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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Suggested Citation:"OATS, Inc. (Columbia, Missouri)." Transportation Research Board. 1998. Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Personal Immobility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9438.
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Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

OATS, INC. COLUMBIA, MISSOIJBI CASE STUDY

OATS, INC. COLUMBIA, MISSOURI INTRODUCTION Since 1971, OATS, Inc. has been providing transportation for rural Missourians, serving 87 of Missouri's 114 counties. The mission of OATS, Inc. is to "provide reliable transportation for transportation disadvantaged Missourians so they can live independently in their own communities.") According to the transit administrator at the Missouri Department of Transportation, "The state doesn't have any particular formal mandate to get out there and provide transportation to everybody. So, it's OATS that fills that gap." MIGHT IGHTS · Transit synergy of federal, state, and private funding = more and better service. · New transit partners provide broad base of support. · 76,000 volunteer hours worth $534,000 per year. · 36% local funding with over 200 contracts. · Entrepreneurial management finds "w~n-win" situations. With a fleet of more than 300 vehicles, over 400 full- and part-time employees and paid drivers and more than 1,000 volunteers, it provides public transportation services and special contract services to 26,298 individuals, and 1.1 million annual one-way trips. Figure 1 is a map of the OATS service area. The extensive use of volunteers and the creative blending of a wide array of funding sources have been particularly important contributing factors that have reduced the level of immobility in rural portions of the state. LEVERAGING VOLUNTEER RESOURCES In STY 1996, 1,861 volunteers donated almost 76,000 hours of work devoted to OATS, an equivalent of 36 full-time employees. OATS maces a substantial value of $522,576 to its volunteer efforts.2 Each month, all OATS volunteers record time on a form for the following activities: Receiving calls from people wanting to ride the bus Recording ride requests Reminding people of their rides 1

Northwest \ ~h0DAWAY _ ~ ' ~Y -u ~ ~ BULl ~ con ~ - . ~ tern ~ _ West ~ ^~ .... Midwest Southwest . , ~ `=o' r L r . ~1 , "rES r YE111~111 ~ "RTON "SP~ \. NEWTON = Pi C8UN01 unit . Figure 1 State of Missouri OATS Service Area Northeast I. Silo cub\ ~ ~Home Office ~oAiii If/ aced- , ~ ~ / i-~ 6 ~ ~ ' ~ ~ ~7~ 1 UNCUT ~ AFAR JQH=ON HENRY SAUNE /HOWA~ / / I ~1~ ~1 Fans . ~ l=ON ST. CUIR _ HICKORY Mar raw ~= CEDAR DADE hWIOCE "MY FcW~-( '"=WAY 1: H~ ~ ~ ~ - ALA _ ~ ~ - CANDY , D ~aid 1 _ 6R£~E ~1 ~ 1 1 . rare 1 ~ 1 2 Mid-Mo Not included in OATS service area

FRANKLIN COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COUNCIL (FCTC) - This is a private not-for-profit corporation established in Franklin County primarily to serve the transportation needs of persons with disabilities in that county, although services are also open to the general public. This corporation has its own Board, its own employees, equipment, and personnel policies and other policies. OATS contracts with FCTC to manage its operation, employing a project coordinator who oversees day-to-day operations with management assistance from the East Area Manager and home office staff. Relaying information to a driver Attending OATS meetings, including travel time. Fund raising · Publicity/Awareness The service delivery method of providing OATS door-to-door demand responsive service is fairly conventional; the means of organizing, scheduling and dispatching trips is not. OATS volunteers are responsible for scheduling the trips in their county. The backbone of the OATS operation is the county committees. The members and officers are volunteers and typically use OATS service themselves on a regular basis. The committee members are responsible for preparing monthly OATS bus schedules, promoting ridership, and fund raising for matching funds for each vehicle operating in a cogency. Membership in the county committee ranges from 10 to 30 members and committee meetings are open to the general public. County committees were established so all local communities within a county have representation. They meet monthly, and interviews with a local committee revealed that such meetings provide a very important social function. Members were all senior women, typical of most county committees and of overall OATS ridership. Riders regularly promote the service to other community members and friends. Because many live in dispersed rural areas, the county committee, and riding the bus, itself provides important social interaction. Without OATS, several indicated they would be totally isolated and would not have any independence. OATS schedules are published quarterly in "The Wheel," the quarterly newspaper that lists the schedule for a rural county. Figure 2 includes a representative schedule of a "one-bus" county in rural Morgan County in mid- Missouri. Each town or area of the county has one or more contact persons, who schedule trips for riders. The level of service of this schedule is typical, with intercounty trips between destination points provided once or twice a month. In town local service is offered once a week. In general, from one to three small buses or vans operate in a particular county. There is not a set fare for most OATS services, but OATS passengers can contribute part or all of the suggested amount posted on the bus. 3

