How are local senior citizens and people with disabilities affected by barriers to transportation?

By Evan Dawson,

Published December 6, 2024 at 3:17 PM EST

Four people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a man at foreground left has short blonde hair and a blonde goatee and is wearing a blue fleece vest, a white button-down shirt and jeans; a man at background left is bald and is wearing a long-sleeved blue fleece; a man at background right is bald and is wearing a white button-down shirt; a woman at foreground right has short dark hair and is wearing a grey blazer and jeans.

1 of 2 — (foreground) Tim Kohlmeier, (background) Nate Zelesnikar and Tom Brede with guest host Sarah Murphy Abbamonte on "Connections"

(foreground) Tim Kohlmeier, (background) Nate Zelesnikar and Tom Brede with guest host Sarah Murphy Abbamonte on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Friday, December 6, 2024

Julie Williams / WXXI News

A man wearing a blue suit and red tie smiling in front of an American flag

2 of 2 — Jeremy Cooney

Jeremy Cooney

Provided

A smiling woman wearing with chin length dark hair wearing a short sleeved white t-shirt sits in front of a microphone at a table in a radio talk studio. — Sarah Abbamonte guest hosting "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Friday, September 13, 2024

WXXI’s Sarah Abbamonte is back in the host chair as we continue our conversations about transportation in the Rochester region. This hour, our guests discuss barriers to access – including cost, driver availability and staffing shortages, and rider location – and their impact on health care, levels of social isolation, and employment opportunities for people with disabilities and senior citizens. Our guests:

New York State Senator Jeremy Cooney, District 56
Tom Brede, public information officer for Regional Transit Service
Tim Kohlmeier, executive director of Medical Motor Services
Nate Zelesnikar, director of programs and services at Holy Childhood