The Rural County Mobility Platform (RAMP), a pilot program testing the concept of on-demand shared mobility in rural areas, will launch in Greene County Wednesday, May 1.
Managed by Blueprints and developed by Carnegie Mellon University, the program will offer free, on-demand transportation in Greene County for essential services including healthcare, work, grocery shopping and conducting government-related business for a four-month period.
To request a ride, residents should call 724-780-RAMP (7267) or visit ramp-pilot.com.
The RAMP project is an exciting implementation of technology and community partnerships that will inform rural communities across the country."
“Transportation is critical to so many aspects of life; in rural counties, where true public transportation is unavailable, there is a limit to where people can work, shop, access healthcare or seek opportunities to thrive,” said Blueprints Chief Executive Officer Jeff Fondelier.
Available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the program will operate with three Honda Odyssey vans, marked with signage, including RAMP logo car magnets on the side doors and window clings in the front and back windows. One van will operate on a regular fixed-route service between Waynesburg and Carmichaels, while the other two vans will offer on-demand service throughout the county.
“The Greene County Commissioners are very excited to participate in this pilot program to connect our residents with needed services,” said Jared Edgreen, Chairman on the Board of Commissioners for Greene County.
The goal of RAMP is to improve mobility in rural Southwestern Pennsylvania, with the potential to advance the fundamental knowledge of how energy-efficient, affordable mobility services can work in rural America, enabling them to be systematically planned, operated, and monitored, inherently merged with system-level modeling.
“We are thrilled to be collaborating with our partners to deploy our research to solve real-world problems by addressing rural citizens’ mobility needs for enhanced quality of life, while taking into account energy efficiency and sustainability,” said Karen Lightman, Executive Director of Safety21, US DOT National University Transportation Center at Carnegie Mellon University.
Blueprints, Waynesburg University and the County of Greene were named subrecipients of a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to Carnegie Mellon University’s Mobility Data Analytics Center for the RAMP project.
“Mobility service solutions readily broaden transportation choices and improve equity in urban environments. However, many rural areas, making up the majority of our U.S. land area, lack alternative mobility solutions. The RAMP project is an exciting implementation of technology and community partnerships that will inform rural communities across the country in efficient and cost-effective transportation solutions,” said Nicole Kirby, Technology Integration Project Officer for the National Energy Technology Laboratory.
The routes were designed according to the results of a 2022 survey of more than 600 Greene County residents and complement existing public transportation options.
Ridership and participation in this program are critical for collecting data that may help quantify how this temporary system is having an impact and exploring potential for seeking long-term financial support to continue its operations.
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under the Vehicle Technologies Program Office Award Number DE-EE0008883.
About Blueprints
Blueprints is dedicated to Breaking Barriers and Building Futures in our community. We strive to provide the resources, education and inspiration that empowers individuals and families to thrive, and we are committed to creating positive opportunities and outcomes for all.
About Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon, cmu.edu, is a private, internationally ranked research university with acclaimed programs spanning the sciences, engineering, technology, business, public policy, humanities, and the arts. Our diverse community of scholars, researchers, creators, and innovators is driven to make real-world impacts that benefit people across the globe. With a bold, interdisciplinary, and entrepreneurial approach, we do the work that matters.
About Waynesburg University
Consistently ranked a best value school, Waynesburg University’s Strategy for the 21st Century affirms its commitment to developing an entrepreneurial mindset and ethical leadership skills for all students. Rooted in its mission of faith, learning and service, the private, Christian university is located on a traditional campus in the hills of southwestern Pennsylvania, with an additional site for graduate and professional programs in Southpointe.
