Accounting as an Element of Coordination

Sharing the Costs of Human Services Transportation, a TCRP toolkit and report, goes into the nitty-gritty details of accounting for transportation costs with the simple theme that assessing cost is an important step toward talking concretely about partnerships, coordination, price of service, and making decisions about transportation.

Among the topics covered in the toolkit are:
* Performance measurement options and reasons to measure performance.
* Types of transportation and costs associated with them. For example, administration of eligibility is part of the cost of paratransit service.
* Coordination of accounting practices among programs and services to determine cost of transportation and facilitate coordination of service.
* Price versus cost.
* Employing cost information to make decisions about transportation providers, price of service and assessing benefits of coordination.

The report, Volume II, discusses the history, and whys and wherefores of unaligned accounting for transportation across different types of programs.

Another major problem is that human service programs that treat transportation as a supportive rather than a primary service often combine transportation costs with the accounts of other services, precluding transportation costs from being reported as a discrete cost category within the agency. Such approaches make it impossible for any organization to directly identify total transportation costs. Any potential solution must recognize transportation as a discrete program or functional activity.

The report not only recommends simple accounting practices, but specifically discusses the tools to make them possible, even supplying a:

simple spreadsheet software provided as a companion to this report in CRP-CD-86, “Cost Sharing Model for TCRP Report 144,” can convert the results of the reporting methodology into contract rates (prices) that can be used by both transportation providers and purchasers to have confidence in the fairness of transportation charges.

The software is available at http://144.171.11.107/Publications/Blurbs/Sharing_the_Costs_of_Human_Services_Transportation_165015.aspx.

State Coordination Page

Check out the Massachusetts Human Service Transportation Coordination webpage. It includes resources from the National Resource Center (NRC) as well as information about various state models that exist.

Emergency and Aging Care Webinars; Local Profiles

The National Association of Regional Councils NARC) will be hosting a webinar about emergency preparedness lessons learned from Japan's multi-dimensional disasters that occurred one on top of each other. Sudden Emergency: An Insight into Japan's State of Emergency will be held tomorrow, March 23, at 3 p.m. ET.

The Administration on Aging (AoA) is hosting a webinar, Care Transitions in Action: From Hospital to Home in Two Communities, which will explore in depth care transitions partnerships between hospitals and area agencies on aging in two communities. Transportation issues are not specifically mentioned. The webinar will be held on March 30 at 2 p.m. ET.

Around the Country

The Dublin-area Alameda County Transportation Commission will hold a community workshop this week to discuss a 25-year transportation plan. From PleasantonWeekly.com:

Key issues to be addressed in the planning process include planning for a multi‐modal system that equitably moves people and goods efficiently and cost effectively throughout the county; planning for the full range of travel needs and the diversity of users of transportation systems; integrating new legislation that requires greater coordination between transportation and land‐use planning and a focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho (COMPASS)posts a Mobility Management Toolkit with a cornucopia of resources for promoting community transportation and zero-emission modes (translation: biking and walking), and carpooling.

Templates for many of the items/ideas listed in the background information,
including model lease agreements and a model ordinance. These can be
downloaded and personalized for your use, or can simply serve as initial ideas
for creating your own materials. Feel free to cut and paste; mix and match;
add, delete, and change these materials to suit your needs.

Visit COMPASS on facebook for a terrific example of engaging the community about transportation planning and usage, and community design.

Reaching Out to Seniors

AARP New York is hosting a series of webinars for Westchester residents. Westchester is generally affluent, suburban and primarily auto-dependent, though it has transit as well as Metro-North train service into the city. The county is trying to become more senior friendly. The webinars cover how to get around without a car and walking safely. This mode for sharing information was selected as an "innovative way to enable seniors to remain active in their communities as well as a valuable resource for adult children caring for aging parents."

Mobility Management Profiles

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has posted mobility management profiles, including a case study of COAST, the transportation program of the Council on Aging & Human Services (CoA&HS), a nonprofit social service agency located in rural eastern Washington near the Washington-Idaho border. [When using the link, scroll down to the profiles section.] COAST serves the general public as well as transportation-challenged populations, over a large, multi-county, area.

I despise long quotes, but this one is packed with a wonderful illustration of mobility management and partnerships in action.

COAST’s customer orientation is reflected in its comprehensive client list. Its mobility management services extend to members of the general public, seniors, school children, commuters, persons with physical, mental, and developmental disabilities, low income persons, Medicaid recipients, veterans, and many others. COAST has agreements with a wide range of agencies and service providers, including public transit operators, private for profit providers, area agencies on aging, schools, sheltered workshops, hospitals, Head Start programs, and many others. COAST brokers or provides services at night or during weekends when such services are not offered by other public transportation providers or to destinations not otherwise served. They manage vehicle sharing among various agencies, and they train drivers and maintain vehicles for many agencies. In order to establish this network, COAST has been reaching out to the community. When new facilities open up, whether it is a group home, a small non-profit social service agency, or other agency, COAST approaches them and informs what COAST can do to meet their transportation needs.

A Chicago-area county is studying coordination options to make transportation easier for clients of human services agencies as well as those accessing medical care. An article in the Highland Park News reveals that the challenge the county confronts is a common one: "[T]ownship and other paratransit services only serve residents in specific geographic areas and there is little service available for residents who need to get from one part of the county to another." Thanks to Jane Hardin for sharing the article.

Ambassadors

February's ambassador blogs hold a treasure trove of information about developments across the country. Here are some highlights; visit the NRC website for these informative monthly updates.

Beverly Ward - Region I Ambassador blog
Bev brings news of New Hampshire's regional efforts to create transportation options and to expand and improve opportunities for public involvement in transportation planning.

