Toolkit for Rural Community Coordinated Transportation Services (2004) / Chapter Skim
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From page 89... ...
Section III Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts 93 TECHNIQUES FOR IMPROVING CURRENT COORDINATION EFFORTS This is the "fine-tuning and repair kit" component of the Toolkit, the part that provides information on how to maintain and repair coordinated transportation services. Materials provided here will help persons involved in coordination to gain a bit more performance or to "save the day" when events are not working out as planned.
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From page 90... ...
These strategies include ✦ Tapping currently unused sources of funding, including using new funds to expand services and to provide and upgrade existing services; ✦ Decreasing the direct costs of providing transportation; ✦ Increasing the productivity and utilization of vehicles on the road; ✦ Achieving the benefits (and avoiding the disbenefits) of economies of scale; Chapter 5 Attempts to coordinate transportation services are more likely to succeed when specific coordination objectives are identified and appropriate strategies are employed.
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Public transit providers can also coordinate with local school districts to transport students for regular classes or for special purposes or special events. WtW programs will also benefit from coordination with transit providers.
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This strategy has real cost reduction benefits for agencies that operate paratransit programs, fixed-route transit operators, human service agencies who sponsor trips for particular clients, and the riders themselves. ✦ Human service agencies coordinate or consolidate their separate transportation services and functions to create a general public transportation system.
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Many communities will apply multiple coordination strategies. Strategies to Avoid Just as there are transportation coordination strategies to embrace, there are also significant transportation service strategies to avoid.
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Chapter 5 Strategic Approaches to Coordination 99 General category Specific strategy Examples Strategies to adopt Business expansion Transit authority contracts to provide Medicaid or other human service agency trips Cost reduction Transit authority contracts with human service agencies to provide ADA paratransit services Synthesis/synergy Human service agencies coordinate/consolidate to create general public transportation system Productivity enhancement Transportation provides coordinated dispatching and promotes ridesharing among cooperating agencies Cost reduction Use of volunteers Shift of paratransit riders to fixed-route services Strategies to avoid Limited focus Only one type of passenger/client on the vehicles Administrative duplication Underutilized vehicles, dispatch/administrative/ ITS or GIS facilities Productivity problems Significant unused vehicle capacity Service duplication Duplication of routes and services Cost problems Unusually high per trip costs Table 7: STRATEGIC APPROACHES TO COORDINATION
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A social service provider worked with a local transit provider because they were spending too much time on transportation services. A tribal government worked with a county government because both groups wanted to set up vanpools to a particular work site.
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✦ Real leadership and energy from political, human service, or transportation stakeholders. See Chapter 6 and Appendix A
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We would see more coordinated transportation services in rural areas if the planners, operators, and overseers of such systems had both more knowledge and a common understanding of these factors: what benefits 102 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III Strategies for successful coordination should differ from place to place depending on local goals and objectives, local human service programs, the availability and type of local transportation services, the political environment, the current status of coordination and coordination planning and many other factors.
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✦ Human service agencies coordinate or consolidate their separate transportation services and functions to create a general public transportation system. ✦ Transportation providers institute a communitywide coordinated dispatching operation so that all vehicles in use can accommodate all types of passengers at all times.
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, Section 504, and coordinated rural transportation services; ✦ Budgeting; ✦ Consensus building and setting goals and objectives; ✦ Involving stakeholders; ✦ Marketing and public information; ✦ Monitoring and evaluation; ✦ Needs assessment; ✦ Organization of the planning process; ✦ Organizational framework for coordination; ✦ Strategic direction -- strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; ✦ Technology; ✦ Vehicle fleet status and evaluation; and ✦ Volunteers. Chapter 6
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106 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III Careful accounting is a requirement. Description Relevance to Coordination Methods
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ride on vehicles at the same time, vehicle miles and hours for each service type can be easily separated. This will require some method to divide vehicle hours or miles among participating agencies.
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Accounting, budgeting, and cost-sharing requirements are strongly influenced by state regulations that govern coordinated programs, recipients of public transportation funding, and purchase of service by human service agencies. While these requirements may seem burdensome, any effective coordination program will gain credibility from good accounting, budgeting, and cost allocation.
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Florida rate setting guidelines in Coordinated Transportation Contracting Instructions, Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged, July 2002, at http://www11.myflorida.com/ctd/. Koffman, D
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Under the ADA rules, a recipient of DOT funds complies with its Section 504 obligations by complying with its ADA obligations. 110 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III The ADA established requirements for public transportation services.
