MADISON - Madison officials are working with Huntsville officials to provide a limited transportation service for Madison's elderly and handicapped residents.
The program will be called MARS - Madison Assisted Ride Service
On Monday night Mayor Sandy Kirkindall won council approval for an annual agreement with the City of Huntsville's Parking and Public Transit Department, which provides the Huntsville HandiRide service for disabled and elderly residents who cannot utilize the city's shuttle bus system.
The Madison City Council has already purchased a vehicle for its new program and approved funding for a driver. The agreement with Huntsville is for dispatch services and will be up for approval by the Huntsville City Council at its April 10 meeting.
The program is set to begin in a few months, said Jessica Bradley, Kirkindall's aide. The city is recruiting a driver for the Madison handicapped-accessible van and has to equip it with dispatch radio equipment before the program gets under way.
Under the agreement, Madison will pay Huntsville $25,000 annually for the dispatching service.
Madison will also pay a one-time fee of $5,935 for the radio equipment for the van. Additional fees for installation will also be charged. And, Madison will have to pay Huntsville the cost of a yearly licensing fee of $1,925 for an appointment management system.
The contract is renewable for four years with the annual rate to be determined by Huntsville's personnel costs.
"This is resulting in a really good working relationship with Huntsville," Kirkindall said. "The City of Huntsville is even talking to us about in the future, once we get our program established, they'd like to partner with us" to pick up residents of each other's city, depending on location.
"This could save us mileage and save them mileage," Kirkindall said. "This is a great step forward for all of us."
Kirkindall's office will announce the official start date of the program when it is set.
The cost will be $2 for each one-way trip. When a trip needs to be scheduled, it will be set up through the Huntsville call center. The specifics of how the program will work will be released before the MARS program starts, Kirkindall said.
This is great news for the residents of Madison, Alabama!
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