Geographic Barriers to Access

Profile: Greater Derry-Salem Cooperative Alliance for Regional Transportation (CART)

The Endowment for Health began working with the Greater Derry and Salem community in 2001 to increase access to transportation and help coordinate transportation resources. As a result of planning and implementation efforts, the Greater Derry-Salem Cooperative Alliance for Regional Transportation (CART) was formed by the NH State Legislature in 2005. Its mission: to expand access to transportation for residents of participating communities in the nine-town Greater Derry-Salem region. The formation of CART was the result of the regional transit planning process undertaken in 2001-2003.

CART works to coordinate the efforts of a range of existing agencies providing van service to senior citizens, people with disabilities, and others in need of transportation in the region. The organization leverages the Endowment’s start-up funds with municipal and state funds as well as federal transit dollars, in addition to passenger fares. Their regional brokerage system improves the efficiency of existing transportation services by centralizing the scheduling and dispatching of vehicles. Currently, CART is operating the equivalent of five full-time vehicles within the region, providing a wide range of transportation to its users. All vehicles are wheelchair lift equipped. To date, the service has provided 24,586 rides and 1300 to 1500 trips per month to residents of Salem, Windham, Derry, Londonderry, Chester, Sandown, Hampstead, Danville, and Plaistow.

Tess Everett (photo) is one such passenger who takes advantage of the convenient and efficient service that operates Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm. Debra Pellerin (background) is a driver for the on-demand service takes her and others door-to-door with 24-hour advance notice and is available to any resident of the nine service town area. The CART service is available for medical appointments, grocery shopping, visits with friends or family, or any number of other reasons when one needs a convenient, safe ride.

In addition to the existing service area, CART provides trips to seven medical facilities outside the region. These facilities include Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, Lawrence General Hospital in Lawrence, Merrimack Valley Hospital and Pentucket Medical Center in Haverhill, and three facilities in Manchester: Elliot Hospital, Catholic Medical Center, and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. At an affordable base fare of $2.00 per one-way ride, the service is affordable and reduced fares are also available to those meeting certain income guidelines. CART is one example of a New Hampshire region working to get people to the services they need.