Principal Investigators: Stephanie DiPetrillo, Andrea Lubin
The Morris County Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan (CHSTP) was written in accordance with federal statute, first required in 2006 and re-authorized most recently in the 2016 legislation PL 114-22 entitled Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST). FAST provides funding for highway and public transit programs and also includes transportation planning requirements. One of those requirements is that local communities must develop a coordinated human services transportation plan.
Morris County secured the services of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center (VTC) at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey to undertake the CHSTP planning process update, with leadership support from the Morris County Division on Aging, Disabilities and Community Programming. The County prepared its original CHSTP in 2008, and completed its most recent plan update in 2013. The 2023 plan update process was initiated in fall 2021 and concluded in summer 2023 and was entitled and marketed as Morris Moves.
As discussed herein, Morris County is home to more than 511,000 residents, with 8.5% percent identifying as a person with disability and 17.8% as a person age 65 and older. Transportation is a vital link connecting these diverse residents to both needed and desired destinations, including but not limited to employment, medical, shopping, education, and social and recreational trips. Availability of viable mobility options is particularly critical to supporting the health and well-being of persons traditionally considered transportation disadvantaged or vulnerable, namely persons with disabilities, older adults, and low-income persons.