In partnership with the Ohio Department of Transportation and Washington County Job and Family Services, Buckeye Hills Regional Council is the sponsoring agency for a new Mobility Management Pilot Program. This program seeks to improve the awareness, coordination, and delivery of transit services in Washington County.

The Mobility Management Program is specifically designed to assist in identifying and removing barriers to employment, social service, health care, and overall mobility for citizens including individuals with disabilities, older adults, low-income individuals, and other socially isolated populations. The program is also focused on identifying opportunities to improve efficiencies in existing programs and resources already deployed in local communities.

The initial project was under the guidance of ODOT and local stakeholders and was then developed and guided by the Way to Go Committee of the Wood-Washington-Wirt Interstate Planning Commission back in 2019. The need for a Mobility Manager in Washington County was evident in the issue of accessible and available transportation within the area. To address this need, BHRC hired Brandi Hesson as a Mobility Manager earlier this year.

“I previously worked as an Information and Assistance Specialist at Buckeye Hills Regional Council, and while I was in that role I realized that transportation was a big need for Washington County and that people were not aware of the resources,” said Hesson. “Knowing the difficulties and having experience addressing them, I’m very excited to dive further into this issue and work with residents and the community to solve transportation needs.”

This pilot program is intended to be the first phase of establishing a multi-county mobility management program in the Buckeye Hills service region.

“Stakeholders in Washington County approached us and were very interested in improving efficiencies in public transportation, as well as making the services more widely known and accessible to residents,” said Bret Allphin, Development Director at Buckeye Hills Regional Council. “We worked with our partners at Wood Washington Wirt Interstate Planning Commission in Parkersburg to establish a partnership that would allow us to do that on behalf of Washington County. With that partnership in place, we were able to access ODOT funding to support the effort. We are excited to get this program off the ground, especially now as these services have become increasingly critical.”

For more information about the Mobility Manager Program and to get connected with resources, you can visit the website. You may also contact Mobility Manager Brandi Hesson directly at bhesson@buckeyehills.org or 1.800.331.2644 x2500

To learn more about Buckeye Hills Regional Council, and for assistance, and referral services, visit www.buckeyehills.org, call 740-374-9436 or 1-800-331-2644 (toll free), or email info@buckeyehills.org.

Buckeye Hills Regional Council is a council of governments dedicated to improving the lives of residents in southeast Ohio. By working collaboratively with elected officials across Athens, Hocking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Perry, and Washington counties, Buckeye Hills connects local, state, and federal resources to communities with their Aging & Disability, Community Development, Mapping & Data, Population Health, and Transportation Planning divisions.
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