Grant to help replicate Maine ride program

WESTBROOK – A nonprofit organization pushing for a national rollout of a Maine-based program that provides door-to-door rides for senior citizens with no access to vehicles of their own has been awarded $3.45 million in support of its efforts.

The grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies will go to ITNAmerica, whose mission is to replicate the self-sustaining program launched a decade ago in Greater Portland by the Independent Transportation Network.

The grant will be used to build a senior management team to support the ITN replications and to develop new computer software. Pilot programs are in the works in Santa Monica, Calif.; Charleston, S.C.; Orlando, Fla.; and Princeton, N.J.

The grant coincides with Sen. Susan Collins’ introduction of legislation to establish a national network to provide transportation to the elderly and the blind through a combination of paid and volunteer drivers. Rep. Tom Allen is co-sponsoring the bill in the House.

The Collins bill calls for a five-year, $25 million grant program, along with tax incentives to encourage seniors to give up their cars when the time comes.