Specialized Transportation

The Dane County Department of Human Services provides individual and group transportation services which enable seniors and people with disabilities and to access their communities and needed services. Transportation assistance may also be provided for low-income families or persons with unusual medical transportation expenses. For more information, call Dane County’s Transportation Call Center at (608) 242-6489.

Accessible paratransit service is provided by Metro Transit in the Madison area.

Monona Transit provides specialized transportation for seniors and people with disabilities (Monona Lift) within Monona with service to and from Madison.

Stoughton Transit provides accessible accessible transportation within a 3 mile radius of Stoughton.

The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Dane County provides individual rides to medical trips for adults aged 60 and over and for people with disabilities with their driver escort service.

The YWCA’s YW Transit program – (608) 316-6888 – provides rides for low-income people going to and from work and employment-related activities, as well as safe rides at night.

Section 5310 Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program (Calendar Year 2025 Funding)

The Greater Madison MPO, in cooperation with Metro Transit, administers the Section 5310 Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program. The Section 5310 Program provides formula funding to states and large MPOs to improve mobility for seniors and individuals with disabilities. Grant recipients in the Madison urban area will be selected through a competitive process by the Greater Madison MPO. For a map of the urban area (blue boundary), click here. For projects entirely or primarily outside the Madison urban area, please see the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s website for the statewide Section 5310 grant program.

The minimum local share for projects is 20% for capital projects and mobility management programs and 50% for operating projects. Recipients will be required to adhere to the Section 5310 Program Management and Recipient Coordination Plan (PDF). Projects must carry out the Section 5310 program’s goal of enhancing mobility for seniors and people with disabilities and must be consistent with the locally developed Coordinated Public Transit – Human Services Transportation Plan.

Eligible Recipients

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) states that eligible recipients include "private nonprofit organizations, states or local government authorities, or operators of public transportation."

Note: Private operators of public transportation are eligible recipients. The FTA definition of “public transportation” includes shared-ride surface transportation services. Private taxi companies that provide shared-ride taxi service to the general public on a regular basis are operators of public transportation, and therefore eligible recipients. “Shared-ride” means two or more passengers in the same vehicle who are otherwise not traveling together. Similar to general public and ADA demand response service, every trip does not have to be shared-ride in order for a taxi company to be considered a shared-ride operator, but the general nature of the service must include shared rides.

Eligible Activities

As described by the Federal Transit Administration, traditional Section 5310 project examples include:

• buses and vans
• wheelchair lifts, ramps, and securement devices
• transit-related information technology systems, including scheduling/routing/one-call systems
• mobility management programs
• acquisition of transportation services under a contract, lease, or other arrangement

As described by the Federal Transit Administration, nontraditional Section 5310 project examples include:

• travel training
• volunteer driver programs
• building an accessible path to a bus stop, including curb-cuts, sidewalks, accessible pedestrian signals or other accessible features
• improving signage, or way-finding technology
• incremental cost of providing same day service or door-to-door service
• purchasing vehicles to support new accessible taxi, ride sharing and/or vanpooling programs
• mobility management programs

Note: Under MAP-21, the program was modified to include projects eligible under the former Section 5317 New Freedom program, described as capital and operating expenses for new public transportation services and alternatives beyond those required by the ADA, designed to assist individuals with disabilities and seniors.

If you plan on applying, we encourage you to watch the recording of our joint presentation with Metro Transit, which outlines the application process, project selection/scoring, and ongoing reporting requirements of this funding. If you have any further questions, contact Ben Lyman via email.

2024 Section 5310 Program Application Materials (Calendar Year 2025 Funding)

Instructions (PDF)

Application (XLXS)

Application (PDF)

Follow the instructions above. Download the appropriate application spreadsheet (XLXS) above and fill out the necessary fields according to the instructions. If you are not able to use the spreadsheet, you may download the (PDF) version. Contact Ben Lyman (contact information below) with any questions about the application or instructions.

Applicants are encouraged to sign applications electronically and print directly to .pdf instead of printing on paper and scanning the application.

Other required documents:

• Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) Report Certification     (DOCX)
• Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Certifications and Assurances Document (PDF)

  

The calendar year 2025 Section 5310 grant program schedule is:

Application released.....................................June 3, 2024

Applications due...........................................8:00 AM (CST), August 12, 2024

Preliminary awards announced.....................September 4, 2024

Awards finalized............................................October 2, 2024

Grant cycle begins..........................................January 1, 2025

Grant cycle ends.............................................December 31, 2025

For more information, contact:

Ben Lyman
(608) 243-0182

Email

Additional guidance and grant application information is available in the FTA Circular:

FTA C 9070.1G