Innovative Partnerships - Resources, Events, Stories

The Federal Transit Administration will hold an informational webinar on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at 2:00pm EST for any agencies interested in applying for the FY 2012 Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative (VTCLI). Please visit http://vtcli2.eventbrite.com/ to register. For those who are unable to attend, the session will be recorded and posted along with Q&As for later viewing.

The application deadline for the FY 2012 VTCLI grant competition is April 19, 2012. For more information on the VTCLI, please visit the FTA website at www.fta.dot.gov/veterans.

John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
Webinar or in-person event - Transportation Trajectories - Weaving silos into tapestry: Cross-modal safety through the U.S. DOT Safety Council - Mar. 22, 2012 in Cambridge, MA.

[Light rail at Denver's Union Station hub.]

Statewide TA Resources

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
AASHTO posts on its Multi-State Technical Assistance Program (MTAP) site a state DOT directory that lists state staff contacts for different federal programs and purposes, such as insurance, vehicle maintenance and emergency preparedness.

Transportation Planning Capacity Building Program
TPCBP provides training, technical assistance, and support for State, local, regional, and Tribal governments, transit operators, and community leaders. TPCBP has produced three Transit at the Table guides. Transit at the Table I explores how transit agencies in larger metropolitan areas (more than 200,000 in population) could be more effective partners with MPOs in the metropolitan transportation planning and programming process. Transit at the Table II is about how transit in smaller metropolitan areas (populations between 50,000 and 200,000) can be effectively involved in planning. Transit at the Table III serves rural and small urban areas by covering partnerships with state agencies and state planning.

[Public art on a Portland, OR., street.]

Local Stories

Florida Food Bank Wins Award for Transportation System for Low-income Residents shows partnership in action and long-term goals. A Florida food bank decided that a crucial link in reducing hunger is getting people to employment, medical care and other important destinations.

The food bank started the Transportation Coordination Network six months ago after a Hunger Free Community Coalition town hall meeting with agencies and partners. There, food bank officials heard that transportation after public transit hours was a need for St. Lucie residents. The St. Lucie County Housing and Community Services Department, FL and its transportation partners spearheaded the network.

The transportation network is already expanding, serving college students going to and from school, and planning to provide service soon to more counties. The article appeared on the Kansas City Infozine site.

Mobility Options

Village of Great Neck Plaza Complete Streets Policy Guide does a nice job of explaining what are complete streets, what they can accomplish and their significance to seniors, children, and public transportation. The guide also provides a clear explanation of local versus state versus county roads, which jurisdictions have authority over each, and how the village can partner with and encourage complete streets design on the roads over which it does not have jurisdiction.

Montana Intercity Bus Service Study discusses analyses to determine unmet demand for intercity bus service, particularly in Montana. Examples are from North Dakota, Ohio, and Texas, among others, with information about funding sources and uses. The study also examines why passengers in Montana use intercity bus service, how passengers access information about the service, and physically how they access the actual bus - whether through a ride, walking, another bus, etc. Montana transit connections for intercity service, whether bus or train, or airplane, are reviewed for frequency, type of service and fares.

To understand how transit agencies are aligned with the other modes of services, agencies were asked specifically whether they provide a transit connection within an hour of arrival or departure time of ICB, Amtrak or airline services. Nine transit agencies reported they provided a connection to an ICB location within an hour, with five agencies providing a connection within an hour to airports and train station.

This is a fascinating read about estimating demand, satisfaction and user preferences, specifically in a mostly rural state.

Doing Errands While in Transit

The need to do errands on the way to or the way home from work is a major hassle of taking transit. These are a couple of recent examples of transit bringing the errands to the station; perhaps, one day, coming to a bus stop or subway station near you.

Farm stands at bus stops? Markets at transit stations? How about virtual grocery shopping, with just pictures of supermarket products? Virtual shopping at stations is happening in Korea and, perhaps, coming to places around the United States if we all learn a lesson from Philadelphia's transit agency.