FIGURE 2 SAMPLE OATS BUS SCEII]:DULE l MORGAN COINED ll i OATS transportation is available to anyone regardless of age or income. To schedule a ride, call your local contact: 1 1 Town Contact Barnett M. Miller xxx-~xxx Gravois M. J. Balding Cora Rother B. Burnam xxx-xxxx xxx-~xxx Stover xxx-xxxx Versailles Peggy Bohlen E. Harding L. Loewer xxx-xxxx xxx-~x xxx-xxxx . Driver Dyne Akin Veh. No. 725 1st Mon., 4th Thurs. Laurie and Gravois to Versailles 2nd Monday 4th Monday , Morgan County to Tipton Morgan County in country i 1st Tuesday ~ b~ _~S Florence and Stover to Versailles Morgan County to Jefferson City Morgan County to Jefferson City (includes nutrition) Morgan County to Columbia Morgan County to Eldon Morgan County to Osage Beach . Morgan County to Laurie Morgan County to Sedalia Versailles in town 2nd Tuesday _ 1st Wed., 3rd Tuesday 2nd Wed., 4th Tuesday 3rd Wednesday 1st Thursday 2nd Thurs., 4th Wed. 3rd Thursday last Thursday Friday Committee Meeting: 3rd Thurs. (odd months) Hunter Civic Center, Versailles 1:00 . 4

County committees have guidelines such that there must be minimum load requirements before a trip is made. In general, there must be at least 3 medical riders or at least 7 shoppers before a trip is made. Table ~ is a summary of the trip purposes of OATS trips. Essential shopping trips for groceries and other necessities is the largest trip purpose of OATS riders. According to the OATS schedule, transportation is provided to and from the senior centers, Monday through Friday, in a number of areas. The highlight is the daily luncheon meal served five days a week. Such nutrition trips are the second highest priority. TABLE 1 OATS TRIP PURPOSE %of Trip PurposeOne-Way Trips Total Essential Shopping ~33S,130 ~ ~: Nutrition 234,281 20% Employment 192,333 17% Medical 18S,393 16% Business 76,195 7% Education 61,617 5% Recreation 34,694 3% Meal Delivery 26,069 2% Other ~13,015 ~1% ~ TOTAL ~1,164,727 ~100% ~ Because OATS volunteers raise matching monies for the OATS vehicles in their area and schedule how the buses will be utilized, there is a strong sense of ownership over the vehicle and its use. According to a few observers, some volunteers/riders view the OATS program more like a club, with a desire to serve - its own members. OATS management is very clear that OATS is a public transportation provider, and a diverse set of transportation needs must be met. The introduction of Medicaid transportation last year is one example of how new types of riders are changing the fabric of OATS ridership. Many of the Medicaid passengers are younger with small children and most of the older OATS riders enjoy having them aboard "their" bus. OATS is addressing the service image issue as part of the strategic planning effort. One of the objectives of their recently adopted plan is to "improve OATS' image as a multi-purpose, multi-generational transportation provider." Another initiative is to recruit volunteers to enhance diversity . 5

The volunteer activities of the county committees are coordinated through seven area offices. OATS has professional staff who provide support to the volunteer county committees, direct vehicle use, supervise and train drivers, resolve complaints, approve schedules, and coordinate information dissemination. Area Managers are involved in every facet of service delivery in their area, with a real focus on ensuring that as many transportation needs are met as possible with available resources. COORDINATED TRANSPORTATION SERVICES (CTS) - This system operates within OATS' Midwest Area and results from a joint effort of District Ill Area Agency on Aging, OATS and many t;ransportation Sunders in a 13- counly area to enhance coordination of transportation services and maximize vehicle utilization. Under this arrange- ment, a separate nof- for-profit was established. OATS' role in this effort is one of assisting in service development by its involvement on the Board as well as being the service provider for these services. 1-- 1 1 OATS is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors who make policy decisions. The Board consists of two members elected from the service areas of each of the eight Area Agencies on Aging served by OATS. A small administrative staff including the Executive Director, Administrative Service Director, and Comptroller provide manage- ment leadership in all facets of the operation. OATS' unique organizational structure and mode of operations is a product of its historical development and funding sources. Founded in 1971 with a small group of volunteers interested in addressing rural transportation issues, they received a $30,000 grant from the State Office of Aging. Open to persons 60 years of age or more, OATS was first named the Older Adults Transportation Service. In 1980, they began to receive Section 18 monies, and opened their doors to the general public. As its funding base continued to broaden, so did its scope of services. Today, OATS has still retained its corporate name, and its volunteer orientation packet explicitly states that "OATS is no longer an acronym for anything." OATS has been very proactive in responding to transportation needs in order to fulfill its mission. Its collaborative efforts have resulted in a very broad funding base, with literally hundreds of contracts for service. They are truly the provider of choice for both individuals and mlmerous social service agencies in rural Missouri. OATS' BROAD FUNDING SOURCES AND CONTRACTING ROLES OATS has done an exemplary job of effectively coordinating a wide variety of funding sources to meet diverse community transportation needs in a very cost- effective manner. Several examples of different contracting roles are included as sidebars throughout the text of this case study. Table 2 provides OATS' revenue budget for FY 199S, broken down by funding source. 6

