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12 Project Goals As ADA paratransit demand continues to grow, transit agencies nationwide have implemented small to wholesale changes in their service models to more effectively meet present and future demand. Moreover, in the case of larger ADA paratransit systems where the use of contractorsâ for service delivery as well as for call and control center functionsâis more prevalent, these changes have also brought about new and varied ways in which contractors are used and retained. Thus, the primary objectives of this synthesis were (1) to document the various ways in which ADA paratransit services and contracts are structured; (2) to document how these structures have been used to help transit agencies achieve their desired balance between cost efficiency and ser- vice quality; and (3) to identify the underlying reasons for the evolution of the paratransit service models, especially: ⢠Why a transit agency established and kept a particular service model ⢠Why a transit agency decided to modify its service model and whether the associated benefits/ goals were realized. A fourth objective of the synthesis was to determine whether there appears to be any correla- tion between particular service models and how contractors are procured and paid. Also of interest was to identify: ⢠Whether service models stem from the governmental structure of the transit agency and/or the size of the service area ⢠How service models have been affected by new and emerging technologies and services ⢠How service models have been affected by labor issues ⢠How the number, type, and responsibilities of the contractor(s) affect the level of transit agency oversight. Methodology The methodology employed to undertake this effort included: ⢠Conducting a literature review ⢠Preparing a summary of service model âarchetypesâ based on the literature review and the synthesis teamâs industry knowledge ⢠Compiling a preliminary list of possible ADA paratransit services to survey that collectively represented the archetypes ⢠Developing a survey instrument that fulfilled the project goals ⢠Refining both the list of services and survey instrument based on input from the project panel C h a p t e r 1 Introduction
Introduction 13 ⢠Contacting representatives from each service to gauge their willingness to participate in the project ⢠Setting up the survey in SurveyMonkey and sending instructions to each of the contacts ⢠Scheduling and conducting follow-up and clarification calls with each contact as needed ⢠Transferring the survey data into a spreadsheet ⢠Preparing mini-profiles of each respondent and analyzing the survey results ⢠Preparing a draft report, which was submitted to the panel for review and later discussed with the panel ⢠Incorporating panel feedback into this second draft. Report Organization The report is organized as follows: ⢠Summary ⢠Chapter 1: Introduction ⢠Chapter 2: Literature Review ⢠Chapter 3: Service Design Archetypes and Contracting Strategies ⢠Chapter 4: Survey and Service Profiles ⢠Chapter 5: Survey Analysis Summary ⢠Chapter 6: Conclusions ⢠References ⢠Appendix A: Glossary of Paratransit Terms ⢠Appendix B: List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ⢠Appendix C: Survey Questionnaire ⢠Appendix D: Survey Responses by Question
