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Chapter 8: Support Services <br />Topic 2 Transportation <br />The ability to get from one place to another when needed is a basic need for everyone. In the <br />Bay Area, transportation is a regional issue, of concern to everyone who commutes to work or <br />school. A sophisticated local and regional transportation infrastructure has been developed <br />over the years, including local streets, regional highways, local bus systems and paratransit <br />systems, and regional transit systems such as the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system and <br />the CalTrain. Connecting these systems to travel from one point to another is at times <br />challenging to anyone. <br />For the homeless, transportation is complicated by their lack of vehicles (many homeless do <br />not have operating vehicles), or the lack of reliability of their vehicles, and their lack of funds <br />for the fares on the public transit system. Other complicating issues such as fear of the transit <br />system or illiteracy can make the task of crossing town impossible. As a result, homeless <br />people often spend hours walking to get around. <br />Since transportation is a basic need for everyone, a fairly well developed system exists to <br />serve all members of the public. This plan emphasizes the use and enhancement of this system <br />rather than any effort to duplicate the existing system. Affordability is the primary barrier to <br />the homeless making full use of the system. <br />• Maintain and expand access to affordable transportation. Provide affordable <br />transportation to homeless people to further their service, vocational, and housing <br />goals. <br />Action Steps <br />Support existing agency programs that provide transit passes or tokens to clients <br />in support of service plan objectives. <br />Generate a portable, easy-to-use, comprehensive transit guide which keys <br />homeless service sites such as shelters, employment centers, and multi-service <br />centers. <br />Provide education and informational materials to homeless people and service <br />providers regarding eligibility of discount passes, bus tickets and paratransit <br />services to ensure they are utilized by those eligible. <br />Alameda County-Wide Homeless Continuum of Care Plan: April 1997 <br />105 <br />