Local Funding Sources Local funding provides 35.7% of the total budget. OATS has been able to draw from a wide array of service contracts, local donations, rider contributions and group travel excursions. TABLE 2 REVENUE BUDGET FY 1998 . ~ Local Funding Sources Budget Percent , Special Billings $1,616,735 24.~% l Rider Contributions 369,500 5.7% Group Travel IS0,500 2.~% Local Cash 132,375 2.~% Non-Transit Resource 20,350 0.3% SUBTOTAL 2,319,460 35.7% State Funding Sources Department of Mental Health 205,599 3.2% MEHTAP'i' 30,012 0.4% SUBTOTAL 235,611 3.6% Federal Funding Sources Area Agency on Agings' 2,643,825 40.6% . Section 5311 (Section i8~3) ~i,312,884 ~20.2% SUBTOTAL 3,956,709 60.8% , | TOTAL ~$6,511,740 ~100.0% `1' Missouri Elderly and Handicapped Transportation Assistance Program (2) Older Americans Act (3) Department of Transportation Service Contracts (Special Billings) Of particular note is the $~.6 million in "special billings," which represents almost one-quarter of OATS' total budget. These are funds generated from contract services provided to groups, organizations, and guaranteed service to individuals. In general, a simple one-page contract as shown in Appendix A has been executed between OATS and the group or individual needing transportation 7

services. Contracts have been executed with a wide variety of different entities including: cities and counties for special and general public services medical centers and HMOs dialysis clinics retirement housing · · . un~versliles chambers of commerce local school districts · ~ · ~ social service agencies Medicaid transportation OATS' contracts all follow a general framework. But a key to their success has been their ability to be flexible on the terms of services to meet the specific needs of various groups and individuals. Table 3 provides samples of the type of different Ems that OATS has negotiated. TABLE 3 OATS SPECIAL BILLING TERMS Per hour Per hour of waiting time Per hour plus per mile Per one-way rural trip Per one-way urban trip Per one-way in-town trip Per one-way nutrition trip Per one-way areawide trip Per one-way ambulatory trip Other Local Funding Sources Per one-way wheelchair trip Per one-way adjacent county trip Per one-way beyond adjacent county trip Per day Per mile Per month Per zone Coordination cost per vehicle per day Direct expense reimbursement Rider contributions are voluntary and account for about 5.6% of the total operating budget. Local cash is derived from local organizations to help offset operating expenses. United Way and county commissions are two of the type of organizations that provide operating assistance. OATS also generates funds from group travel or recreation trips. These trips are based on the fully allocated costs. As mentioned previously, volunteers raise matching funds for vehicle procurements through bake sales, raffles, and other community fund raising activities. In FY 1996, a total of $64,540 was raised by county committees and other organizations to provide the matching portion for the vehicles. This was about one-half of the amount required for local match for vehicle procurements in 1996. In addition, OATS administers a long-distance recreational charter tour service. A recent WHEEL insert described five tours to such places as Southern 8

California and Florida. OATS acts as an agent in arranging the trip itineraries, meals and accommodations. A tour bus company provides the tour transportation. In FY 1996, OATS had a net income of $49,132 from the charter tours. The Board of Directors has designated that charter tour net income be used for financing OATS' portion of the bus match. Net income from this activity is taxable as unrelated business income. State Funding Direct state funding sources provide just 3.6% of the total OATS budget. Missouri Elderly and Handicapped Transportation Assistance Program (MEHTAP) provides state financial assistance for local nonprofit organizations offering transportation service to the elderly and persons with disabilities at below-cost rates. OATS receives about $30,012 of this funding. OATS also accesses this Finding program indirectly through other grantees who contract with OATS. Contracts with the State Department of Mental Health totalling another $205,000 annually have been negotiated with the Department of Mental Health to provide services for primarily developmentally disabled individuals. Separate contracts have been negotiated with an array of different regional centers. Federal Funding CITY OF CHILLICOTHE, CITY OF SEDALIA - Both of these cities established transportation systems shortly after federal funding became available to provide 50% of the operating funds for community transporta- tion. The City of SedaZia negotiated with OATS to take over all phases of the operation, including applying for funding and vehicles. The City of Sedalia provides local cash match for opera- tions as well as assistance with local vehicle acquisition match. The City of Chillicothe still applies for its own funding but contracts with OATS to deliver the services. 1 1 Slightly over 60% of OATS funding is derived from federal funding sources. The foundation of the OATS service is transportation for seniors. OATS has separate contracts with eight different Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), which account for $2.6 million or 42% of OATS total budget. The contracts for service are with the eight Area Agencies on Aging, but the primary funding source is the Older Americans Act, with other funding for AAA services from Social Services Block Grants, U.S. Department of Agriculture Cash and Commodities, and state general revenue. The only eligibility requirement for AAA-funded senior transportation is that the person is 60 years of age or more or between the ages of 18 and 59 and disabled. For each Area Agency on Aging, OATS has negotiated different rates for different type of trips. There are separate contract rates for nutrition, urban, rural and areawide trips. In some cases there is a blended rate, with a hourly rate plus a per mile charge. In other cases, a specific rate has been negotiated for a lift ramp vehicle and reserved trips. 9

