State DOTs Connecting Specialized Transportation Users and Rides Volume 2: Toolkit for State DOTs and Others (2016)

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1 Introduction Finding travel information can be daunting for specialized transportation customers. In response, a number of states, regions, and counties have implemented services and systems that help these customers and others identify—and in some cases access—transportation services and programs that match a specific trip they wish to take or their general travel needs. These services and systems are often simply referred to as linkages. This toolkit is the second volume of NCHRP Report 832 and is designed to assist state departments of transportation (DOTs)—and other state, regional, and local entities in the planning, transit, and human service agency communities—with the process of designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating linkages that (at a minimum) connect customers with specialized transportation services and programs that address their travel needs. (Volume 1 includes many design details of example linkages at the different levels of functionality.) At a minimum, such linkages typically provide a centralized repository of specialized trans- portation services and programs, often including one or more of the following: • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or coordinated paratransit services • Senior transportation services • Veterans transportation services • Medicaid-sponsored non-emergency medical transportation • Other human service agency transportation services and programs • Mobility management programs and additional mobility options aimed at customers who use or can’t access some of the above services; these programs might include volunteer driver programs, voucher/subsidy programs, vehicle sharing programs, and mileage reimbursement programs, to name a few Some organizations have taken a broader view, developing linkages that also include infor- mation about public transit services (including general public dial-a-ride services), carpool ride-matching programs, taxis, livery and private chair car services, and even the relatively new real-time “ride-hailing app” services provided by transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft. Some lead organizations have made these centralized repositories of transportation service information into hard-copy directories, while others have also or instead put these directories on a website. Many of these linkages are commonly called One Call/One Click services because they allow the customer—either interactively on the website or with the help of mobility specialists available by phone—to make only one call or one website visit to identify relevant information or services. One Call/One Click services allow customers to learn about local transportation services and programs and to find contact information for resources that match the specifics of their specific trip needs in terms of client and trip eligibility, as well as desired pickup and drop- off times, and preferred locations.

2 State DOTs Connecting Users and Rides for Specialized Transportation: Toolkit The more advanced systems provide trip planning services and in some cases offer customers the option to book their reservation with a local transportation provider. Some systems are even planning to offer actual payment of services, as can be done with a system similar to Orbitz, Travelocity, Kayak, etc. Thus, there is a wide continuum of linkages that offer an ascending level of assistance to the customer. Whether these repositories are available in hard-copy directories, or interactively by telephone, computer, or mobile phone, the common concept and purpose underlying these linkages is to connect users with available resources and to improve access and mobility. Table 1 provides an overview of the linkage continuum of services. Case studies of implemented linkage services by level are included in the appendix. There are also differences in the platforms upon which these linkages are built. For example, simpler directories have been typically put together as Microsoft® Word™ or Excel™ documents. For those services that allow customer searching, such directories are typically put together in a database format, such as Microsoft Access. Some of the more advanced linkages have connected with 211 or 511 systems, or on propri- etary paratransit scheduling software systems, while other advanced linkages have been built from scratch. Other entities have opted to build around or link with paratransit scheduling software as the focus because of their capability to book trips. Some of the feedback on this deci- sion included an organization’s desire to use trip booking data and unresolved requests to better understand how transportation needs are being met and not being met. This toolkit details the following seven-step process for planning, implementing, marketing, and evaluating transportation linkages: • Step 1: Identifying Geographic Scope: Linkage programs can connect users to transportation services in a wide range of geographic areas. Each potential geographic scope provides different benefits to transportation users, while presenting varying challenges for linkage developers. • Step 2: Selecting Target Users, Trips, and Modes: Linkage programs can seek to serve all potential transportation customers or focus more narrowly on subsets of users, trip types, or transportation modes, services, and programs. Table 1. Continuum of services linking specialized transportation users and rides. Level Name Functionality Description 1 Central Repository Creation of, or linkage with, existing centralized repository of transportation resources Static, hard-copy listing of services and programs distributed or accessed via phone or website 1A Provider Portal + provider portal Service providers can update their information at any time 2 Matching Assistance + ways to narrow down service and program options Customers supply search criteria or answer “triage questions” asked by mobility specialist (call-taker) or prompted by an online system to reduce providers to viable options 3 Trip Planning Assistance + trip planning assistance Customers use online system or call mobility specialist to get detailed ways to make a particular trip 4 Trip Booking Assistance + trip booking by mobility specialists Mobility specialist call provider to book trip on behalf of customer 5 Direct Trip Booking + trip booking by customer Trip booking via links to paratransit systems (one system allows a scheduler from one partnering organization to schedule trips onto another partner's vehicle runs)

Introduction 3 • Step 3: Analyzing Existing Linkage Functionality: To determine what linkage services will best benefit target users, linkage developers must understand how customers currently access, or fail to access, transportation services. As part of this process, linkage developers will also inventory the primary transportation providers that serve their selected geographic scope, target users, trips, and modes. • Step 4: Determining Desired Linkage Functionality: Linkage developers must next select a linkage functionality goal. The implementation plan to reach this goal is in part based on existing linkage functionality, as well as the capabilities of partner providers. • Step 5: Developing Evaluation Criteria and an Evaluation Process: To determine how link- age services are meeting customer needs, linkage developers should create a set of evaluation criteria. By determining the variables needed to evaluate these criteria before implementation, linkage developers can build in data collection and evaluation at every level of the linkage process, including bi-annual—or more frequent—evaluations to answer (1) Is the linkage service a success (and if not how can it be modified)? and (2) Is the network of services suc- cessfully accommodating the demand (and if not, where and when are the gaps that need to be addressed)? • Step 6: Evaluating Sources of Funding: Linkage programs require both an initial capital outlay and ongoing financial support. Available funding sources may have specific requirements that mandate the inclusion or exclusion of certain mobility management strategies, target markets, and functionality. • Step 7: Creating a Marketing Plan: Potential customers and transportation providers must be aware of and understand how to use linkage services in order for them to be successful. A robust marketing plan is therefore essential for promoting the ongoing use of linkage services. Before embarking on this process, linkage developers should draft broad goals for their pro- gram. These goals will be redefined during each step of the linkage process until the developer has a full implementation plan. Also, between each step, it is important to add in a feedback loop. That is, in a sequential fashion, the results of each step may suggest a path for the ensuing step different than originally envisioned. For example, in the Step 3 process of inventorying transpor- tation services and programs that serve selected geographic scope, target users, trips, and modes, a developer may discover that there may already be a 211 system that already has an inventory, albeit an incomplete one, but is already assisting customers with locating transportation services and programs that address their specific travel needs. This “discovery” may then alter many of the decisions in Step 4 regarding functionality, and whether to develop a more robust database and linkage from scratch or whether to piggy-back on the 211 system or database.