The commissioner, after consultation with the commissioner of public safety, shall prescribe procedures to permit the occasional use of lift-equipped vans that have been financed, in whole or in part, by public money to transport an individual whose own lift-equipped vehicle is unavailable because of equipment failure and who is thus unable to complete a trip home or to a medical facility. The commissioner shall encourage publicly financed lift-equipped vans to be made available to a county sheriff’s department, and to other persons who are qualified to drive the vans and who are also qualified to assist the individual in need of transportation, for this purpose.