OATS receives $~.3 million in federal DOT Section 5311 funds, which accounts for about 20% of the total OATS budget. Section 5311 is a federal funding source with eligibility limited to rural areas. ESTIMATING BENEFITS AND COSTS In order to estimate the economic benefits of OATS, the research team asked the question: What; costs would be incurred by OATS users in the absence of the OATS system? If OATS did not exist, OATS users would either: 1. Not make a desired trip at all because a transportation alternative is not available or affordable to the user. These "missing trips" have an economic value because the user is not able to receive a desired or needed service due to a lack of transportation. A value has been put on these missing trip based on different trip purposes. Substitute an auto trip for the OATS trip. Most of these trips would be provided by family members or friends, since most OATS users Cannot drive or do not have access to an automobile. These "auto trips" include the cost of operating the automobile and the value of the driver's time to ~ . ~ . · ~ ~ A ~ · ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ A ~ ad_ ~ · ~ I make tne trip. it OA'1~ were not available, the OA'1'~ user or tamlly/ friend would incur the full cost of the trip. The value of the trip is the sum of these costs. Utilize another transportation provider to make the desired trip. The "substitute paratransit trip" is likely, on average, to be significantly more expensive to provide by another transportation provider, given the efficient means that OATS provides service with volunteer trip scheduling. The value assigned to OATS' services is the cost of having to provide alternative transportation service. In addition, if OATS did not exist, its volunteer services would likely be lost in the fragmentation of small, localized transit services that would arise. The volunteer services were valued at $522,676 in 1996. To conduct the economic analyses, estimates were made of benefits and costs to calculate a benefi~/cost ratio. Table 4 provides a summary of the estimated value of missing trips, auto trips, substitute paratransit trips, and lost volunteer service. If OATS service were not available, it is estimated that the total value of providing replacement transportation services and missed trips is approximately $9.6 million. In order to estimate the economic benefits of OATS service, a key step was to make reasonable estimates of how many of the existing OATS trips would fall into each of the above categories. A thorough search of the transportation literature has revealed no empirical data of follow-up on the travel behavior of former public transportation riders for any comparable situation of a large transit service being suddenly discontinued. Therefore, the research team has developed 10

a reasonable scenario based on estimates by trip purposes. The assumptions and estimates are fillly documented in Appendix A. Due to the estimate uncertainty, Appendix A also includes a sensitivity analysis of other possible assumptions. TABLE 4 IF OATS SERVICE DID NOT EXIST? VALUE OF MISSING OR REPLACEMENT TRIPS Missing Trips I I% of | Estimated 11 I ! #Trips* !Trips ! Value !1 Missing Trips 476,60940.9% $6,286,305 Auto Trips 1 276,317 1 23.7% 1 2,542,118 Replacement 1 411,801 1 35.4% 1 5,588,331 Paratrans~t Trips Lost Volunteer 522,576 Services Total ~ 1,164,727 ~ 100% 1 $13,939,330 See Appendix A for the methodology utilized to determine the estimated distribution and value of trips. If OATS service were not available, it is estimated that approximately 41% of the existing trips would not be made due to the lack of affordable transportation. Many OATS users would be travelling less often. Depending on the trip purpose, approximately 25% to 50% of the trips would continue to be made. For discretionary trips, such as recreation and business trips, approximately 50% of the trips might not be made. Because many of the OATS contracts for employment and training trips are for developmentally disabled individuals, there is a higher probability that transportation would be provided by family members or alternative transportation contract arrangements would be made, such that only 25% of these trips are estimated to be missing trips. Experience with other rural transportation services has shown that friends, relatives, and volunteers are more likely to substitute transportation for medical trips than for other trip purposes. However, many preventive care and welIness trips would not be made. For medical trips, it was estimated that 40% of the trips would be missing. The total estimated value of missed trips is $5.3 million. Approximately 60% of the total value of the missed trip is from medical trips, valued at $84 per round trip, the average value of a Medicare office visit in 1993. This is undoubtedly a conservative estimate, since missed medical appointments can often lead to higher medical costs. 11