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For example, one contractor might provide ADA paratransit service only for ambulatory passengers, while another contractor provides paratransit for wheelchair users. In the case of coordinated rural public transportation, the key provisions of the ADA will mostly be those that apply to public entities, including ✦ Public agencies can buy only accessible vehicles for fixed-route services (Sec.
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From page 106... ...
✦ In rural coordination arrangements it is not unusual for a nonprofit human service agency to operate the public transportation system for an area with financial support from local governments. In this case, all the ADA requirements pertaining to public transportation provided by public entities would apply to the public transportation, but, in most cases, not to clearly separate client transportation provided by the same agency.
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In Roseau County, Minnesota, the Committee on Aging operates Roseau County Transit with Federal, state, and county funding. Since this is a public system, a fixed-route service would need to have ADA paratransit.
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114 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III
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BUDGETING A budget is a forecast of future revenues and of the costs of the resources necessary to produce these revenues. It can be considered a plan of action for the coming months and years and can be a useful tool in determining the direction of the organization as well as monitoring and controlling its results.
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They are treated in the context of financial accounting as operating expenditures. Capital budgets are concerned with expenditures of funds for items or projects which have repeat use 116 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III
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over relatively long periods of time. The fact that no capital item or project has an indefinite life also means that plans for improvement and/or replacement must be established.
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The budget represents the base against which actual revenues and expenses will be reviewed and analyzed to financially manage the delivery of transportation services and report performance to participating organizations. In a coordinated setting, operating budgets are the financial tool by which each participating organization formalizes its commitment to provide funding in exchange for transportation services that it is budgeted to receive.
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First, by functional area, such as 1. Operations, including contracted transportation service 2.
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Since state departments of transportation administer the 5311 Non-Urbanized (Rural) Area Formula Program, local communities implementing coordinated transportation services should consult with state officials concerning operating budget requirements.
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A Handbook for Coordinating Transportation Services, 1997, Ohio Department of Transportation, Office of Public Transportation. Available at http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ptrans/default.htm.
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. Statement of need and inventory and assessment of capital equipment and facilities: In organizing to implement coordinated transportation services, it is necessary to know what capital assets are available and what capital assets will need to be acquired to support initial start-up and ongoing service delivery.
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In the maintenance portion of the operating budget, it is advisable to anticipate major maintenance and rehabilitation expenses that may be incurred, such as engine and transmission replacements. Capital expenses and sources of funding: The cost of acquiring capital equipment must be estimated by type of vehicle to be acquired, allowing for a 2 to 3 percent increase in cost per year in the replacement schedule.
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Ohio Department of Transportation, Rural Transit Program Four Year Capital and Operating Plan, Instructions, Forms, and Sample, http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ptrans/downloads/05C&OPLNLTR.doc. 124 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III
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This includes establishing a common vision for coordinated transportation services. Setting goals and objectives means establishing a measurable basis for judging progress in planning and implementing coordinated transportation services.
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Objectives should be stated annually so that outcomes can be measured and progress toward fulfilling goals and achieving the vision for coordinated transportation services can be reviewed. Each goal should have two to five objectives that represent the measurable actions that will achieve the goal.
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On a local basis, coordination objectives can be even more specific. As noted in TCRP Report 91: Economic Benefits of Coordinating Human Service Transportation and Transit Services, they might include ✦ Generating new revenues, ✦ Reducing the costs of providing trips, ✦ Increasing efficiency and productivity of transportation services, and ✦ Increasing mobility within the community.
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A Handbook for Coordinating Transportation Services, 1997, Ohio Department of Transportation, Office of Public Transportation. Available at http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ptrans/default.htm.
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Typically, these stakeholders include elected officials, employment and business interests, representatives of social service agencies and medical service providers, community activists, transportation users, and transit planners. Involving stakeholders is the process undertaken to solicit the opinion and participation of these community resources in the coordination process.
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It may be appropriate for some stakeholders to take a more active role than others. To maximize the value of stakeholders as part of the coordination process, they must take some "ownership" in the process 130 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III ✦ Large Employers ✦ Local Transit Operators ✦ Mayor ✦ Paratransit Provider ✦ Planning Department ✦ Real Estate Developers ✦ Recreation Department ✦ Regional Transit Operators ✦ Senior Centers ✦ Senior Residential Facilities ✦ Shuttle Operators ✦ State DOT ✦ Superintendent of Schools ✦ Taxicab Providers ✦ Transit Users ✦ Welfare-to-Work Agency ✦ Youth Activities Centers
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From page 125... ...
facilitating the transportation coordination effort can identify a group of stakeholders to work together to guide the process, establish goals, and make decisions about how transportation services should be coordinated. Typically, such a committee would have between 5 and 15 representatives, depending on the size of the community and the complexity of the coordination effort.
