domestic violence, a newly homeless family with a two-week-old baby seeking safe housing, a pregnant mother released from jail with travel to a drug treatment facility, and a three-year-old child of immigrant parents with early intervention services. In 2025, 14 unique riders were provided 1176 miles of transportation outside the typical governmental programs through the innovative Livingston County Cares, Inc. partnership with Livingston County Mobility Management Services.

 

The initial funding for the services were funded through a grant from the Rochester Area Community Foundation of $2,500.00 in 2024

 

Our estimate of $7,000 for non-programmatic trips in 2025 is based on past experiences of Livingston County Cares, Inc., and Livingston County with mobility management, the existing vendors available, understanding of local trip cost, identification of frequently serviced destinations, and prioritizing the goal of serving more qualified recipients.

Cost per trip - Median cost per completed one-way trip in 2025 was $38.00 with considerable variability for individual rides ($4.00 to $250.00). RTS trips are a flat $4.00 per ride. With RTS trip acceptance rate declining, higher per trip costs are anticipated in the next year. Private vendor trips can be nearly $200.00 depending on destination and time of day for travel.

Annual expenditure - Total expenses for trips in 2025 was $6,706.36
Number of Trips - In 2024 there were 67 total trips that utilized the RACF funding for non-programmatic purposes. In 2025, that number jumped to 175 total trips utilizing RACF funding. Forecasting ahead, it is anticipated that additional clients experiencing poverty will be served yielding greater trips in 2026. The case managers are now aware of this funding resource to assist clients and are increasingly offering additional transportation resources.

Zero Price Effect - It has been observed that as more rides are offered to residents experiencing poverty, more services are consumed. As a free service for mobility management (paid by Livingston County) and a trip funded by grants, we anticipate a commensurate growth in ridership from those experiencing poverty.

 

At the Geneseo Summer Festival, the Central Presbyterian Church chicken barbecue event raised $3,000 that was donated by the church to the fund ]for non-programmatic trips. . At an average cost of $38 per trip, this funding provided an additional 78 rides for those in need. Thank you to all those involved in organizing, your efforts have made a very tangible difference in the community.

 

The mobility management program as a whole is primarily funded by the New York State Department of Transportation through their formula grant for rural areas (5311). This funding provides operating assistance for the management and coordination of program delivery, as well as the primary source of funding for programmatic trips. A second application for 5311 funds was completed and awarded in 2025 with the Livingston County Planning Department as lead applicant with support from the mobility management team.