Substitute Auto Trips If OATS service were not available, approximately 24% of trips would still be made by automobile, mostly provided by friends and relatives of the OATS rider. The 276,300 auto trips are estimated to have a value of $2.5 million. This is based on an average of $9.20 per one-way trip, which includes the allowable {RS per mileage cost of $0.31 per mile and value of travel time of $10.00 per hour for the friend and neighbor providing a ride, and includes one hour of waiting time per round-trip while the OATS rider conducts her business. Substitute Paratransit Tries For trips to such destinations as dialysis appointments, trips would be still ne provided by another transportation provider. It is estimated that approximately 36% of OATS trips would be made by a substitute transportation provider and would have a value of $6.6 million. If OATS did not exist, it is likely that some of OATS' contract services would be provided by other operators. OATS currently provides transportation at the cost of $5.29 for group transportation. If OATS did not exist, many of the substitute paratransit trips would be single rider trips; this has been the case with Medicaid transportation in rural Missouri. For example, in Springfield, the cost of a one-way trip within town is $19-$40, depending on whether ambulatory or wheelchair service is provided. Within Columbia, Medicaid rates are $10-$28 per one-way trip. Service to remote rural areas is more expensive, an example being $54 to $128 per trip in rural southeastern Missouri. An average of $19 per one-way trip would appear to be a reasonable assumption for most substitute paratransit trips in the OATS service area. Education, employment, and nutrition trips would probably continue to be group trips; a rate of $~.25 is utilized. Benefit/Cost Ratio For every dollar invested in the OATS program, there is an economic benefit of $2.32. This is deters ined by adding the missing trip value, the auto trip value, the substitute paratransit trip value, and the value of lost volunteer services, totaling $13.9 million, and dividing it by OATS' net costs of $6.0 million. Net costs are OATS total costs minus rider contributions and local cash raised to offset OATS' costs. A benefit/cost ratio of 2.3 is quite favorable, compared with the usual criterion of at least a ratio of 1.0 for economically viable projects. ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS OATS has demonstrated an entrepreneurial ability to effectively blend a wide array of different human and monetary resources into an elective and comprehensive transportation delivery system. Several factors appear to play important roles in OATS' success: 12

An entrepreneurial management style within a flexible framework. Volunteer spirit. Local control and ownership of scarce resources. TABLE 5 SUMMARY OF OATS' BENEFITS AND COSTS 1 1 11 Annual value of missing trips$5,286,304 Annual value of auto trips$2,642,118 Annual value of other paratransit$6,68S,331 trips Annual value of lost volunteer$622,676 services | Total Annual Benefits | $13,939,330 || Costs Annual operating costs of OATS $6,611,700 Less rider contributions and local cash 601,876 Total Annual Costs $6,009,916 Ratio of Benefits to Costs 2.32 . Entrepreneurial and Flexible Management StYle OATS headquarters staff and the Board of Directors seek every opportunity to fulfill their mission of providing reliable transportation for transportation disadvantaged Missourians. Staff is particularly adept at understanding the transportation needs of individuals and agencies, and working with the entity to find an approach that will work. There is no "one size fits all" at OATS. Management is particularly adept at finding "win-win" situations for agencies that have transportation needs but are not sure how to provide it. OATS is very flexible on what its role will be and how services will be provided to meet the needs of a particular agency or individual. Its diverse array of contracts is a testament to this flexibility and entrepreneurial spirit. This exemplary management philosophy is very transferrable to other transit agencies in both rural and urban settings. Part of this entrepreneurial spirit is a willingness to take risks and to adapt to changing circumstances. OATS is currently looking at the Welfare to Work opportunities with the Missouri Department of Transportation. OATS is 13

evaluating whether or not vanpools might better serve some employment transportation needs. Because of their flexibility and consistent and reliable service delivery, OATS has developed a very positive reputation in Missouri. MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT, INC. (MTM) - MTM is a management company / transportation broker for managed care non- emergency medical transportation. OATS is a transportation service provider for MTM in all seven service areas as we,! as the entity which brokers such trips in five of the areas. the OATS organizational culture. Volunteer Spirit The volunteer legacy of OATS is critical to its success. OATS was founded by volunteers and the tradition continues. Volunteers from board members to contact persons all have a pervasive pride in the community service that OATS provides. It is quite obvious that the volunteers give a lot of their time and resources, but receive back a strong sense of accomplishment. OATS management engenders this spirit through specific efforts to enhance volunteer motivation and recognition, including the sponsorship of annual areawide meetings to recognize volunteer efforts. Because of OATS' reputation, it has been able to attract excellent leadership that continues the volunteer spirit which is so much a part of This volunteer spirit also provides political support to keep OATS and its services moving forward. Every year hundreds of volunteers go to Jefferson City, the state capital, on their own time and expense to attend a legislative advocacy day. Volunteers meet with their state representatives and let them know how important OATS is to them. According to the volunteers, they really look forward to this annual event and apparently are quite successful in engendering strong political support for OATS. Local Control of Scarce Resources The decentralized decision-making process for the utilization of scarce resources is very important to OATS' success. The volunteer county committees and the county contacts play a very important role in operating local services tailored to local needs while professional transit staff at OATS assure safety and quality of the service. As OATS broadens its ridership base to a more diverse population, the challenge will be to broaden the sense of ownership beyond its traditional senior heritage. 14

