PROVO — Utah County senior citizens have needs that aren't being adequately met, especially when it comes to transportation, local officials say.

In an effort to change that, Utah County and the Mountainland Association of Governments are teaming up with United Way for a study designed to identify those needs and the feasibility of addressing them.

"As we spoke with the county commissioners and the Mountainland Association of Governments' leadership, it became obvious that all of us were interested in this issue," said Bill Hulterstrom, president of United Way of Utah County.

All three entities want to see improved transportation options for senior citizens in the county, and working together is the best way to do that, Hulterstrom said.

"The goal is to help our good seniors have access to the important things they need in the community — medical appointments, shopping and other services that allow them to stay independent," he said.

Utah County commissioners are expected to approve today a three-way agreement with MAG and United Way to help fund the study. The county and MAG each will contribute $5,000 to United Way, which will oversee the study.

"We consider (transportation) among the highest of the priorities for unmet senior needs," said Darrell Cook, MAG executive director. "(The study) will go a long way toward helping us not only qualify the need but also to quantify the need. Then we can start seeking solutions on how to deal with it."

Hulterstrom will recruit and supervise two graduate students from Brigham Young University's master of public administration program who will conduct the study this summer.

The grad students will interview senior citizens in the county, asking them about their transportation needs and wants. They'll then use that data to develop ways to modify the existing senior transportation system to better accommodate seniors' emerging needs, Hulterstrom said.

Currently, that system is limited to the transportation of elderly individuals to lunches at local senior centers through Utah Valley Paratransit, a United Way of Utah County affiliate.

Hulterstrom said the fleet of 45 vans could be utilized to better serve senior citizens if funding were available.

The study will help determine whether additional use of the vans would be feasible, he said.

County Commissioner Steve White said he envisions the vans also being used to transport senior citizens to medical appointments, grocery stores, shopping centers or other social events.

"The most important things for an isolated senior are medical care and social interaction," White said. "We need to provide some way to take care of those needs."

The students will present their findings to MAG and the county commission, likely in August.

"Then we'll have to sit down and decide what needs to be done, how it's going to be done and who's going to pay for it," White said.

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