Dozens of Red Bank residents are set to lose access to CARTA’s Care-a-Van transportation service at the end of the year after city officials determined they could no longer afford to subsidize the program.
Officials said that could leave elderly and disabled residents without transportation to vital medical appointments and other services.
The city voted in early June to eliminate funding for Care-a-Van from its 2027 fiscal year budget, with local officials citing the ongoing costs of the program. Service is slated to end on Dec. 31.
According to the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority, the Care-a-Van service provided 1,698 trips between October 2025 and September 2026 for Red Bank residents.
For each of these trips, riders paid a $3.50 fare and the city paid more than $45, said Red Bank City Manager Martin Granum. Over time, with federal grant funding and Hamilton County financial support drying up, the city’s share of the cost of rides became untenable, Granum said.