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From page 126... ...
provides an example of using two stakeholder strategies to involve a diversity of interests. Representatives from Butte County, its cities and towns, social service providers, and its transit agencies convened as part 132 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III Examples Considerations
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In addition, regular focus meetings were held with the Social Services Transportation Advisory Committee and the Citizens' Transportation Advisory Committee. On a statewide level, Ohio's Statewide Transportation Coordination Task Force (see Chapter 7)
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; and ✦ The identification of resources that may have the greatest benefit for the coordinated transportation programs. Marketing for coordinated transportation services is a large and complex topic.
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Elements to emphasize may include "easier to coordinate transportation services for your clients" and "transportation services have better focus on regional needs." ✦ Transportation/Transit Users. Which subgroups are the focus (e.g., seniors, youth, those with disabilities, rural residents)
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Review opportunities for joint marketing with regional transit agencies, social service organizations, and business groups. Develop a Coordinated Transportation Service Marketing Plan: A marketing plan is a tool to identify marketing needs, prioritize those needs, and develop strategies to implement priorities.
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Based on stakeholder interviews and the assessment of opportunities, identify the target markets. They should be selected and prioritized to meet the goals and objectives (e.g., senior citizens, tourists, children/youth, and social service transportation users)
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Second, once implementation of the coordinated service is underway, there may be some growing pains while the coordinating agencies and providers adjust their services to meet the new objectives of the coordination effort. Providing comprehensive information and good customer service will help reduce user disenchantment and keep political leaders satisfied with the coordination effort.
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The Bus: Merced County Transit Web site http://www.mercedrides.com/Transit_Info/thebus.htm. Transit Marketing and Fare Structure.
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For example, 140 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III Description Relevance to Coordination See Accounting and Financial Management heading in this toolkit for cost components.
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can be measured quantitatively -- that is by counting whether the number of transportation providers is lower, whether the hours of service have been expanded, whether the number of funding sources is higher, or what the number is of passenger trips per vehicle mile. Chapter 6 Tools for Addressing Detailed Coordination Issues 141 All stakeholders in a project need to agree on the measures used and how these measures support the overall goals of the project.
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142 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III Factor Desired or Expected Change SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS (INPUTS) Number of transportation providers Lower Number of agencies purchasing transportation Higher Number of vehicles Lower Number of drivers Lower Part-time/full-time driver ratio Lower Average hourly driver wage Higher Total driver wages Lower Level and quality of driver training Higher Hours when service is provided each day Expanded Days when service is provided each week Expanded Vehicle hours of service May be lower Vehicle miles of service May be lower Total service area Expanded Number of persons who can get services Expanded Joint purchasing More frequent Joint dispatching of agency-owned vehicles More frequent Centralized oversight and management More frequent Level of route duplication Lower Number of funding sources Higher Total transportation funding Higher One central community information source More frequent Segregated client types Less frequent Limited trip purposes Less frequent Community-wide transportation perspective More frequent Time spent in meetings Higher Level of planning processes Higher Table 8: POTENTIAL COORDINATED TRANSPORTATION BENEFITS
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After implementation, the evaluation methodology can be re-visited to determine whether the information is forthcoming and whether the methodology should be modified. In selecting the evaluation tools, stakeholders should keep in mind the following key characteristics of an effective performance measurement system: 144 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III For a detailed discussion of these characteristics, consult "TCRP Report 88: A Guidebook for Developing a Transit PerformanceMeasurement System" For this type of analysis, a useful reference may be "TCRP Report 34: Assessment of the Economic Impacts of Rural Public Transportation." There are many ways to evaluate how service can be affected.
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Huron County Transit in Ohio and Matanuska-Susitna Community Transit in Alaska have quantified a significant increase in the number of trips due to coordination; (2) the Fresno County Rural Transit Agency extrapolates the benefits of driver training by citing a significant reduction in insurance premiums; and RIDES in Southern Illinois extrapolates the economic benefit of transit to the community by quantifying the wages of former welfare recipients; (3)
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146 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III
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This information may include the extent and types of trips needing to be served, as well as organizational or management needs, such as reducing confusion and duplication or improving client access. To plan for and implement coordinated transportation services effectively, it is necessary to know the resources, both physical and financial, that the participating agencies will have available for the delivery of coordinated transportation services.
