1. Year One Summary
2013

2. Who are we?
At MyRIDE-Tarrant, our Navigators offer
Transportation Options Counseling (TOC) one-on-one
to people with disabilities that keeps them mobile.
Our goal is to increase awareness of transportation
options and services for those with disabilities, so
that every Tarrant County citizen can get where
they need to go accessibly, safely and affordably.
What’s the problem?
In Tarrant County, transportation barriers
significantly affect the quality of life for people
with disabilities. According to a 2010 survey by
Mental Health Mental Retardation of Tarrant
County (MHMRTC), more than half of the over
1500 disabled adults surveyed said that trans-
portation is their main barrier to work. The same
survey reported that transportation challenges
left 62% of respondents unable to travel to
recreation, 52% unable to travel to evening
events, and 45% unable to go shopping. When
asked what specific transportation barriers
respondents faced, 65% reported “difficulty
understanding transit schedules, forms,
application, and/or eligibility processes.”
3 in 5 callers requested TOC to reach health care
1 in 5 callers requested TOC to reach employment,
school, and/or training
Is MyRIDE-Tarrant making a difference?
In 2013, our goal was to provide Transportation Options Counseling to 500 county
residents with disabilities. We exceeded this goal by more than 80%, providing
Transportation Options Counseling to 903 residents. Three in five (59.3%) callers needed
transportation to medical services. One in five (19.4%) callers needed transportation to
employment, school, or training. Of all people who called us, three in five (57.5%) of those
persons with disabilities, their families and allies used one of the options identified by
MyRIDE-Tarrant to make their trip. At MyRIDE-Tarrant, we keep you mobile.
Where Callers are Going
“I didn’t know what I was going to do.
Who would have thought a simple trip to
Walmart would make such a big difference?”
3 in 5 callers were able to reach their destinations
because of MyRIDE-Tarrant’s TOC
TOC Success Rate

3. What do we do about it?
Tarrant TOC Target
Tarrant TOC Actual
58.5% of all callers were
ages 55 and older
10.2% of callers were
veterans
500
903
2013 TOC Target and Actual
At MyRIDE-Tarrant, we offer Transportation
Options Counseling (TOC) either face-to-
face or by phone. Our navigators
identify the transportation services for
which the individual is eligible, personally
link and support access to these services
(i.e., assistance with applications, connect-
ing them to travel training), and provide
follow-up as needed. MyRIDE-Tarrant’s
immediate value lies in providing increased
access to life-sustaining and life-enriching
events, such as work, medical appoint-
ments, and grocery shopping, for people
with disabilities. The data generated from
MyRIDE-Tarrant’s TOC also provides long-
term value by highlighting gaps in service
that we can partner to close.
1 in 5 are calling on behalf of family members
2 in 3 callers have disabilities
Callers
Demographics
Multiple Disabilities
Mobility Impairment
Visual Impairment
No Impairment
Psychiatric Disability
Cognitive Impairment
Hearing Impairment
Intellectual Disability
34.1%
16.9%
13.3%
15.5%8.0%
6.7%
3.4%
2%
I have the ability to get home from
college without relying on my mother or
others. It just makes things easier on the
family.”
“
“Our stress levels have been lifted. We
don’t have to bother people to provide
transportation. The program has been
a blessing.”

4. Get Going! Preparing students with
disabilities as they tran-
sition into adulthood, from ages 16 to 22, is a major
focus for public school systems across the county. In
recent surveys of these students in Fort Worth ISD,
80% described their mobility as “severely limited,”
with 40% citing transportation as a major barrier to
work. Despite living in the Fort Worth Transporta-
tion Authority’s (the T’s) bus service area, 89.7% of
respondents said they did not use transportation
services because they had “difficulty understanding
transit schedules, forms, applications, and/or eligi-
bility processes.”
Get Going! is a partnership between MyRIDE-
Tarrant, the T, Fort Worth ISD, and Easter Seals
Project Action (ESPA). Through Get Going!, we will
partner with students, parents, their educators,
and the T to provide intensive training. ESPA will
also provide intensive fixed-route travel training to
FWISD staff who support transition-aged students.
Equipped with tools and skills, these educators will
become value-added partners, actively eliminating
barriers as they train these students and their par-
ents with the skills to expand mobility post-gradua-
tion.
Tarrant Mobility
Academy
In June 2011, MyRIDE-Tarrant surveyed human
service professionals that work with persons
with disabilities throughout Tarrant County.
Three in five professionals reported they were
not familiar with available transportation
services or supports. Tarrant Mobility Academy
will intensively train 40 health and human
services agencies’ staff members. These staff
members will become the “go-to”
transportation resources for their agencies and
with their clients. Equipped with information and
skills, Academy graduates will serve as critical
partners in minimizing the transportation
barriers many of their clients currently face.
ReadyVetGo!
Tarrant County veterans with disabilities often face
mobility challenges. Whether because of disability,
age-related changes, financial challenges, or
involvement with the judicial system, some Tarrant
County veterans do not have reliable access to
transportation. These challenges may make it
difficult for veterans to get to school, training, work,
doctors appointments, the VA, shopping, and other
required activities.
Through ReadyVetGo!, MyRIDE-Tarrant will train
62 coaches who can assist their peers in identifying
and linking to both veteran-specific and general
transportation services. A low-cost, high-value force,
these coaches can promote mobility options as vet-
erans transition to their “new normal.”
37.5% had used public
transportation before they
called MyRIDE-Tarrant
Future Goals
2.0%+
1.5-2%
1.0-1.5%
.5-1.0%
0-.5%
Density of TOCs by Zipcode
Fort Worth
Lake Worth
Benbrook
Keller
Grapevine
Mansfield