CHAPTER VII Rural Weld County Existing Transportation Providers

Transcription

1 CHAPTER VII Rural Weld County Existing Transportation Providers Chapter VII discusses the rural transportation providers of Weld County. North Front Range - Regional Transit Plan, Technical Memorandum #1 Page VII-1

2 Weld County Transportation Program The Weld County Transportation Program operates an extensive transportation service for Weld County residents. Nearly all of the service is for specific transit-dependent user groups, including Head Start children, developmentally disabled persons, seniors, and others. The Transportation Program is a branch of Weld County s Human Services Department. The organization is responsible for a wide range of public assistance programs. Many of these programs require transportation services for clients, foodstuffs, and supplies. The Transportation Program is one method to provide a cost-effective way to meet these mobility needs. The Transportation Program is headed up by the Director of the Area Agency on Aging. The day-to-day operations are managed by the Transportation Coordinator and two Dispatchers. In 1994, Weld County Transportation Program began using PTMS, a computer-aided scheduling software. PROGRAMS The Weld County Human Services Department has a wide variety of federally-funded programs. Brief descriptions of these programs are provided below. Employment Services of Weld County provides placement services at no cost to either the employee or the employer. Some clients on subsidized programs are provided with transportation to job sites for periods lasting up to 60 days. Client residences are widely scattered across the county, making these trips relatively difficult to provide. In addition, transportation needs often do not fall within normal business hours (i.e., evenings and weekends). Head Start is a federally-funded pre-school education program for children ages four and five. Transportation is provided to both morning and afternoon sessions, to special events, and for special services such as testing and health screening. In addition, transportation is provided to the members of the Head Start Parent Policy Board. Program sites are located in Greeley, Pierce, Johnstown, and Frederick. Senior Nutrition program delivers hot meals to 19 congregate sites throughout the county for the elderly (age 60 plus). Lunches are prepared on the University of Northern Colorado campus in Greeley. Most rural sites provide meals one day a week; several sites in Greeley, however, provide meals up to three days per week. Migrant Headstart Program consists of educational program for the children of migrant farm workers during the summer months. The need Page VII-2 North Front Range Regional Transit Plan, Technical Memorandum #1

3 for transportation for these children is substantial, as they must be transported from widely scattered farms to program sites in either Greeley or the Tri-town area. Children from less than six months to five years in age are transported. Providing this service requires a large number of baby carrier seats for the very young, as well as monitors on all vehicles. Summer Youth provides six to eight weeks of classes for school-age children each summer. Clients are picked up at centralized sites in communities throughout the county and transported to classrooms in Greeley and Fort Lupton. Funds for this program are provided by the Job Training Partnership Act (JPTA). Supplemental Foods program transports foodstuffs to Greeley from warehouses in the Denver area. These trips are made one or two times per week. This food can then be picked up by the recipients in Greeley or Fort Lupton. There is also a small project to deliver food to agencies serving the homebound, low-income elderly. Inter-office Trips include those trips made for office and administrative purposed for the Department of Human Resources. Volunteer Program provides a subsidy for persons providing trips to the elderly and disabled using personal vehicles. Volunteer drivers using private vehicles are reimbursed at the rate of 25 cents per mile for approved trips. Many of the monies available for this program are used in the eastern portion of the county. Mini Bus program provides transportation service to the elderly (age 60 plus) and handicapped residents of Weld County outside the Greeley city limits. This service is a true demand-response type of service with no set schedules or routes. Funds for the Mini Bus are provided by the Community Services Block Grant. The Mini Bus service is available at various times within the county. Below is a list of days and hours of service: Ault Dacono - Eaton - Ft. Lupton - Gilcrest - Hill N Park - Hudson - Johnstown North Front Range - Regional Transit Plan, Technical Memorandum #1 Monday, 9:15 a.m. 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, 10:45 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Friday, 9:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Monday, 9:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. Thursday, 10:00 a.m. 1:30 p.m. Monday, 9:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, 11:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, 9:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, 10:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Thursday, 10:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. M-T-W-F, 9:15 a.m. 2:00 p.m. M W, 10:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Monday (1 st and 3 rd mth.), 9:30 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Wednesday (2 nd and 4 th mth.) Wednesday to Greeley, 9:30 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Tuesday (2 nd Tues. mth.), 9:30 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Page VII-3

