WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced Thursday that the United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration has awarded the Ohio Department of Transportation $2,813,123 in funding through its Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility Program.

The ICAM Program is designed to improve access to transportation services and public transportation by expanding partnerships between health, transportation, and other service providers. Ohio’s program, Mobility Ohio, will carry out a pilot program for Coshocton, Guernsey, Muskingum and Tuscarawas Counties to establish a one-stop scheduling and dispatching center aimed at improving the safety, availability and quality of transportation services for older adults, people with disabilities, those with lower incomes and others with transportation needs.

As chair of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which oversees public transportation programs and the Federal Transit Administration, Brown authored the provisions in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that provided the ICAM program more than $24 million, which is funding the ODOT grant, and he championed the grant application.

As Ranking Member of the Committee in 2015, Brown worked to create the ICAM program in the FAST Act, the surface transportation law that preceded the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“When Ohioans can get to doctors’ appointments, to the grocery store or to a job, they lead healthier, fuller lives, but transportation is a challenge for many, particularly our seniors and others that cannot easily drive,” Brown said. “The federal and state governments offer many programs that can help with transportation, but far too often, scheduling a ride is not simple and the programs are not coordinated. I am pleased to help provide funding to ODOT to demonstrate how a state-of-the-art system can break down barriers to mobility for Ohioans.”