Region Nine Regional Transit Forum

The Region Nine Development Commission hosted a transit coordination forum on April 13 at South Central College in North Mankato.  Over 40 people from the nine-county region came to learn, listen, and raise issues regarding transit and transit coordination.  Following is a summary of the forum.

Former U.S. Congressman and current Humphrey Institute co-chair Tim Penny gave opening remarks.  Penny stressed that rural transit is very different from urban transit and that it is important to work on transit as it pertains to rural areas.  Penny also noted that creativity will stretch rural transit capabilities to new heights.

Tom Gottfried, representing the Minnesota Department of Transit Office, spoke on the current state of rural transit and the progress made over the last fifteen years.  Gottfried commented that he believes the existing capital (busses, etc.) is capable of meeting current needs and demands if coordinated properly.  He went on to say that MN/Dot will be unveiling new transit coordination in 2007.  While MN/Dot will provide guidance and some financial assistance, it will be a locally driven project requiring local cooperation and planning.  One comment was raised suggesting MN/Dot allow more flexibility in funding capital purchases so local providers can make the most economical decisions based on local demands.  Gottfried gave a second presentation in the afternoon discussing the new “Mobility Manager” concept MN/Dot plans to unveil in 2007.  The goal of this project is to create a new method for coordination of rides.  MN/Dot is still currently drafting the plan, more information will be available in May.

Rolf Hage from the Minnesota Department of Human Services – Aging & Adult Services Division (DHS) gave a presentation on the human service sector and its role in transit.  As Minnesota’s population becomes increasingly older, those citizens have more need for healthcare and social services.  A critical component of delivering quality service is making sure all residents have access to medical and other facilities.  Therefore, DHS places an emphasis on making sure adequate transportation channels are available so everyone can access their needed agencies.  DHS offers grant opportunities (Community Service/Service Development grants) for agencies, including transit systems to assist in the development of affordable and accessible delivery of services.

Marcia Highum, Blue Earth County Employment Services, talked about the need for transit services for those in the working sector.  Highum pointed to the People to Jobs transportation program which brings people to and from work while also meeting some of the other needs of workers.  For example, the program allows parents to bring their children along, who are then dropped off at day care.  Although seat belts had to be reconfigured, she says the program is “just working out fabulously.”

Pam Determan is the Director of VINE Faith-in-Action, a non-profit volunteer agency that runs a volunteer driver program as well as many other needed services.  Through the Town, Rural, Urban Express (TRUE Transit) program, VINE has developed a large volunteer driver network providing long distance and other types of transportation to users.  VINE has also purchased a bus which will allow it to cater to several people at once, and work with the employment sector.  Determan’s presentation talked about volunteer driver training, driver requirements, and safety issues.

Kathleen Wilken representing the managed care organization Blue Plus discussed the transit needs of her medical assistance clients.  It is important for those who need to get to appointments to have adequate transportation to do so.  In many cases she is arranging transportation for those clients.  Wilken noted that, in some areas, transportation services are so limited that she’s called a taxi from another community to take a person on a several mile trip costing several dollars.  Coordination would allow for cost sharing and a more cost-effective way to transport medical assistance clients.

Annette Bair, Physical Development director at Southwest Regional Development Commission (Region 8), gave a presentation on the work her region has done with transit coordination.  She discussed a forum held in Hadley where DHS, managed care, and coordination issues were addressed.  The region then hosted county-wide meetings in each regional county.  This helped open dialog, created awareness of what is available, fostered new perspectives, and opened the door to possible changes.  Those meetings emphasized the need to involve healthcare organizations, identify additional transit services, and make all involved more aware of transit needs and options.  Bair closed by using a phone book to show the difficulty in looking up a ride in the directory.  She said it was almost impossible to find her local transit service.  This is a marketing issue that needs to be addressed.

Brent O’Neil, Transportation Planner with the Region Nine Development Commission told the group that Region Nine is the process of conducting meetings similar to the ones done in Region 8.  The object of these meetings is to identify needs, obstacles, and other key components of rural transit.  Four key points were raised at the first county meeting.  First, high costs were identified as a difficulty both from a provider and user perspective.  Second, a need for increased service hours was addressed.  Third, was the necessity of volunteer driver programs and the need to fund them adequately.  Finally, awareness was identified as a key issue.  In an ideal transit system, users would know of available services, public officials would know the true needs and costs associated with transit, and the public as a whole needs to know that transit is a viable and necessary service.

Jeanette Aguirre of Western Community Action presented her agency’s transportation efforts.  Through DHS grant funding awarded to Regions 8 and 9, obstacles to coordinating rides is being identified, a uniform standard of procedures is being developed, improved technology is being used, and more effort is going towards creating more awareness of transportation services.  WCA has developed an email alert system designed to let other providers, users, and agencies know about rides that have been dispatched towards this area.  Therefore, if a second ride is needed and corresponds to the first, the rides can be coordinated together resulting in a more economic ride.

Shelly Barnett of Aging Services for Communities talked about the new program developed in Le Sueur County in 2004, which replaced the previous system that placed the burden on users to arrange their own ride.  This program has given seniors more independence, reduced worry about transportation and safety, and lessened the number of seniors driving long distances and in stressful situations. Since its inception in October 2004, the number of trips has more that tripled from 112 per month to a peak of 393 one year later.  There have been several benefits including reduced costs from using less expensive vehicles, one-central phone number for users to call, and transportation availability for people of all ages.