Barb Singleton - Region X Ambassador blog
Barb writes about statewide coordination in Alaska, specifically the Coordinated Transportation Task Force, its responsibilities and consensus on recommendations for state-level coordination.

James McLary - Region II Ambassador blog
James shares his knowledge about Medicaid and its related transportation program, the difficulty of coordinating that transportation with other transportation services, and an example that demonstrates that coordination is possible.

Margi Ness - Region VII Ambassador blog
Margi announces a Nebraska coordination success story and how federal officials are noticing local livability and coordination efforts. At the other end of the spectrum, Margi discusses the start of a senior transportation coordination effort in Shawnee County.

Events

National Transit Institute (NTI)
NTI has upcoming classes on rural transportation technology. Please note that NTI classes fill up. Courses on mobility management and ADA paratransit eligibility are full well in advance.

Association for Travel Instruction (ATI)
ATI's annual conference - Aug, 12-14, 2011 in Philadelphia. ATI is calling for presentation proposals, including such topics as marketing travel instruction programs, travel training at community colleges, ADA paratransit certification, travel instruction for senior citizens, discussing travel instruction with parents, caretakers, educators, and job coaches, developing and maintaining program partnerships, and funding.

Some Fun (Work) Websites to Visit

Oops! Hit that publish button too soon. Should never have two publishable pages right next to each other on my screen.

Not that there aren't interesting activities going on around the technical assistance network, but here are some enjoyable, fun and illuminating resources from other sources.

New York City is mapping 311 complaints. What will this accomplish? Not only will city government staff be able to see where the potholes are, but so will the neighbors. This type of device offers as much for rural residents, who live rather far apart, as for the uber-urban stoop-sitting folks of Brooklyn, who tend to gab when they run into each other. By the way, in my childhood area code, no one is kvetching about transit, though residents are not happy with parking meters and blocked driveways.

[Fish-shaped bike rack in Long Beach, CA, right near the beach.]

If you are looking for a new toy, this is it. Trust me, this new tool from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is addictive. It is an interactive county map of the U.S. with statistical and demographic information. Look up elderly populations, density, jobs, and so much more. A valuable instrument for work, with fascinating information, and fun.

Yes, you can find everything on the Internet, including conference materials. This PowerPoint presentation explains the Wisconsin mobility management program.

Employment Transportation: TA for Different Goals

Using math terms in a completely incorrect way, I will say that communities can have parallel goals that intersect. Though we learn in geometry that parallel lines never meet, in real life, completely separate initiatives sometimes have much in common and do in fact get together. Here are two examples of technical assistance resources in which commuter transportation serves two different goals: one, the primary purpose of every person going to work to actually be transported in some way to his or her job, and two, to make sure that our communities contribute to improving the environment and the air that we all breathe.

Getting to Work

Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA)
The Joblinks Employment Transportation Center at CTAA has a webpage devoted to workforce development transportation solutions. The page has examples of communities around the country that use workforce boards, community colleges and other partners to find transportation options for people going to work and school.

Getting to Work While Improving the Air

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
EPA's Sustainable Communities Building Blocks Program is seeking letters of interest, due Feb. 23, 2011, to choose 20 communities for technical assistance:

geared toward communities that are relatively new to implementing sustainable communities development approaches but that have a basic understanding of the livability principles and how they apply locally. Appropriate Sustainable Communities Building Blocks Program communities recognize that they have development challenges and are trying to kick-start the conversation about how to address a specific local issue.

Some of the tools the program will be offering involve commuter transportation, complete streets, zoning, and greenhouse gas reduction.

The TA provided will take place "over the course of one day, with minimal upfront preparation and no formal follow-up." Meetings with community stakeholders will be the avenue for the TA.

[Union Station in LA flanked by buses.]

Communities that send in letters of interest to EPA, whether selected or not, and are interested in commuter transportation as a way of addressing environmental problems, should check out Joblinks and other TA resources in the Technical Assistance Provider Network.

Rural Webinars

National Association of Development Organizations (NADO)
NADO's current Rural Transportation newsletter is full of information relevant to those who work with rural communities.

The NADO Research Foundation and RPO America are hosting a webinar on Feb. 15, 2011 showcasing the work of two award-winning organizations on rural and small metropolitan alternative transportation. One of the presentations will focus on rural travel demand management via a website and outreach materials that address transportation options throughout the region.

National Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP)
RTAP will be hosting a webinar on Feb. 17, 2011 to showcase its recently released training module, Emergency Procedures for Rural Transit Drivers. Information about the webinar is available at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/780816704.

[Very opposite of rural is a Brooklyn subway station, which commemorates Sheepshead Bay's past as a fishing village. You can still fish in the bay.]

Disability Community - Resources for Making Transit a Better Fit

Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
ETA has created the Disability and Employment Community of Practice. A search of the website produces many of the disability and employment-transportation resources from the TA network. The site is focusing on resources for employers and access and accommodations. The group is looking for members with professional interests in this field.

Easter Seals Project ACTION (ESPA)
ESPA has two upcoming teleconferences. Deviated Fixed Route and Demand Response Service: Creating Solutions in Rural and Small Urban Communities will take place on February 16. The teleconference will focus on the importance of a strong connection between transit and disability groups.

Planning for the Accessibility of Livable and Sustainable Communities, to be held on March 9, will feature representatives from the Department of Transportation discussing the encouragement of community connections to housing, employment and economic development through accessible transportation. A representative from Peoria, Ill. will discuss the city’s plans to redevelop a downtown area using the principles of livability and the role that accessibility plays in the development of those plans.

ESPA continues its Introduction to Travel Training course, a free training initiative that aims to increase the skills, knowledge and abilities of travel training professionals. This intensive, three-day course includes both classroom and field instruction in an environment where travel trainers can directly apply and practice new skills on the street. The next course will be held March 15-17 in Los Angeles, Calif.