Rural transit service proves solutions for Central Texas seniors

  • Date: 07/27/2026

A free transit program for older adults is becoming an increasingly important lifeline across Central Texas. One of the Capital Area’s Rural Transit System’s (CARTS) fastest-growing initiatives is a free ride program for older people.

Launched in June 2024 through a partnership with the local Area Agency on Aging of the Capital Area (AAACAP) and the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG), the program was designed to help seniors reconnect with their communities after the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We noticed that after COVID seniors weren’t getting back out to those congregate meal sites and weren’t going to the community centers,” said Dana Platts, the community engagement director with CARTS. “Through a partnership with local agencies, we are providing free rides to seniors 60 and above, to really anywhere they want to go, just to get them out of their houses and connected back into the communities. It has been so successful.”

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