By Joyce Kryszak
Buffalo, NY – A better system of transportation is one the way for the elderly and disabled in Western New York. Olympic Management Systems announced Thursday it will open a new $3 million transportation hub in downtown Buffalo to be called the Center for Transportation Excellence.
The Snyder family is known for taking a small idea and turning it into a bigger one. Paul Snyder III is Chief Executive Officer for Olympic Management. The company bought part of We Care Transportation from bankruptcy last year.
Now, the acquisition is serving as a launch pad for a coordinated transportation center.
The center will provide shared training, purchasing and management services, at a cost, to about fifty local profit and not-for-profit businesses that transport the elderly and disabled.
Snyder said they hope to set the trend with the area's first example of what he called social entrepreneurialism.
Snyder said the idea grew out of a desperate need for coordinated, more cost-effective and efficient services for the elderly and disabled who depend on them.
Virginia Oehler is Chairwoman for the Center's governing board. Oehler, who has worked for years in the not-for profit sector, knows how important it to keep people connected to the community.
She said getting them there has been the challenge.
Transportation providers will still operate independently, but could combine some routes to make services more efficient. Savings are also expected from shared training, bulk fuel purchases and lower insurance rates. The Center, to be located on East Amherst next to We Care, is expected to open next spring. Company representatives said the Center will preserve 130 jobs, and is expected to create an additional 140.
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