4 Keenesburg Kersey Lochbuie Milliken Platteville Windsor Denver Monday (1 st and 3 rd mth.), 9:15 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Wednesday (2 nd and 4 th mth.) Wednesday to Greeley, 9:15 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, 9:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Friday, 10:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. Monday (every other), 9:30 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Thursday (opposite weeks of the Monday trips) Thursday to Greeley, 9:30 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Monday, 9:30 a.m. 2:30 p.m. Tuesday (2 nd of mth.), 9:45 a.m. 2:00 p.m. M-T-W-F, 9:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, 9:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Friday, 9:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Friday (3 rd of mth.), 11:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Service twice per month, primarily on 2 nd and 4 th week with variable times and locations. SERVICE TRENDS The Weld County Transportation Program began in 1973 with three minibuses used primarily for countywide transportation for the elderly and disabled. Since then, the fleet has expanded to 48 vehicles, carrying approximately 108,500 passengers. Table VII-1 and Figure VII-1 present ridership trends and service miles for the past fours years. Table VII-1 Weld County Trends Year Trips Revenue Miles , , , , , , , ,965 Source: Weld County, Page VII-4 North Front Range Regional Transit Plan, Technical Memorandum #1

5 # of Passenger Trips 160, , , ,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 Figure VII-1 Weld County Ridership Trends Year In terms of service allocation among the various programs, the largest portion of Transportation Program vehicle-miles are expended in the Head Start Program with approximately 226,250 annual miles. The second largest program is the Mini Bus Program with approximately 96,068 annual miles and 8,630 passenger-trips. Table VII-2 presents the miles and ridership trends by program. Table VII Program Data Agency Trips Miles Overhead Supplemental Foods CMC Migrant Program 7,771 57,867 Head Start 57, ,249 Jump Start Program 3,344 44,306 Mini Bus 8,630 96,068 Senior Nutrition 3,792 33,793 Summer Youth 203 3,356 Temporary Assistance 727 5,340 Weld County, North Front Range - Regional Transit Plan, Technical Memorandum #1 Page VII-5

6 Temporary Assistance Summer Youth Senior Nutrition Figure VII Ridership by Agency Agency Mini Bus Jump Start Program Head Start CMC Migrant Program Supplemental Foods Overhead 0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 # of Trips TRANSPORTATION COSTS AND REVENUES The 1999 annual operating budget was $661,809. The transportation budget has risen steadily in the past decade. The operating budget in 1988 was $485,195. Much of the increase in costs were the result of a deliberate policy on the part of the county to increase the number of staff and staff pay to be more commensurate with service demands. Table VII-3 presents the operating costs for Table VII Operating Costs Expense Annual Cost ($) Wages $307,094 Fringe Benefits $65,377 Services $160,941 Materials and Supplies $11,651 Vehicle Depreciation $114,250 Other Misc. Expenses $2,496 TOTAL OPERATING $661,809 Source: Weld County, Page VII-6 North Front Range Regional Transit Plan, Technical Memorandum #1

7 Funding to meet these costs comes from a wide variety of sources, which are shown in Table VII-4. The greatest single source of revenue is from Head Start, which provides roughly 33 percent of the total funds. Other funding sources include FTA 5310 capital funds, Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), Older Americans Act funding, and other local funding. Capital costs for the service are approximately $103,000 annually. The costs cover vehicles and equipment purchases. Table VII Revenue Information Source Amount ($) FTA 5310 (elderly & disabled) $10,000 CSBG $113,137 Older Americans Act $43,049 JPTA $6,398 TANF $1,841 Head Start $276,662 Migrant Program $142,282 Supplemental Foods $60 Medicaid $40,606 Preschool/School District $53,903 Other revenue $87,207 TOTAL REVENUE $834,425 Source: Weld County, PERFORMANCE INDICATORS An important consideration in the review of any organization is an evaluation of operating efficiency and effectiveness. Operating cost for 1999 was $6.10 per passenger. The 1999 cost per mile for Weld County was $1.41. The final performance indicator for 1999 is 0.23 passengers per mile. North Front Range - Regional Transit Plan, Technical Memorandum #1 Page VII-7