Next Bus: 10 Minutes; Milk and Bread Available

Read Commuters and virtual storefronts - a match made in heaven? from the Sydney Morning Herald, via the TransitWire. Phillie transit riders will soon be able to use a smartphone app to shop from a virtual wall of grocery items. Reminds me of being a little girl and having a milk machine in the basement of our apartment house and seltzer and soda delivered weekly (yes, we had a seltzer man). As a New York native, any delivery or convenience pick up resonates; I am sure across the demographic and density spectrums, convenience is appreciated (though few have experienced seltzer delivery).

This is a nice solution for cities and suburbs, anywhere where delivery services work well. But can something like online ordering or shops at the bus station work in rural areas? Can supermarkets deliver pre-ordered items to bus stops? The answer is "it depends," which means odds of success probably increase with flexibility to try an idea that is developed with local conditions, culture and partners.

And Pick Up the Kids

Two of the biggest logistical concerns for working parents are transportation and child care. One transit agency is doing both. To attract good employees who can work the nontraditional hours that transit and other industries demand, Prairie Transit in Spearfish, S.D., "opened its own state-licensed child care facility right in its new transit center." The article, Community care: Day care centers draw workers to towns, appeared in the Rapid City Journal.

Barb Cline, the executive director of the Prairie Hills Transit system and a CTAA Board member, explained the symbiotic needs of employers and parents.

"One of the things we found in our hiring process is that when potential candidates were given the hours they needed to work, they said, ‘I'm sorry we can't work before 6, or I'm sorry we can't work after 5, I'm sorry we don't have child care on weekends,'" Cline said.

Cline knew that she wasn't the only employer with that problem. As a United Way agency, she had visited with others who agreed there was a need for more, quality day care providers in the community.

So the system, which operates a public bus system as well as a dial-a-ride service for people of all ages, decided to take the problem under its wing.

Now transit riders can arrive at the transit center and get the kids. Perhaps groceries will be next.

Project ACTION Offers Practical Answers for People with Disabilities

Easter Seals Project ACTION
The new Accessible Transportation for Students—New Online Community will help students, their families, educators, human service providers, and transit professionals to learn from each other. Participants can use this forum to share stories and strategies related to providing accessible and inclusive transportation for students who are in school as well as those transitioning to post-school settings. Participants may discuss how transportation education content is integrated into class curriculum, instruction and academic standards; and upload or post links to helpful resources, projects or organizations.

ESPA's newsletter has a new feature, Ask Project ACTION, which poses a practical query from a person with a mobility disability. This month's question and answer are about who is responsible for snow removal at bus stops. For the person writing in, this is an important issue because he or she is afraid that ice and snow at the stop will interfere with walking with a cane (though rubber tips have no traction on ice) and cause a fall.

Local Stories - Coordination

In Campbell County , WY., coordination is moving forward. The Basin Radio Network reports that a team of organizations are working together on a coordination plan, one of the first steps of which is to educate and seek support from local political leaders. The article, Group works to coordinate public transportation, lists the organizations involved and goes into detail about the near-term plan. Staff from the team of organizations attended the recent Colorado/Wyoming Institute for Coordination held in November 2011.

Like many communities, Yuma County, AZ., is experiencing reductions in transit service. For people with disabilities, these cuts are significant because there are limited or no transportation alternatives available. Dial-A-Ride alternative arranged, an article on the YumaSun website, tells the story of a woman who retired early due to a disability and what dial-a-ride cutbacks, ADA transportation rules, and non-profit efforts have meant for her.

NYC Engages Riders - And They Have Opinions

Miracles do happen and one is going on in my hometown of New York (that's the city). The New York Times reports that subway announcements may be suggested by the public. The comments, with suggested announcements, are the best part. Warning: Some of the comments to the New York Times article have a biting, NYC humor. Other comments suggesting announcements are charming, such as requests for facts about construction of famous buildings, sports scores, and fanciful destinations (platform 9 3/4 was one; anyone heading to Hogwarts?). My favorite announcements when I lived in New York were on the D train, when it was still the Brighton Line. When the train left the city, a conductor every evening would declare that we were entering the bee-bopping borough of Brooklyn. How right he was.

