Travel Training for Older Adults Part II: Research Report and Case Studies (2014)

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97 Suggestions for Further Research The most substantial currently unresolved issues in travel training involve the precise calculation of the costs and ben­ efits of travel training programs. These should be the primary foci of future research efforts in travel training. Reporting the Costs of Travel Training Programs In this project’s 20 case studies, there was substantial evi­ dence of wide variations in the ways that program costs were reported. Previous research (Burkhardt, et al. 2011) has identi­ fied the kinds of costs that need to be considered in describing any programs including transportation services. The recom­ mended approach is called full cost accounting: its basic tenet is to account for all resources necessary to produce a particu­ lar service, including all capital, operating, and administrative costs. Detailed expense classes should include the following: • Labor. • Fringe benefits. • Purchased transportation. • Contracted services. • Materials and supplies. • General administrative expenses (including indirect orga­ nizational costs, if applicable). • Utilities. • Casualty and liability costs. • Taxes. • Miscellaneous expenses. • Leases and rentals. • Capital expenses. • Depreciation and amortization. Regarding the travel training programs examined, cost cate­ gories that seemed to be not reported for a number of the case studies include administrative labor and overhead, general administrative expenses (including indirect organizational costs), leases and rentals, capital expenses, and depreciation and amortization. Underreporting such costs can lead to cost reports that are unrealistically low. Even when the costs reported seemed accurate, there was no assurance that the same costs were being reported by all travel training programs. Future research efforts could focus on detailed on­site work with travel training programs to understand their charts of accounts for financial reporting and to make the necessary adjustments. This would allow more accurate cost analysis of these programs. An alternative means of obtaining more accurate information would be for funders or the Association of Travel Instruction to issue guidance on a resource­based, full cost accounting system and to work to ensure that this guidance was followed. Identifying the Benefits of Travel Training Programs As previously noted, a framework for estimating the costs and benefits of travel training has been described by Wolf­ Branigin and Wolf­Branigin (2010). Their evaluation report discussed the potential cost savings of travel training in the fol­ lowing way: “Travel training for ADA paratransit customers is a means of reducing transportation agency costs by equipping and encouraging these customers to travel on the fixed route system.” Their cost­benefit model was developed through a series of expert panels and conferences to identify all the costs and benefits. The costs in the model included the following: • Vehicles and equipment to provide travel training (vari­ able a). • Travel training personnel (variable b). • Supplies, equipment, and office space (variable c). The benefits included increased taxes paid by customers (variable y) and cost avoidance (the cost of paratransit trips not provided minus the cost of the fixed route trips taken instead, variable z). C H A P T E R 7

98 The cost/benefit ratio was calculated as: (y + z)/(a + b + c). The net benefit was calculated using the following: (y + z) – (a + b + c). Using this model, and based on work with three pub­ lic transportation agencies, the researchers concluded that travel training services can save public transportation agencies money, even though the model described omits consider­ ation of a substantial number of benefits to the trainees of the travel training programs. These benefits were listed by the authors in an earlier paper (Wolf­Branigin and Wolf­Branigin, 2010) and included the following: • Changes in income for trainees after training. • Projected funds spent by trainees due to independent travel. • Trainee out­of­pocket expenses. As discussed in Chapter 2, there are many significant ben­ efits to individuals who participate in travel training. These benefits, many of which have not yet been quantified in terms of monetary value, include the following: • Increased mobility. • Improved travel attributes, such as no need to make advance reservations, less dependence on paratransit, and less depen­ dence on family and friends for rides. • Quality of life improvements, such as aging in place in one’s own home or traveling spontaneously according to individual needs or desires. • More control over one’s own activities and schedule. • Improved social connectedness, helping people become active community members. • Economic benefits from offering lower costs for riders than some alternatives: – In many communities, older adults enjoy half­price fare on public bus and rail systems, versus two times regular fare for ADA­eligible paratransit rides. – Fixed route public transportation costs are generally lower than most other travel alternatives, including ADA paratransit services. • Other economic benefits are reduced health care costs as a result of better access to health care (Hughes­Cromwick et al., 2005), and aging in place to avoid or defer the costs of nursing homes (Kaye et al., 2009). A significant issue for many of these benefits is how to express them in monetary terms. Current travel training practice is to follow trainees for up to 12 months after their completion of the training course. This practice can significantly understate the benefits of travel training because, at least for some persons, these benefits last for far more than 1 year. Future research should focus on monetizing as many of these benefits as possible for older travelers and should do so over an extended period of time. The most appropriate time frame should be an important item for research. Some of the benefits that are most amenable to detailed expression might be the following: • The cost difference to the rider of ADA paratransit service vs. fixed route service. • Savings to riders from using fixed route public transit instead of other options, like taxis. • Benefits of increased mobility, such as lowered shopping costs from a wider range of choices and greater health from more accessibility to health care. • Cost savings from aging in place rather than in nursing homes; nursing home cost avoidance has received a good deal of attention lately so these calculations should not be difficult. In addition to these benefits to older travelers, benefits to caregivers from not having to provide transportation to older adults should also be calculated. These could include greater employment income due to reduced absenteeism and fewer direct transportation expenses. It appears that such research will need to involve longitu­ dinal surveys of trainees to document changes over a multi­ year time frame.