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Information on physical resources should include the vehicles, other equipment, and technology that existing agencies have in place for their 148 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III Methods Use structured interviews (as provided in Appendix A) to determine what topics need to be explored.
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Census; population projections and analysis by metropolitan planning agencies; client and case lists from human and social service agencies; and records of actual transportation provided (e.g., the locations most commonly served by demand-responsive transportation providers)
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Resources Burkhardt, Hamby, MacDorman, and McCollom, Comprehensive Financial Management Guidelines for Rural and Small Urban Public Transportation Providers, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Multi-State Technical Assistance Program, September 1992. Case Studies of People for People and DARTS in TCRP Report 91, Economic Benefits of Coordinating Human Service Transportation and Transit Services, 2003.
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"Forecasting Demand for Paratransit Required by the Americans with Disabilities Act," in Transportation Research Record 1571, Transportation Research Board, Washington DC, 1997. Multisystems, Inc.
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Planning is the process by which local officials with a stake in successful transportation services come together to determine how the community's needs can best be met and how the skills and resources available to them can best be used to this purpose. The planning process has several well-defined steps or stages, which have been described variously in several transportation coordination handbooks.
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Key elements in coordination alternatives include the coordination approach to be taken, organizational and administrative options, service delivery choices, responsibility for functional activities, and budgeting and financial management. Action Plans: Action plans include organizational structure and management; service development, delivery, and pricing; capital facilities and equipment; annual and projected operating budget; and marketing and public relations program.
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Available at http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ptrans/ default.htm. A Handbook for Coordinating Transportation Services, 1997, Ohio Department of Transportation, Office of Public Transportation.
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pagename=ESPA_doclibe_coordandoutreach Planning Guidelines for Coordinating State and Local Specialized Transportation Services at www.fta.dot.gov/library/policy/guide The planning process in TCRP Report 64: Guidebook for Developing Welfare-to-Work Transportation Services. Chapter 6 Tools for Addressing Detailed Coordination Issues 155
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Planning Guidelines for Coordinating State and Local Specialized Transportation Services defines Cooperation, Coordination, and Consolidation as points along a continuum of organizational working relationships. The governance structure chosen for a particular community would depend on where along this continuum the participating agencies are in their coordination efforts.
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From page 151... ...
Brokerage: Agencies pool funding to contract with an outside vendor or with one of the member agencies to perform functions on behalf of all participating agencies. For example, social service providers may pay one of the participating members to handle the scheduling and dispatching for all their vehicles.
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From page 152... ...
Case studies in Chapter 8 showcase examples of the types of governance models: ✦ Mason County, Washington, illustrates inter-agency agreements between a transit operator and school district; ✦ Butte County, California, transit operators turned down consolidation in favor of a loose consortium to coordinate fares, marketing, transfers, and schedule consistency; ✦ Greene Coordinated Agency Transportation System (CATS) in Ohio is a transportation broker for 51 participating agencies; and ✦ Merced County Transit, California, is a consolidated system adopted by a JPA between the county and six cities.
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A Handbook for Coordinating Transportation Services, 1997, Ohio Department of Transportation, Office of Public Transportation. Available at http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ptrans/default.htm.
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160 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III Strategic thinking starts with an investigation of strengths and weaknesses. Coordinating transportation services represents strategic change.
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Good examples are the opportunities for building relationships and improving and re-making transportation services that presented themselves as a result of welfare reform legislation and program implementation that began in the late 1990s. The first step is typically to conduct stakeholder interviews.
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Development of consensus on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats resulted in consensus that coordinated transportation services should be implemented under the umbrella of the Mahoning County Commissioners, with the Western Reserve Transit Authority being the lead agency in implementing coordinated transportation services. Resources A Guide for Implementing Coordinating Transportation Systems, 1997, Ohio Department of Transportation, Office of Public Transportation.
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pagename=ESPA_doclibe_coordandoutreach. Creative Action, Inc., Project Technical Report, Model Procedures for Coordination Among Transportation Providers Transportation Services: Local Collaboration and Decision-Making: The Key Role of Local Collaboration and Decision-Making, Project Action, Washington DC, 1998.
