The objective of this thesis will be to evaluate and assess the current Care Service being offered by GRTC and recommend economic efficient, equitable and sustainable opportunities for a better Human Mobility Service transportation effectiveness and coordination. Transportation demand management strategies that generate revenue and contain costs are required to meet the demands and needs of future aging populations without compromising quality of service. With the baby boomer population set to retire and advancing health care improvements, the elderly population and disabled segment of the population is bound to rise, increasing the demand for human mobility services. This trend and age wave is being felt across the U.S. and has affected all states, including the City of Richmond. Although the GRTC Transit System in Richmond provides a Human Mobility Service called the Care-Service for Disabled Elderly, findings show that the agency is operating at a loss and has no dedicated plan for a Human Mobility Service.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) stipulates the provision of complementary paratransit to people unable to use regular public transportation. With the emergence of a wide range of public transportation services, problems have occurred for public transit agencies, especially the rising costs of providing services for paratransit. Even though paratransit services are one of the most efficient ways to help move people with disabilities and the elderly, they are the most expensive and the most difficult to coordinate and operate. The purpose of this thesis is to define different types of paratransit services and their characteristics, expound major paratransit expense issues, describe the existing conditions of paratransit in Richmond, Virginia, and make policy and strategy recommendations for the Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) based on a comparative analysis of fifteen case studies of paratransit agencies in the country.