The Red Rose Transit Authority will provide free transportation to the community vaccination center being established at Park City Center, Executive Director Dave Kilmer said Monday.
Once the vaccination center is up and running, the three RRTA bus routes that serve the mall — Routes 1, 2 and 3 — will be free to all riders, Kilmer said.
In addition, the Red Rose Access paratransit service will provide rides to anyone with an appointment at the vaccination center who does not have another transportation option, Kilmer said. Access rides normally require a co-pay, but that will be waived, he said.
Individuals interested in scheduling a Red Rose Access trip should call at least a day in advance, he said. The phone number is (717) 291-1243.
Work is under way at the former Bon Ton store at Park City Center to convert it into a FEMA Type 1 mass vaccination site with a capacity of 6,000 shots a day. Officials have said they hope to open it on a pilot basis next week and ramp up to full capacity the week after.
Vaccine supplies in Pennsylvania have been limited and is not yet clear how soon allotments for the center can ramp up to the hoped-for level. Even if the site operates below capacity for awhile, a centralized operation is still preferable to the fragmentation seen to date, representatives of the county and Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health say.
Kilmer said the board overseeing the transit authority approved the free service to the vaccine center at its February meeting. The authority has CARES Act money to help offset the cost, he said.
The authority is happy to do "anything we can" to help people get vaccinated, he said.
