OmniRide medical transportation program on chopping block thanks to coronavirus

The coronavirus outbreak could be the reason why so many in our region will no longer be able to get transportation to and from medical care.

The Wheels to Wellness program at OmniRide provides medical transportation services to hospitals and medical centers in Prince William County, and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park for people aged 80 and older, for disabled residents, and for those who are not eligible for Medicaid transportation services.

Thanks to plummeting ridership and revenues brought on by the coronavirus, the senior staff at OmniRideg suggest placing the program on the chopping block.

In the past, Wheels to Wellness had been funded by various donors, grants, and other funding sources. In the last year, OmniRide had been funding the program with $150,000 it found through savings within its budget. OmniRide had planned to fully fund the program in its upcoming budget, however, with the sudden drop in revenues, that has become untenable.

There are, however, multiple members of the Omniride Board of Commissioners who wish to save the program. During a meeting, Thursday, May 7, the commission Chair Margaret Franklin said he wanted to keep at least a portion of the program going.

As did Victor Angry, who also sits on the commission.

“Wheels to Wellness has been one of the hot topics because we keep funding it since I came aboard, and I made the statement then that we need to look at long term solutions because we keep nickel and diming this. The fact of the matter it is a cost, so we should have a real conversation about making it a part of [the regular budget] and not continuing to [fund the Wheels to Wellness program] incrementally.”

It’ll be up to the commissioners to decide if they want to continue to fund the program.

Talk of slashing the Wheels to Wellness program comes as OmniRide learned it would soon receive $9.3 million from the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. While this funding would be useful in continuing operations for OmniRide, it couldn’t be used for Wheels To Wellness, officials said.

“Use of CARES Act funding is generally restricted to costs associated with COVID-19. This includes additional cleaning, payroll for staff that would be furloughed, and lost revenue from fares or other sources. CARES Act funding could not be used in any direct way for Wheels-to-Wellness,” commented Omniride Executive Assistant Christine Rodrigo.

The Wheels to Wellness program makes about 1,000 trips per month, adds Rodrigo.

Since bus ridership all but evaporated at the onset of the pandemic eight weeks ago, Omniride has been forced to cut nearly $6 million from its Fiscal Year 2021 budget.

The biggest loss comes from rider fares which have led to an 11% drop in revenues.

Social distancing has required them to only take 10 passengers at a time, but their vehicle fleets through deep cleaning to try to stop the coronavirus from getting a free ride, and cut the agency’s long-distance routes down to four runs per day (Dale City/State Department, Dale City/Navy Yard, Montclair/Pentagon, Gainesville/Pentagon).

OmniRide provides local and commuter bus services to Prince William and Stafford counties, and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.