REFERENCES 1. 2. OATS, Inc., 1996 Annual Report, Columbia, Missouri (19971. OATS bases this valuation of most volunteer effort on the salary rates of office workers, which range from $6.45 to $6.90 per hour depending on the location. Members of the Board of Directors are valued at the rate of the Executive Director's salary. 16 .

APPENDIX A QUANTIFYING TO BENEFITS OF OATS OPERATIONS In order to estimate the economic benefits of OATS, the research team asked the question: What costs would be incurred by OATS users in the absence of the OATS system? If OATS did not exist, OATS users would either: 1. Not make a desired trip at all because a viable and affordable transportation alternative is not available or affordable to the user. These "missing trips" have an economic value because the user is not able to receive a desired or needed service due to a lack of transportation. A value has been put on these missing trip based on different trip purposes. 2. Substitute an auto trip for the OATS trip. Most of these trips would be provided by family members or friends, since most OATS users cannot drive or do not have access to an automobile. These "auto trips" include the cost of operating the automobile and the value of the driver's time to make the trip. If OATS were not available, the OATS user or family/friend would incur the full cost of the trip. The value of this trip is the sum of these costs. Utilize another transportation provider to make the desired trip. The "substitute paratr~nsit trip" is likely, on average to be significantly more expensive to provide by another transportation provider, given the efficient means that OATS provides service with volunteer trip scheduling. The value assigned to OATS services is the cost of the alternative transportation service. In order to estimate the economic benefits of OATS service, the first step was to make reasonable estimates of how many of the existing OATS trips would fall into each of the above three categories. A thorough search of the transportation literature has revealed no empirical data of follow-up on the travel behavior of former public transportation riders for any comparable situation of a large transit service being suddenly discontinued. Therefore, the research team has relied on the development of a reasonable scenario based on estimates by trip purposes. In order to recognize the uncertainty of the estimates, a sensitivity analysis has been added to the end of the Appendix to illustrate the impact of changes of basic assumptions on the analyses. Table A provides the key calculations and assumptions made in the analyses. For missing trips, auto trips, and substitute paratransit trips, an estimate is made of the percent of trips that might be included by trip purpose. Column a includes the 1996 one-way trips made by OATS. A-!