Mobility Management Webinars Very Soon

Partnership for Mobility Management
Performance Measures for Mobility Managers - Feb. 9 webinar. This webinar will discuss performance measures as they relate specifically to mobility management. It will cover the state of performance measurement of mobility management programs and where there is room for improvement. Speakers include one of our regional ambassadors and authors of Performance Measures for Public Transit Mobility Management, a national survey of the current use and types of performance measures for mobility management. The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) study offers recommendations that will support mobility management programs in telling their stories and providing evidence of their value.

Easter Seals Project ACTION
Connecting CILs and Mobility Managers for Accessible Transportation - Feb. 29. The webinar will explore ESPA's work to strengthen the link between the disability community, specifically independent living centers, and mobility management programs.

Accessibility - Tools, Classes to Make it Happen

Easter Seals Project ACTION
Fundamentals of Travel Training Administration - Online course - Feb. 20. The course will cover launching, operating and maintaining a travel training program, including details such as job descriptions; hiring, training and supervising travel trainers; developing budgets; and understanding travel training services offered throughout the country.

Department of Transportation
Not infrequently, I get calls from people seeking information about long-distance travel options for people with disabilities. Here is a new website and toll-free helpline resource. Transportation Services Administration Cares: Travelers with Disabilities and Medical Conditions was launched in December by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to provide information and assistance to passengers with disabilities and medical conditions and their families before they fly. TSA Cares is available toll free at 1-855-787-2227, which operates Monday through Friday 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

National Transit Communications Accessibility Survey
Funded by the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media at WGBH, the Oregon State University Survey Research Center, and the National Center for Accessible Transportation (housed at Oregon State University), this survey will collect data about the technologies, policies and practices relating to transit-related communications. "Our goal for this study is to identify opportunities for universal and accessible design considerations in the chain of communication from inside a transit agency all the way to travelers."

Coordination: Regional, at National Parks, for Seniors, and Courses

National Conference of State Legislatures
NCSL issues its quarterly Coordination Newsletter. News of taxi involvement in accessibility for people with disabilities and low-income populations. The newsletter mentions a few statewide reports, two of which studied mobility needs of older adults. The Michigan report announces a startling statistic. "By far the most common help given by caregivers was related to transportation, with more than 90% of respondents statewide reporting to have provided this type of care."

NCSL also issued Regional Human Service Transportation Coordinating Councils: Synthesis, Case Studies and Directory. The directory lists regional coordinating councils across the country and contact information for each. The synthesis defines these councils as:

... multidisciplinary, in that they coordinate among diverse transportation and human services providers; regional, in that they coordinate across multiple cities, counties or other local jurisdictions; and ongoing, in that they engage in active, ongoing coordination, not just coordination planning or other intermittent activities.

The synthesis also explains the requirements in federal legislation for coordinated transportation planning. The complementary relationship of state and regional coordinating councils is discussed. Different state and regional structures are explored. The case studies are quite interesting. They look at different states, their legal frameworks, how regional councils were created and what they are doing. The publication does not cover the performance results of regional coordinating councils that have existed for several years and whether services to communities are improved and people are enjoying greater mobility.

More acronyms to add:
regional coordinating council - RCC
local coordinating council - LCC
statewide coordinating council - SCC (not to be confused with the SEC, which refers either to football or to regulation of publicly-traded companies).

Getting to and around National Parks

Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks
TA center in the news: Secretary LaHood's Fastlane blog praised the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks program (TRIPTAC). The program brings mobility options to park visitors and helps "green" the park experience and environment.

Federal lands in 24 states and the District of Columbia will use funds to enhance transportation choices for a cleaner, greener visitor experience. Projects range from redesigning and widening the Nauset Bicycle Trail at Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts to purchasing new buses to transport visitors between Sausalito and the Muir Woods National Monument in California.

Funding for Supplemental Transportation Programs for Seniors

Beverly Foundation
The Beverly Foundation, which fosters senior transportation programs, is accepting applications for awards to 18 senior transportation services program of grants of $10,000 each. Previous applicants (including past STAR Award winners) are eligible.

