Providing a Helping Hand Along the Way
Ways Travelers Aid Can Provide Assistance
Travelers Aid members embrace a comprehensive approach to facilitate transportation and prevent homelessness that focuses on the individual strengths of each case in order to provide services that meet specific needs. Some agencies offer services specifically tailored for veterans, senior citizens, or families, including a range of housing options, job training, and food assistance. Travelers Aid funding, services, and hours vary, and services are provided based on available funding, eligibility, and location.
Assistance at Transportation Centers
Travelers Aid agencies operate information booths at 17 airports, seven train stations, and several bus depots. Our volunteers and staff members help travelers in distress or just in need of friendly customer service amid the hustle of transportation centers. At many Travelers Aid locations, a caseworker will meet with a stranded individual and offer suggestions on the best way to get home. Services vary at each location.
- One-way bus tickets are provided by participating programs, pending eligibility, and only if you are currently in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Call (240) 505-4255 or (202) 878-9735 for more information.
- Train or plane tickets are not available through any Travelers Aid program.
- Transportation for funerals or medical emergencies is not provided.
- Travelers Aid airport programs have limited social service resources, and they do not participate in any bus ticket program.
- Assistance is not available to those outside the U.S. while on international travel.
Travelers Aid Services at Airports:
- Assistance navigating the airport
- Meet and Assist services (services may be requested via email)
- Translation assistance in some cases
- Directions within the airport and surrounding area
- General transportation challenge queries
- New airline tickets not provided due to unexpected flight interruptions
- Travelers Aid services limited to passengers
Community Assistance
If a Travelers Aid member is not nearby, or unable to provide the help needed, you may also seek community assistance by calling the local information and referral helpline. Call either 211 or 311 to ask about local charities and services that may help you.
Travelers Aid International’s Direct Operations
In addition to supporting member agencies, Travelers Aid International employs staff and is supported by nearly 800 volunteers who assist passengers. TAI directly operates the following customer service programs in the Washington, D.C., New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, and Hartford, CT metropolitan areas:
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport , through a partnership with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA)
- JFK International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport. through a partnership with The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
- Philadelphia International Airport and the 30th Street Station, through a partnership with the city of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Department of Commerce, Division of Aviation
- Bradley International Airport, through a partnership with the Connecticut Airport Authority
- And for more than 100 years, Travelers Aid has operated an information booth at Washington Union Station, which also provides some social services to those encountering a crisis while traveling.
