The West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee (WCCTAC) has relaunched its Travel Training mobility program for seniors and disabled adults residing in Contra Costa County. The program was put on hold during the pandemic. WCCTAC staff used guidance from Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan to launch the program.
Travel Training is just one element of the Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Plan, which has helped Bay Area transit agencies, cities and counties better meet the transportation needs of people with disabilities, seniors and people with low incomes. The Coordinated Plan is updated every four years with assistance from a technical advisory committee of transportation professionals. Members of the public also weighed in on the development of the upcoming Coordinated Plan, anticipated to be released at the end of 2023.
The training helps people learn how to use the bus, ferry, Bay Area Rapid Transit, paratransit and local van services for seniors so they are comfortable traveling around the Bay Area using transit.
During the program’s August 2023 trip, three Travel Trainer volunteers from WCCTAC joined five seniors from the city of San Pablo Senior Center as they traveled to the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in Martinez, Calif. They rode a San Pablo Senior & Disabled Transportation shuttle to the Richmond Parkway Transit Center, where event participants learned how to use the Amtrak system. From there, the group continued to the Hercules Transit Center, where they boarded a WestCAT bus that took them to their destination in Martinez.
Participants were able to take advantage of fare discounts by using Clipper, the Bay Area’s all-in-one transit card. Fare discounts are available for seniors, people with disabilities, youth and people with low incomes.
Adults ages 65 and older can use Senior Clipper cards to receive discounted fares while adults with disabilities under age 65 can use their Regional Transportation Connection (RTC) Clipper card. Senior Clipper and RTC Clipper(link is external) cards are available as plastic cards or the accounts can be used on a smartphone by connecting them to a person’s digital/mobile wallet.
