The United We Ride (UWR) Leadership Awards and the Phase II Recipients for the Mobility Services for All Americans (MSAA) Grants were recognized in a ceremony held at the Rayburn House Office Building of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., on Monday, March 30, 2009. The event was sponsored by the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility (CCAM) in partnership with the National Resource Center (NRC) for Human Service Transportation Coordination.
The event featured speeches by Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Congressman James Oberstar; Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood; and the Acting Deputy Administrator for the Federal Transportation Administration, Matthew Welbes.
Mr. Welbes stated, "It is important at the start of a new administration to spotlight initiatives that are strong and have a demonstrated record of accomplishment. [Monday's] event did just that. The attendance and range of awardees were indicative to Secretary LaHood and Chairman Oberstar that innovation is occurring in many places. Moreover, the objectives of the UWR and MSAA initiative relate to the livability agenda that is being articulated."
Vince Valdes, Associate Administrator for Research, Demonstration and Innovation and John Augustine, Deputy Director, Intelligent Transportation Systems, Joint Program Office, gave remarks and presented the awards to the MSAA grant recipients; and Dale Marsico, Executive Director, Community Transportation Association of America, provided closing remarks.
It was a spectacular event which demonstrated the collaboration and coordination between transportation and human services programs.
The Leadership Awardees were recognized for their achievements in creating effective public transit / human service transportation coordination plans and program. The recipients of the UWR / MSAA grants are implementing a national demonstration program recommended by the CCAM to establish one-stop Transportation Management Coordination Centers. The Centers are using intelligent transportation system technologies to simply access to a variety of transportation services needed by transportation-disadvantaged populations.
Please join us in congratulating the winners of the 2008 United We Ride Leadership Awards and the 2008 United We Ride/Mobility Services for All Americans Transportation Management Coordination Center Grants!!
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