Organizers said the Gateways Transportation Initiative is designed to bring together citizens who use or want to use public transit with government officials, employers, transportation providers, advocates for people with disabilities and others in hopes of making public transportation more widely available in the Mountain State.

“Being able to get where you need to go — it’s an issue that matters to everyone in a rural state like West Virginia,” said Daria Jones, who heads up the effort for the Morgantown-based Center for Excellence in Disabilities.

Jones, who noted that only 33 of West Virginia’s 55 counties offer some kind of public transit, said transportation barriers keep many state residents from holding down a job, enrolling in educational programs, getting to doctors’ appointments, attending church and pursuing recreational opportunities.

Expanded public transportation options would improve West Virginia’s economy, Jones said.

“It’s the quintessence of economic development,” she said. “If you can’t get there, you can’t do it. Having money to spend is only part of the story. If you can’t get to the mall or to the movies, then you’re not going to be making the economic contribution you could.”

Anyone interested in taking part in one of the five caucuses must pre-register, but the event is free and includes lunch, Jones said.

So far, she said, the session in Martinsburg has the fewest people signed up, while the Clarksburg venue already is 60 percent full.

“We’re still getting out the word and we know a lot of times people tend to sign up at the last minute,” she said.

The caucuses are the latest in an effort that dates to 2006, when the West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services won a federal grant to develop Gateways, a strategy to employ more West Virginians with disabilities.

The issue is particularly timely, given the recent news that no state in the nation has a higher percentage of people with disabilities than West Virginia, with more than 24 percent.

Moderators from the Washington-based Community Transportation Association of America will lead the discussions around the state.

“The moderators do this kind of thing all over the country,” Jones said. “They’re going to be very helpful in helping the stakeholders determine what direction we need to move in.”

Jones said the information gathered in the caucuses around West Virginia will fuel a statewide summit scheduled for November.

For Information

To register, call Daria Jones at (800) 841-8436 or (304) 293-4692, ext. 1162 or go online to www.ridein55.com. The sessions are set to last from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. The schedule is as follows:

• Holiday Inn, Martinsburg, Oct. 19
• WesBanco Arena, Wheeling, Oct. 21
  
• Bridgeport Conference Center, Bridgeport, Oct. 23
• Big Sandy Superstore Arena, Huntington, Oct. 27
• Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center, Beckley, Oct. 28