Public transportation agencies often find themselves with vehicles that have outlived their years of service. This may coincide with nonprofit organizations in the same community needing a vehicle to help a specific population such as schoolchildren, homeless people, or residents of remote areas not served by fixed routes.

By donating such vehicles to community organizations, public transit systems can create a win-win situation. Here are two agencies that have institutionalized that practice.

Riverside Transit Agency
In Riverside, CA, the Riverside Transit Agency (RTA) “gives taxpayer-purchased vehicles a new life” by donating its retired vans to nonprofit groups in the community, according to Marketing Manager Bradley Weaver. “We’ve had this program for years, so a lot of organizations come to us about the possibility of a donation. But since we have a finite number of vehicles available, we have to measure the type of benefit such a donation would have for the community.”

Weaver noted that RTA donated 11 of its retired small vehicles—mostly paratransit vans—to nonprofit organizations during Fiscal Year 2011, although in other years the number has exceeded 20. “They’ve gone to anyone from school districts to churches, police departments, senior centers,” he said. “Although they’ve surpassed their recommended life, they’re still in good condition and offer such amenities as wheelchair lifts.”

The most recent recipient of an RTA van was a homeless shelter operated by Path of Life Ministries, which uses the vehicle to provide transportation to job training and child care. The 2006 Ford El Dorado van seats up to 12 people and can accommodate three wheelchairs. Weaver noted that another van recently went to a group that provides support to runaway and homeless children.

“Some of our stakeholders will notify us if they see a need in the community for one of our retired vehicles,” he continued. “We’ve learned a lot from being out there and talking about the program.”

Community Transit
The regulations are different in Washington State, but Community Transit in Snohomish County has established a similar program. Martin Munguia, public information officer, explained that the agency created its “Van Go” policy after the state capped its motor vehicle excise tax at $30, replacing the previous graduated fee. Public transit agencies had received about 30 percent of the graduated fees, but the revenues raised by the current version go instead to more general funds.

“In 2000, the change in the fee meant Community Transit faced a one-third cut in funding,” Munguia said. “Our chief executive officer, Joyce Eleanor, met with people in the community to explain that we would have to reduce our service. A lot of nonprofit groups—dealing with wheelchair users, or providing necessary transportation to people outside our service area—let her know that, if we cut back our service, they would have more demand coming their way.”

Like RTA, Community Transit has surplus vehicles in its fleet that have exceeded their useful life. Because state law requires that such vehicles must be auctioned, the agency cannot just donate them to nonprofit organizations—but it can award them to organizations that submit applications telling how they would use a vehicle to provide service to otherwise underserved populations. Over the 11 years of the program, the agency has awarded 106 vehicles, he said.

“For example, a church may apply for one of the vans,” he continued, “both to provide transportation to services and to help with other needs: delivering children to a summer day camp, say, or bringing single mothers to the church to attend workshops. The applicants add up the number of trips they can provide; we examine the applications and award vehicles to the ones we think will fulfill the greatest needs.”

The vans are well maintained but past what public transit systems consider the point of useful life for revenue service. The organizations then can keep their vans for as long as they continue to run, maybe one year, maybe 10 years, he added.

The Riverside Transit Agency recently donated a retired van from its fleet to Path of Life Ministries for use at its homeless shelter. Participants in the vehicle donation ceremony include, from left, Riverside County Supervisors Bob Buster and John Tavaglione and Path of Life representatives Bryan Feller, vice president of the Board of Directors; Damien O’Farrell, vice president of operations; and Tracy Fitzsimmons, chief operating and finance officer.