(D .m Q E _ ,~ ~ o C~ Co ~ C~ to- - ~ - ~ C~ CO ~ _ ~ ~ ~ 0CO ~ Ct ~CO _ o 0 CO ~ CD o _CO `, ~ _ _ ~ cr) ~ cr~ ~ 0 Co 0) ~0 ~C~ ~ _ ~ CO C~ CD ~ ~0 ct C~ r~ ~ 0 ~ c~ c~ Q _ _10 ~rv' (D .m .Q o ~ lD O O UD O O O ~ ~ ~O C\l N O O C~J O O O _ _ . . . . . . . . . - ~ ~a) 0 0 c~ a) 0 ~ cs) a) D ~ Q - - - _ _ CO ~ 6~ ~ ~ ~ 6g ~ ~g ~ G) .- Q Y a) C~ O ~ ~ 0 0 ~ ~)o ·- CO _ 1O _ U ) C\1 1` _ 00 ~ c~ 1_ ~ r- ~ ~ 0 ~ 0 c~ o~- _ ~________- _ ~n _ _ co CD CD C~ ~- C'D ~ C' D tt O =) 0 Ir) C\l C~J - C/) Q G) ·U, Q ~ °~ °~ °~ °~ °~ °~ ~ °~ ~ ~ .= a) 0 0 lD 0 0 1D 0 0 0 ·- CtS 1- ~n _ a, D 0 Q cn Q _ .Q O (n ~- C5) 10 O) C') 0 0 0 0 t-- Lo ~CO ~ CD _ U~ d- _ ct _ 0 0 ~ o ~ a, > C~ ~ O ~ O O- - CO ~ C~J CO CO _ ~ t~ CO ~-C\l d ~n co ~ ~ ~ _ _ u' 8 ~ ._ 0 0 ·== O O O O O O O O O O ~ ~ - C~ N C~ C\l C\l C\l C~J C\l C\l *- ct ~0) 0) ~ ~ 0) 0~ a ~ 0 ·X _ CQ ~) tD CD O ~ a) Ir) a) _ CO .= CM ~ O _ CO 0 ~ C~ O Co ~ o5 ~ ~CO 0 1` 10 C~J ~ ~ 0 CC, Z Q ~ CD ~) 0 CO ~-C\l t_ ~ 0 ~ ~ ~ ~-- C~ ~ ~r (D 0 ~_ .Q ~o~ o~ o~ o~ o~ o~ o~ o~ o~ n ~=~- ~ooooooooo Ct ~C~ C~ CO CO C~ CO ~ CO C~ ~2 ~ 0 Q Q U, ·- ~Q 0) O C\1 0 C\1 0 ~) t_ 1D 0 d 1 ~_ ._ ·- co ~ ~ o 0 0 ~ co o o ~ ·e > U) ~- ~ ~ O ~ O CO O U) CO O ~' - 0 CV) CV) ~) 0 0 ~- CO CO CO ~c CO a, IS) cg o, 0 _ _ 0 _ ·_ 0 _ _ _ 0 N 2 -CO U' _ o 0 ~ a) ^Q ~o o o o o o o o o ~_ - ·= O O O O O O O O O ~E > - ' ~ '~ ~ 0 _ ~ ti' IL ~ u, ~U7 C~ CO ~ 0 ~ ~ ~ 0 a) c~ Q ~ _ 0 IO O) O d CO O O ._ .e o ~ O CO O ~ CO .w - ~ CO 0 ~ 0 ~ ~ CO CD S ~ ~ ~ ~ Cr) _ _ _ C _ ~ Q ~°~ o~ o~ o~ o~ o~ o~ o~ o~ ._ .= (O O O ~ O O ~ O O O .co ~ ~In ~ c~ d ~) c~ It) In lo q) a) Q n ct O _ CO CO LO t35 Q CO 0 C') 0~ a) _ O) CO _ C~ ~ 2 · ~_ C~J CO C') _ ~ CO O O _, - 0 ~ C~ 0 ~ _ ~ CO CO CO CO ~ 0 ~ ~ Cr) C~ - ~CO C~ _ _ _ O _ 41) _ cn ~ C a ' ' E ~ <~°~ -° ~ c~ cn z ~ cs m llJ G c O 1

Missing Trips Column b includes an estimate of the percentage of trips that might not be made if OATS service was not provided. Depending on trip purpose, from 25% to 50% of the trips would be made. For discretionary trips, such as recreation and business trips, approximately 50% of the trips would not be made. Because many of the OATS contracts for employment and training trips are for developmentally disabled individuals, there is a higher probability that family member of alternative transportation contract arrangements would be made, such that only 25% of these trips are estimated to be missing trips. Experience with other rural transportation services has shown that friends, relatives, and volunteers are more likely to substitute medical trips than for other trip purposes. However, many preventive care and wellness trips would probably not be made. For medical trips, it was estimated that 40% of the trips would be missing. The overall average of about 41% missing trips was far less than the range of 63% to 71% potentially missing trips in the SEPTA and PDRTA case studies, respectively, where riders were surveyed about their alternatives to transit. Column d of Table 4 shows the estimated average cost per trip incurred by travelers for the trips they would no longer take. For medical trips, the estimate of $84 per round trip missed is based on an analysis of Medicare claims and payments in 1993 by Dr. Gregg Meyer of the Uniformed Services Universitv of the Health ~ . . _% . . ~ ~ ~ . Sciences in ~etnescla, lolls, reported December 18, 1997, by the New England Journal of Medicine. The resulting value of missed medical trips, $3.2 million, is a significant fraction of the total value in Column e of Table 4, which highlights the financial importance of these trips. For employment trips, assigning an S-hour working day per round trip multiplied by a low average wage rate of $6/hour gives $48 per round trip. The high value of missed employment trips, $1. 1 million, marks these trips as next to medical trips in financial importance. For education trills. the interruption in skill and Job tramping IS assumed to ctelay getting work or cause interruptions in work averaging one Year for a fob of $20 000/year which over a 15 rear period at 4% ___= ~ ,~ ~ ,~ ~ T - - 7 . ~ . . ~ . . ~ ~ . · . Me 1 · ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 1 1 interest (the long-range cost ot capital, neglecting lntlat~on) WOULD oe Ecu ./montn or $40 per round trip for 2 one-way education trips a day for 20 days per month. For shopping trips missed, an average value of $4 per round trip in missed sales or higher prices in shopping is estimated. Similarly for nutrition, restriction of choice for eating places was estimated to cost $2 per round trip to choose places more expensive but closer. For missed business trips that would have to be handled less efficiently by phone or mail, or caused delayed or missed opportunities, an average cost of $10 per round trip was estimated. The other three categories were estimated at nominal costs of $2 per round trip, for higher costs of alternatives to meal delivery, recreational trips, and other trips. The total value for all missing A-3

