AARP Grants Bring Improvements to Vincennes Trolley, YMCA VanGo Services

VINCENNES, Ind. (We Are Knox County) - The YMCA VanGo public transportation program in Vincennes received two AARP Indiana Community Challenge Grants totaling $30,000

One of the grants will help pay for the installation of shelters at several Vincennes Trolley stops.

YMCA VanGo Assistant Director Ed Yochum told WAKC News Now that the shelters will be placed at some of the trolley’s busiest stops.

“We’ll have several stops that will have shelters,” Yochum said.

The shelters are expected to arrive later this year, with installation tentatively planned by the end of fall.

Vincennes Mayor Joe Yochum said the trolley has become an important resource for the community since the city partnered with YMCA VanGo in 2024 to operate the service.

“I’ve had people that ride the trolley say thank you because now I have a way to work,” Mayor Yochum said.

The second grant will help improve the way community organizations schedule rides through VanGo.

The grant will pay to add a community partner portal to the agency’s transportation software, allowing community partners, such as KCARC, to manage transportation requests for their clients more efficiently.

Ed Yochum said the new system will help reduce the amount of manual scheduling work currently required.

“Now, they email us everything, and then our scheduler has to go in and take them out for other rides,” Yochum said.

“With this portal, they’ll be able to schedule the rides for all their clients.”

AARP Indiana Director of Community Engagement Emily Gorman said the YMCA of Vincennes is the first organization in Indiana to receive two Community Challenge grants in the same year.

“It just emphasizes the quality of those grants, the application and the potential impact these projects will have on the lives of older adults here in the community.”