Transportation Services for Persons with Disabilities in Rural and Small Urban Communities

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1 Transportation Services for Persons with Disabilities in Rural and Small Urban Communities 17 th National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference October 22-25, 2006

2 Research Goals Identify Major Issues and Challenges to Providing Transportation Link to Service Strategies and Solutions

3 Research Team TranSystems Corp. RLS & Associates Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Project Advisory Committee ESPA APRIL CTAA RTAP The ARC DREDF The Rural Institute CalACT NCDHHS The Resource Center Ottumwa Transit Ft. Wayne PTC

4 Research Methodology Literature Review National Surveys Human services agencies Transportation providers 20 Case Studies

5 History - Context Longstanding focus in rural and small urban communities on coordinated transportation for persons with disabilities, seniors and others. Significant milestones/programs Section (b)(2) Program 1974 FHWA Section 147 Demo Program 1976 Section 5311 Section 18 Program 1978 Americans with Disabilities Act of New Freedom Program 2005

6 Continuing Need for Transportation Significant No Problem

7 Impacts on Employment Significant None

8 Most Significant Reported Needs Transportation for: Social, recreational and personal business needs Employment and work training Long-distance medical services

9 Major Challenges Distances/Demographics (Cost of Service) Limited Funding Restrictions on Service Limited trip purposes Clients only Limited days and hours of service Accessibility of Services Use of Technologies Public information and information sharing

10 Innovative Funding Strategies Use of current funding to leverage Section 5311 general public funding State-level funding Pennsylvania (PwD Program - $5.5M, 28 counties) Oregon (STF Program - $18M, statewide) North Carolina (EDTAP - $5.5M, statewide) Florida (TD Program - $33M, statewide) Local funding and fundraising

11 Coordination Partnerships and pooling of resources Lead agencies with broad local support Human service agencies Transit organizations Local agency assistance with travel training, employee training, information dissemination

12 Alternative Service Designs Transportation Voucher Programs Expand on existing services Low cost (volunteers, taxis) Consumer-driven Easy to replicate Can scale to available resources APRIL Traveler s Cheque Program

13 Alternative Service Designs Flexibly-routed Services Route deviation Point deviation Request stops Flexible-route segments Zone routes Particularly applicable to longer distance routes. Effective when supplemented by other service)

14 Alternative Service Designs Use of Volunteers To supplement main services To assist with longdistance services Part of voucher programs Accessible volunteer services developed in Oregon (Ride Connection, Lane County Transit)

15 Alternative Service Designs Taxicab Services Expanded evening and weekend travel options Serve low-demand times or areas Part of voucher programs Accessible taxicab program Linn County, Iowa (CABS)

16 Alternative Service Designs Private Auto Support Programs Expand existing vocational rehabilitation efforts Assistance with insurance, repairs Support of vehicles owned by family and friends Rental Vehicles for Medical Transportation (Onslow County, NC)

17 Support Services Travel training Fare incentives Customer information Trip planning Mobility Management Travel Host program (Eugene, Oregon)

18 Expanded Uses of Technologies Mobility Services for All Americans USDOT ITS Joint Program Office ITS Peer-to-Peer Program JAUNT (Charlottesville, VA) Ride Solutions (Palatka, FL) N. Shenandoah Valley Mobility Program Cape Cod RTA RTP (Portland, ME)

19 Final Report Transportation Services for Persons with Disabilities in Rural and Small Urban Communities National survey results 20 case studies