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The following technologies most often yield the most significant benefits: ✦ Communications systems and services, particularly those that provide real-time communication between vehicle operators and 164 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III Description Some technologies offer real promise to rural and small urban transportation operators.
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✦ Automated service coordination, which involves the integration and coordination of transportation services offered by multiple providers, can improve operational efficiency and effectiveness; provide better modal, transit operator, and service integration; and increase ridership. ✦ Systems management: Computer-aided accounting programs are particularly applicable to reporting to the multiple funding sources, which are often stitched together by entrepreneurial rural transit operators to obtain sufficient funds to make the entire operation viable.
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Another issue is the degree to which "off-the-shelf" technology can be directly applied to rural and small urban transportation services. Some rural systems are considering the use of technologies originally developed for large urban transit environments.
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To be relevant to coordinated transportation operations, a technology should ✦ Increase the number of trips taken on the system, ✦ Lower the system's operating costs, or ✦ Increase the system's revenues. The best technologies for coordinated rural transportation services are those that benefit people and communities by enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of transportation services.
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Coordinated rural transportation services should assess the individual components of their services to see which components could be made more efficient or effective by the application of specific technologies and then assess which technologies might provide the necessary assistance. Regarding the financing of advanced technologies for rural transit operations, some of the key questions are ✦ What does it cost to implement (ALL COSTS, including capital acquisition, training, operations, and maintenance)
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From page 163... ...
This is exactly what is happening in many communities, even within the narrower province of specialized and human services transportation. Rural communities need coordinated transportation services, not just transit, not just paratransit, not just taxis, not just police cars, and so on.
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. 170 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III
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According to the former director of the Sweetwater Transit Authority, STAR saw a 400percent increase in the number of rides provided since the inception of the automated system. Arrowhead, Minnesota: The Arrowhead region of Minnesota is a rural area that covers 18,000 square miles in the northeastern area of the state.
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The AVL system will also link with the county's traffic signal control system (located in the same office) which will allow certain buses to receive signal priority at traffic 172 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III
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Resources Harman, L.J. Advanced Technology for Accessing Jobs, prepared by Bridgewater State College for the Community Transportation Association of America and the Federal Transit Administration, 2003.
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FHWA-JPO-96-0032. 174 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III
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Completion of a vehicle fleet inventory is an easy way to get potential coordination participants working together to begin addressing coordination opportunities and issues in their community. To complete a statement of the status and assessment of vehicles available for coordinated transportation services, create a common form that all participating organizations and other transportation services providers will complete.
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See also ODOT's Term Contract Program at http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ptrans/Term_Contracts/2002_03_term_ cont.htm. 176 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III Conducting a vehicle fleet inventory can be completed as a standalone project or it can be incorporated into a broader survey of organization transportation services and capabilities.
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From page 171... ...
Because they are seldom used by public transit agencies, non-transit agencies participating in coordinated transportation services can make volunteers available for the overall benefit of rural communities. Clearly, individuals whose travel needs may be poorly served by traditional transit and paratransit operations still need to travel.
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✦ Volunteer involvement can make it unnecessary to purchase vehicles or hire staff. ✦ When riders recruit their own volunteer drivers, they can also schedule their own rides.
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complements public transportation services in Riverside County, California, by reimbursing volunteers to transport individuals where no transit service exists or when the individual is too frail to use other transportation. Older persons are the primary clientele.
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Instead, individuals are referred to TRIP by its 130 nonprofit and governmental partners, such as the Department of Social Services, the Office on Aging, visiting nurses, the Multipurpose Senior Services Program, and Care Teams (which consist of the District Attorney's office, police, licensing agencies, adult day care programs, and the Better Business Bureau)
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Ride Connection's internal budget is just over $1 million, which funds 15 staff members and several support programs. Ride Connection has a planning staff that provides coordinated planning services that benefit participating agencies throughout the three-county area.
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Supported by Volunteer Rural Transportation Program: Missoula, MT. Beverly Foundation, Enhancing Mobility for Older People, prepared for the Community Transportation Association of America, 2003.
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The Beverly Foundation, Supplemental Transportation Programs for Seniors, prepared for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Washington, DC, 2001. "Volunteers in Transportation -- Some Issues to Consider," Community Transportation Association of America Technical Assistance Brief No.
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The information provided here should allow systems to fine-tune their operations to create more effective and efficient coordinated rural transportation operations. 184 Techniques for Improving Current Coordination Efforts SECTION III
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