RICHARDSON, Texas (April 5, 2016) – Residents of Collin County searching for secure, reliable transportation for their elderly or disabled family members can rest easy, thanks to Toyota. 

During an event today at the University of Texas at Dallas, Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMNA) announced a one-million dollar grant to Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) to support non-emergency medical transportation for seniors and disabled citizens in Collin County.  The grant supports continuation of an existing on-demand service in the cities of Allen, Wylie and Fairview.  The service is currently receiving interim funding from the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG).  The Toyota funds are expected to extend the subscription-based paratransit service for at least an additional twelve months.  DART and NCTCOG are pursuing federal funds to match the grant monies and further support the service until a permanent, long-term funding mechanism can be established.   

“Toyota’s collaboration with DART is an important step in our quest to close the mobility gap for people in need,” said Latondra Newton, TMNA chief social innovation officer. “The grant will allow Toyota to help increase mobility and provide insights into the transit needs of a rapidly growing senior population.”  

Approximately 3,000 Collin County residents are registered for the subscription-based paratransit service which, at peak, provided up to 700 trips per day to and from medical appointments. 
Customers contribute a portion of the cost for each trip, with the balance funded by the grant.  

In addition to moving North Texas residents, Toyota is moving full speed ahead on its One Toyota move to Plano estimated at more than one billion dollars. The new TMNA 100-acre campus is on schedule for completion beginning in early 2017 with more than 50 percent of the construction timeline already achieved.  This progress is thanks to the efforts of about 1,200 workers on-site pouring up to 500 truckloads of concrete in a single week.

Toyota team members are on the mobility track as well.  More than 800 team members are expected to be working at Toyota’s temporary offices in Plano by the end of 2016.  In total, about 4,000 team members will call the new TMNA headquarters campus home upon completion in 2017.  Toyota is currently engaged in an organizational redesign as final relocation decisions are made by team members in California, Kentucky and other locations.  Texans who are interested in working for Toyota in its new North Texas home can search for available positions at Toyota.com/careers.