trips, found by the sum of each trip purpose in column c x column d divided by 2 (to convert from one-way trips to round trips) is $6,286,306. Auto Trips If OATS service were not available, approximately 24% would still be made by automobile, mostly by friends and relatives of the OATS rider. The average cost of one-way trips is estimated at $9.20, calculated as follows: an average OATS trin teng~n or o.u ~ miles x ¢.~ cost per mile for operating a motor vehicle x 1.2 to allow for the extra mileage involved in pickup and delivery = $2.20/trip; the value of the driver's time = 5.91 miles/29.5 mph estimated average speed x $10.00 for the average value of time for a family member or friend taking off work equals $2.00; one-half hour of wait time for the round-trip for the friend or relative while the OATS rider conducts her business equals $5.00 for a one-way trip, for a total of $9.20 per trip. The projected 276,300 auto trips is estimated to have a total · ~ economic value of $2,542,118. Substitute Paratransit Trips For trips to such destinations as dialysis appointments, trips would be still be provided by another transportation provider. Column j in Table A provides an estimate of the percentage of substitute paratransit trips by trip purpose and ranges from 20% for meal delivery trips to 45% for employment trips, heavily dominated by trips by the developmentally disabled. As shown in column 1, $19 and $~.25 per trip are utilized per substitute paratransit trip. OATS currently provides transportation at the cost of $5.29 for group transportation. If OATS did not exist, many of the substitute paratransit trips would be single rider trips; this has been the case with Medicaid transportation in rural Missouri. For example, in Springfield, the cost of a one-way trip within town is $19-$40, depending on whether ambulator or wheelchair service is provided. Within Columbia, Medicaid rates are $10-$28 per one-way trip. Service to remote rural areas is more expensive; an example being $28 per trip in rural southeastern Missouri. An average of $19 per one-way trip would appear to be a reasonable assumption for most substitute paratransit trips in the OATS service area. Education, employment, and nutrition trips would probably continue to be group trips; a rate of $~.25 is utilized. Overall, it is estimated that approximately 36% of OATS trips would be made by a substitute transportation provider and would have a value of $5,58S,331. It is assumed that OATS is currently charging market rates for its contract services. Summary of Benefits and Costs Table B summarizes the estimated benefits and costs for the OATS service. For every dollar invested in the OATS program, there is an economic benefit of A-4

$2.32. This is determined by adding the missing trip value, the auto trip value, the substitute paratransit trip value, and the value of lost volunteer services, totaling $13.9 million, and dividing it by OATS' net costs of $6.0 million. Net costs are OATS total costs minus rider contributions and local cash raised to offset OATS' costs. A benefi~/cost ratio of 2.3 is quite favorable, compared with the usual criterion of at least a ratio of 1.0 for economically viable projects. ~, TABLE B SUMMARY OF OATS' BENEFITS AND COSTS Annual value of missing trips Annual value of auto trips Annual value of other paratransit trips Annual value of lost volunteer services Total Annual Benefits Costs Annual operating costs of OATS :Less rider contributions and local cash Total Annual Costs Ratio of Benefits to Costs Sensitivity Analysis $5,286,304 2,542,118 5,588,331 522,576 $13,939,330 $6,511,700 501,875 $6,009,915 2.32 The principle source of uncertainty in the foregoing analysis is the proportion of missing tried auto tries and substitute caratransit that would occur without ~ · ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ · rat ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ me ~ ~ · I ~ A anew ~ ~ OA1~ "columns a, I,, anal or lame A). the numbers user aPoroxlmate QA1~ scan ~ ~ ~ ~. _ ~ ,. estimates that about ball the services currently provided would be lost if OATS services were not provided, except that Table A uses less than a 50% missing trips factor for three urgent types of trip purposes, medical, employment, and education. Here are three variations of the missing trips factor estimates and their eject on the benefit/cost ratio: I. If the missing percentage distribution in column b were cut in half for all trip purposes (for example, medical trips went from 40% to 20%), and all missing trips were, instead, provided by substitute paratransit service, the benefit/cost ratio would increase from 2.32 to 2.41. A-5

2. If the percentage across all trip purposes were equally divided among missing trips, auto trips, and substitute paratransit trips, the benefit/cost ratio would only increase from 2.32 to 2.37. 3. If the value of substitute paratransit service were 25% higher at $23.75 per trip, the benefit/cost ratio increases to 2.39. The sensitivity analyses indicate that the economic analysis results are not particularly sensitive to the distribution of trips among the missing trip, auto trip, and substitute paratransit trip categories. The analysis is also not particularly sensitive to reasonable (+/- 25%) changes in the value of trips. A-6

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