EMBARK receives Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility Grant

July 12, 2022

EMBARK has been awarded a $350,000 grant through the Federal Transit Administration’s Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility (ICAM) Pilot Program. The grant will fund a complete software replacement for EMBARK’s Mobility Management Division, which provides a range of transportation services for Central Oklahoma seniors, individuals with disabilities, low-income individuals, and other transit-dependent residents.

“Over the past 35 years, our Mobility Management Division has built a multi-agency coordinated transportation network to serve our customers who are at least 60 years of age,” said Jesse Rush, Assistant Director of Operations for EMBARK. “This software upgrade enables us to continue evolving our mobility and paratransit services to increase efficiencies in our operations for our agency partners. Ultimately, this will enable EMBARK to serve more people in Central Oklahoma.”

“We continue to see the many ways seniors benefit from access to comprehensive transportation options that extend beyond emergency services,” Blair Schoeb, Areawide Aging Agency CEO. “For years, EMBARK has shown their commitment to connecting seniors in Central Oklahoma with the people, places, and services they value and rely on. We are grateful to have EMBARK as an engaged partner that understands our dedication to connecting seniors with reliable resources.”

Rush said the functionality of the new software will enable EMBARK to manage both paratransit and mobility services in one system, which will increase the ease of trip planning and cost allocation tracking. It will also have the ability to track funding sources more efficiently as well as integrate into other existing EMBARK technologies to enhance the customer’s experience from scheduling to payment.

EMBARK was awarded the grant in early June 2022, and plan to issue a formal request for proposals (RFP) for scheduling software within 90 days. With the main purpose of improving access to public transportation by building partnerships among health, transportation and other service providers, the 2021 ICAM Pilot Program awarded a total of $8.4 million in funding for innovative capital projects that improve the coordination of non-emergency medical transportation services across the nation.