The eligibility criteria for a 2012 STAR Award include delivery of transportation services to senior passengers; knowledge of the organization's transportation service data (e.g. miles driven, number of drivers, number of vehicles, cost per ride, number of senior passengers, etc.); and ability to describe good practices employed in delivering transportation services to senior passengers. "Senior transportation programs that mobilize (or plan to mobilize) volunteer drivers will be looked upon favorably."

The application deadline is February 1st.

The Beverly Foundation’s mission is to foster new ideas and options to enhance mobility and transportation for older adults. The Foundation’s STAR Search program has gathered information on more than 1,400 services that provide transportation to older adults in communities across America.

Upcoming Courses

National Transit Institute
NTI has many courses listed on its website. Here are a few that are currently available.
Managing Community Mobility - a few classes coming to the South.
Comprehensive ADA Paratransit Eligibility
Paratransit Management and Operations

TA Opportunities for Rural & Tribal Communities

Community Transportation Association of America
CTAA is currently seeking applicants for its 2012 Rural and Tribal Transportation Technical Assistance Program. Through the rural and tribal programs, CTAA offers free hands-on technical assistance to rural communities and tribal organizations. The assistance can help start new transit programs, expand or enhance existing services, or develop facilities.

Projects will stimulate economic development and small business growth. The results of the Maine project, described below, were featured in a New York Times opinion piece, Thinking Outside the Bus.

Typical Project Gets Attention

The following are some typical projects.

Brunswick, Maine-Technical assistance project developed plan for implementation of new transit service in Brunswick, serving local residents and students of Bowdoin College. The Brunswick Explorer service will interface with extension of Amtrak's Downeaster trains to Portland and Boston. The transit service will also serve the multiuse redevelopment of the former Brunswick Naval Air Station site.

According to the New York Times (the primary news source for my extended family):

In the world of public transit, the Brunswick Explorer is a radical idea. Its genesis came from a coalition of local social service agencies — organizations that work with the elderly, mentally ill, disabled, homeless, as well as with college students and local hospitals. They approached Coastal Transit, a nonprofit regional transit provider to be a part of their coalition. Coastal Transit’s executive director, Lee Karker, had worked on two other rural bus systems that fell apart. Both were designed to fill objectives other than helping riders; one was supposed to clear congestion out of a tourist town, and the other just drove from one end of town to the other without much regard for where riders wanted to go. Karker describes the process of setting up the Explorer as “more organic.” “Before when we looked at bus routes we got input on traffic patterns, not input from the users,” he said. “Now we’re trying to be more entrepreneurial.” Working as part of the coalition, rather than as transit engineers, changed their worldview. “We have a tendency to make a transit system look the way we think it should look rather than what the community needs and what they want,” Karker said.

[Klamath Falls, Ore., where Amtrak meets local transit.]

Sitka, Alaska- CTAA provided service planning assistance that led to establishment of public transit services operated by the Sitka Tribe of Alaska. Assistance also helped identify facility needs for transit operations and vehicle maintenance.

Rhinelander, Wisconsin- Project enabled community to establish mobility management program to provide coordinated public transit service in three counties.

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, North Carolina- Technical assistance helped Cherokee Transit enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of its services, including a park shuttle serving the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Assistance also helped Cherokee develop plan for new transit facility.

Guidelines

The Programs provide planning assistance only, from CTAA staff and consultants. Although CTAA cannot provide operating or capital funding through the Programs, potential funding sources for implementation will be identified.

Rural projects must be located in communities of less than 50,000 population, and outside designated urbanized areas. Applicants must be for-profit or not-for-profit entities; potential governmental applicants should contact CTAA for further guidance.

Tribal applicants should be federally-recognized tribal entities.

Deadline Approaching

Applications are for long-term projects and are due at CTAA by February 7, 2012. Long-term projects will be selected competitively. CTAA also provides short-term technical assistance; applications can be submitted at any time. For more information contact Charles Rutkowski at 202.299.6593, e-mail at rutkowski@ctaa.org, or visit the website of the Rural and Tribal Transportation Technical Assistance Program.