East-West Gateway (EWG) conducts coordinated human services transportation planning for the St. Louis region. As part of this planning, EWG develops the Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan (CHSTP) which is a regional planning tool designed to help guide the investment of Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities (Section 5310) funding. EWG’s CHSTP was updated and approved by EWG’s Board of Directors on April 24, 2024, in accordance with federal requirements. The CHSTP seeks to improve mobility for seniors and individuals with disabilities by assessing existing transportation services in the region, identifying gaps in the system, and prioritizing strategies to address those gaps.
Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan
Per FTA requirements, the CHSTP must be updated at least every four years and include four key elements: 1) an inventory of existing transportation services in the St. Louis region, 2) an assessment of the transportation needs of seniors and individuals with disabilities, 3) strategies to address the gaps between existing services and the needs assessment, and 4) priorities for implementing the identified strategies. Staff developed the 2024 update to the CHSTP with assistance from 28 individual stakeholders and 41 different agencies across the region that serve the needs of seniors and individuals with disabilities. This includes public, private, and non-profit transportation and human service providers in Missouri and Illinois. Based on local stakeholder input, the CHSTP identifies five gaps or areas of unmet needs: Affordability, Reliability, Coordination, Environmental and Social, and Technology. The CHSTP also identifies 31 strategies – prioritized as high, medium, or lower priority – that can be implemented in the region to help address and mitigate these gaps.