Del. officials eye additional veteran transportation

Transportation for veterans who are in need of medical attention in New Castle County has been available for some time now but in Kent and Sussex, state officials are say enhancements are still needed.

Gary Morris, a veteran of the Air Force, currently works at the Delaware Transit Corporation. He says along with other state-wide services, the agency offers buses that can take veterans to the VA Medical Center in Wilmington.

47 ABC met with Morris in at the American Legion Post 28 in Millsboro on Wednesday. He explained the issue isn’t about getting there, it’s about coming back.

“Each of the services that provide trips up there are only providing the one trip, so if they take 12 veterans, they have to wait until all 12 are done with their appointments.” He says. “If it were one veteran, they’d probably be there and back but it’s not cost effective with to go with just one so they try to group all of those together.”

According to Morris, that means some veterans who need to get to Wilmington for care could get there, have their appointment, and then end up waiting an extra five hours.

This is a problem that Delaware Transit CEO John Sisson says he is aware of and wants to about a dialog about.

“Whether we provide services or the VA hospital provides services, getting people to the exact location they need to be can challenging, so if I live in Sussex county and I need to get the VA hospital in Wilmington, it can be a long trip on transit.” Says Sisson.

There’s also a matter of how often these buses are running. Morris tells us as a whole, Delaware Transit operates six days a week in Kent and Sussex Counties. In comparison, operations run seven days a week in New Castle where the demand for transportation tends to be higher.

“So, since there’s no transportation service the veterans have to work all of those times on the VA schedule not their own.” Says Morris.

Adding routes would be one solution but before anything happens, Delaware Transit says they need to gauge how many people this is affecting and they’re asking for public input.

Agency officials say they typically holds two public input sessions every year. According to Morris, the next one is expected to be held in November.