Research Report – Improving Veteran Mobility in Small Urban and Rural Areas

A recently completed SURTC study examined ways to improve veteran mobility in small urban and rural areas. The need for veteran transportation is growing rapidly because of the increasing number of older veterans and injured service men and women. Many veterans in rural areas have special mobility needs and must travel long distances to receive medical care. The objective of this study was to identify veterans with mobility needs currently living in rural Minnesota, Montana, and North Dakota, and to quantify the cost of transportation options for meeting their mobility needs. Special attention was given to the medical transportation of veterans to VA health care centers. The feasibility of a coordination effort between VA health care centers and rural public transit agencies for transporting veterans to medical appointments was also studied. A key finding is that transit agencies can increase ridership and VA health centers can lower beneficiary travel costs if they coordinate services. The study results can serve as a service planning tool for rural transit agencies. Lastly, this is an optimal time to begin talking about strategies for rural transit to transition aging veterans from personal vehicles to public transit.

Links to the full report and the executive summary can be found at the website below:

Improving Veteran Mobility in Small Urban and Rural Areas

For more details, contact Del Peterson at del.peterson@ndsu.edu