METRO's Refugee Relief Role

September 2, 2005

Houston METRO is offering support to refugees from Hurricane Katrina. METRO's efforts to date include:

• Ongoing: providing bus shuttles for patients from New Orleans Veterans Administration Hospital from Ellington Field to the Houston VA Hospital. Transportation is also being provided for handicapped and/or wheelchair-bound patients arriving at Ellington.
  
• Thursday, Sept. 1: provided transport for passengers arriving on six flights from New Orleans to Ellington, 138 people per plane. They were transported to the Astrodome, Galveston and area hospitals.
  
• Ongoing: providing two trolleys running a loop from the Astrodome along Kirby, Fannin, Main and OST, every 10 minutes from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., taking refugees to METRORail, area stores and a medical clinic.
  
• Ongoing: providing four METROLift vans to shuttle people from the Astrodome to a medical clinic in the area, in conjunction with Harris County Precincts 1 and 2.
  
• Ongoing: actively participating in the Unified Command Structure.