Department of Health and Human Services
Administration on Aging

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Media Advisories

Jan. 30 reception will launch National Center on Senior Transportation

For Immediate Release


Contact:Liz Moore
(202)276-3202

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A national center dedicated to addressing the changing transportation needs of older Americans will be formally launched on Tuesday at a Washington reception, capping a day when the center’s steering committee will meet for the first time.
The National Center on Senior Transportation, a project of partnering agencies that include Easter Seals Inc. and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a), is administered by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the U.S. Administration on Aging.
FTA Administrator James Simpson and Assistant Secretary for Aging Josefina G. Carbonell, who will assist with the dedication of the center from 4-6 p.m. at the Marriott Metro Center, described it as “increasing the capacity and use of person-centered transportation options that support community living for seniors in the communities they choose throughout the United States.”
“As they give up their car keys, older adults’ needs for independence and continued mobility throughout their communities remain,” explained Michi McNeace, director of the NCST, which was established last August through congressional authorization and funding from transportation legislation.
The center is housed in the Easter Seals Office of Public Affairs, 1425 K Street NW. Besides n4a, additional partners are the Community Transportation Association of America, the National Association of State Units on Aging, the American Society on Aging and the Beverly Foundation.
Initial months of the project have seen the acquisition of staffing, publications work, organization of partnering organizations and processes, and work toward a Web site. Continuing work seeks to make the center the nation’s “go-to” resource for state and local communities seeking an array of technical assistance, information products about best practices, and training opportunities that address the transportation needs of older adults, leaders in the communities in which they live, and the human service agencies and family members that provide care. The center strives to increase coordination, cooperation and collaboration between the aging community and transportation industry.

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The AoA is a Federal agency dedicated to policy development, planning and the delivery of supportive home and community-based services to older persons and their caregivers through the national aging network of state and local agencies on aging, tribal organizations, service providers and volunteers.

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