Fulton weighs $10.65 million to keep senior rides running in 2027

Fulton County staff want up to $10.65 million to keep two transportation programs running into 2027, including a ride-sharing service that charges eligible seniors $1 per trip. Commissioners are scheduled to consider the separate contract extensions Oct. 21.⁠[1][2][3]

Senior Services says both extensions would preserve transportation while new requests for proposals are issued. But the proposed terms differ: up to $9,589,074.96 for Transdev Services for all of 2027, and up to $1,062,000 for Common Courtesy for Jan. 1–March 31.⁠[1][2][3]

Common Courtesy’s program uses dispatch and concierge services to arrange rides through providers such as Uber and Lyft. It is designed for eligible Fulton residents 60 and older who need no more than a cane to walk. The department says the service reaches an average of 2,600 seniors monthly.⁠[2]

Qualified riders pay a $1 cost share per trip and receive up to eight trips a month. Senior Services can approve two additional trips for medical appointments only, if funding permits. Those are the existing program terms described in the request—not a newly approved benefit.⁠[1][2]

Transdev serves a different transportation role, covering senior centers, adult day health centers and training centers for people with developmental disabilities. Its services include non-emergency medical appointments, dialysis and group field trips. Staff says approximately 1,800 eligible seniors and developmental-disabilities participants use that transportation.⁠[3]

The Transdev funding plan lists about $8.50 million from the general fund and the remainder from grants. About $544,000 of that grant funding is marked as pending an award, so the request should not be read as confirmation that all outside funding has been secured.⁠[3]

The Transdev item returns after an Oct. 7 hold; both extensions remain approval requests. The Common Courtesy request does not establish what service arrangement would follow March 31. Its shorter term is presented as a bridge to a new solicitation, not an announcement that the ride-sharing program is ending.⁠[1][2]

The Oct. 21 meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. in Assembly Hall at the Fulton County Government Center, 141 Pryor Street SW in Atlanta.⁠[1]