North Carolina has long been recognized as having one of the finest coordinated transportation systems in the country. At the state level, there has been an Executive Order mandate to coordinate transportation resources since 1978. The Executive Order established state-interagency North Carolina Human Service Transportation Council (HSTC) that provides policy recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Department of Transportation (DOT) and other state agencies in addressing needs, barriers, and opportunities for the provision of human service transportation. There is a long-established communication and collaboration on human service transportation issues between the North Carolina DOT and the North Carolina DHHS. As a result, a full-time departmental level Transportation Program Administrator position was established within DHHS and funded at 100% by DOT.

North Carolina was the first state in the nation to require a Transportation Memorandum of Understanding at the local level that assures coordination between the transportation systems and human service agencies. In order to be eligible for Community Transportation Program funds, DOT requires each local transportation system to have a transportation advisory or governing board, which includes representation from the local Department of Social Services, the Aging Program, the Public Health Department, Mental Health and Community Rehabilitative Facilities, and the local Center for Independent Living on the transportation advisory board/governing board to ensure that public transportation services continue to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities.

As a result of these collaborative efforts, all 100 North Carolina counties have human service transportation systems to serve the transportation disadvantaged. Additionally, the state has established a web-based "Cross County Transit Project" that allows users to coordinate non-emergency medical transportation trips across county jurisdiction lines to regional health care facilities. The state is currently working on establishing recommendations for uniform transportation reporting requirements for human service transportation service programs.

When transportation works, North Carolina works.

In Stanly County, Melissa, a 41 year old who found out she had a malignant brain tumor last year used transportation services to get to her radiation and physical therapy treatments. She lived in another county but her parents were in Stanly County so she moved back for treatments so they could care for her. Her parents were elderly and didn't know how they were going to get her back and forth.

Melissa's sister contacted the SCUSA Community Transportation System after her parents were at their "wits end" and they set up transportation for treatments and to doctor appointments. The family was thrilled that the service was available and could be worked out for their daughter. "We wouldn't have been able to provide the medical treatment she needed without the transportation. It was easier on the entire family."