8 VEHICLES The Weld County Transportation Program has a total of 48 vehicles, including two trucks. Five of the vehicles are equipped with wheelchair lifts and two vehicles have wheelchair ramps. All vehicles are equipped with two-way radios, which are coordinated through the base station in the Greeley vehicle yard. Table VII-5 presents the vehicle list for the Transportation Program. Page VII-8 North Front Range Regional Transit Plan, Technical Memorandum #1

9 Table VII-5 Transportation Program Fleet Vehicle Condition Retirement Year 1993 Dodge Van Fair Dodge Van Fair Dodge Van Fair Dodge Van Good Dodge W/C Lift Fair Dodge W/C Lift Fair Dodge Van Good Dodge Van Good Dodge Van Good Dodge Van Good Dodge Van Peak Dodge Van Peak Dodge Peak Ford Van Good Ford Van W/C Ramp Good Ford Van Good Ford Van Good Ford Van Good Ford Van Good Ford Van Good Ford Van Peak Ford Peak Chevy Truck Fair Ford W/C Lift Peak Ford W/C Ramp Good Dodge Van Good Dodge Van Good Dodge Van Good Dodge Van New Dodge Van New Dodge Van New Dodge Van New Dodge Van New GMC Truck Fair Dodge Ramp Van New Dodge Ramp Van New GMC Van Retired GMC Van Retired Dodge Van Retired Ford W/C Lift Retired Ford W/C Lift Retired Ford Van Retired Ford Van Retired Dodge Van Fair Dodge Van Fair Dodge Van Fair Dodge Van Fair Dodge Van Fair 2001 Source: Weld County, North Front Range - Regional Transit Plan, Technical Memorandum #1 Page VII-9

10 As shown in Table VII-5, each of the existing service vehicles will need to be replaced in the life of this TDP project. Once the preferred alternatives have been chosen, the Team will take a close look at future vehicle acquisition. Page VII-10 North Front Range Regional Transit Plan, Technical Memorandum #1

11 Transit Demand Existing transit demand for Weld County rural areas is presented in the following text. Demand estimates require information to be available from the 1990 census data. The 1990 census reported the population of Weld County with 131,821 persons and 47,566 households. Other demographic data used to estimate the rural transit demand includes age of householder, mobility-limited status, below poverty information, and vehicle availability. This information was presented in Chapter II of this report for Weld County. Much has been written in the past 30 years about public transportation demand forecasting for urban and rural settings. A review of public transportation industry research literature on demand forecasting for rural and small city environments was conducted on the topic for the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Project B-3. To use the TCRP methodology to identify the feasible maximum demand, it is necessary to assume a high supply level, as measured in vehicle-miles of annual transit service per square mile of service area. Table VII-6 presents the existing demand for rural Larimer County general public, elderly, and mobility-limited populations at approximately 56,000 annual trips. Table VII Estimated Rural Transit Demand - Weld County Estimated Annual Passenger-Trip Demand Estimated Daily Area Description Elderly + Transit Mobility- Mobility- General Demand Daily Demand Density (Trips per Sq. Elderly Limited Limited Public TOTAL # % Mile per Day) Rural Weld County 38,210 6,870 45,080 11,260 56, Program demand estimates are calculated separately when using the TCRP methodology. Program-related trips are trips that would not occur but for the existence of specific social service program activities. The number of these trips is directly dependent on program enrollment. The Team used the number of Head Start participants and mental health program North Front Range - Regional Transit Plan, Technical Memorandum #1 Page VII-11

12 participants in the county to estimate the program trip demand. The annual program trip demand for rural Weld County is approximately 71,276 trips. This number is calculated from the existing number of program participants and applying the trip rates from the TCRP methodology. To summarize, existing transit demand estimate for rural Weld County is approximately 127,616 annual trips. This demand will be used later in the study to quantify unmet needs and create alternatives to meet this unmet need. Page VII-12 North Front Range Regional Transit Plan, Technical Memorandum #1