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From page 24... ... 24 C H A P T E R 5 This chapter summarizes the results of the project's case examples. For each completed case example, the following information is provided in narrative form: • Background information about the agency and the context in which it provides or supports transit service. Read the entire page →
From page 25... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 25 Theme #1: Service Innovation, Tailored Services, and Marketing Case Example 1A: Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority Table 10. (Continued) Read the entire page →
From page 26... ... 26 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies (which include fixed-route bus service and paratransit service, as well as the TD Late Shift and Direct Connect services) can be found on the agency's website, https://psta.net/. Read the entire page →
From page 27... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 27 Source: https://psta.net/riding-psta/direct-connect Figure 6. Direct Connect locations. Read the entire page →
From page 28... ... 28 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Costs and Benefits of Approach Figure 7 shows trends in TD Late Shift and Direct Connect ridership. For both services, ridership grew overall from October 2018 to December 2019. Read the entire page →
From page 29... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 29 the past, TNCs tended to promise a lot but could not deliver. Now, they are more realistic, but transit agencies must be patient during negotiations with TNCs. Read the entire page →
From page 30... ... 30 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies in conjunction with a 175-trip transit punch pass. Completing a trip by bicycle provided through the program would allow pass holders to save punches for longer trips and those during hotter months. Read the entire page →
From page 31... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 31 Job Access funding originally was federal Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) money. Read the entire page →
From page 32... ... 32 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies original RFP process for Job Access resulted in 4-year contracts and was not flexible enough to add other transportation providers if needed. The application process for a program such as Job Access should be as easy as possible. Read the entire page →
From page 33... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 33 Background SWITA provides public transportation service (including fixed-route bus and taxi service) for eight counties in southwest Iowa. Read the entire page →
From page 34... ... 34 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Ridership increased from 25,000 rides in FY 2015 to a projected 70,000 rides in FY 2020 (prepandemic) Read the entire page →
From page 35... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 35 Summary NAIPTA, known as Mountain Line, has undertaken several innovative programs in recent years to increase ridership and bolster community involvement. One of these is a taxi subsidy program to provide mobility options for ADA paratransit riders within Mountain Line's service area, which coincides with the Flagstaff MPO planning area. Read the entire page →
From page 36... ... 36 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Overall, paratransit ridership has remained steady, but taxi program ridership increases yearly. The taxi program has increased mobility for paratransit clients by providing them an alternative service, but because overall ridership has remained steady, large savings have not been realized in the paratransit program. Read the entire page →
From page 37... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 37 Background Corridor MPO is the regional transportation planning entity for the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, region. More information is available at http://www.cedar-rapids.org/local_government/departments_ a_-_f/community_development/mpo/index.php. Read the entire page →
From page 38... ... 38 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Lessons Learned MPO staff recognized that the vehicle purchase program was important and helped MPO board members realize the same. MPO staff accomplished this by stressing to board members the importance of transit over time and making it clear how the vehicle purchase program supports incremental improvements to the transit system. Read the entire page →
From page 39... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 39 MPOs, Iowa DOT, local economic development organizations, and local community colleges. By the study's conclusion, these entities had formed a strong partnership. Read the entire page →
From page 40... ... 40 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Case Example 2C: Flint Hills Area Transportation Agency Theme: Lack of Adequate Funding Keywords: coordination, new funding Annual Ridership: 241,000 Annual Revenue Hours: 52,000 Agency: Flint Hills Area Transportation Agency Location: Manhattan, KS Annual Revenue Miles: 752,000 Annual Operating Expense: $2.3 million Summary A partnership with the local MPO helped Flint Hills Area Transportation Agency (ATA) find and develop local nontax funding sources. Read the entire page →
From page 41... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 41 Approach to Addressing the Challenge The challenge was addressed through strong, sustained relationship-building by ATA and the MPO. The new MPO director interned at the city during the transit studies and worked at KDOT after graduation. Read the entire page →
From page 42... ... 42 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies that you cannot effectively advocate for your organization if you do not have as much knowledge as possible. You need to educate yourself by talking to other agencies and community members. Read the entire page →
From page 43... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 43 In one case, a business owner reached out to MRTMA because he followed one of the branded "iRide" vans (shown in Figure 12) to work every day and thought that vanpooling would be more cost-effective than letting employees use company vehicles for commuting. Read the entire page →
From page 44... ... 44 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies One county participating in the vanpool program started with two routes and now has seven. The "sweet spot" for urban vanpool routes seems to be when residences and work sites are about 25 miles apart. Read the entire page →
From page 45... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 45 night, with refueling taking at least one hour per bus. Running buses on a combination of propane and gasoline was anticipated to achieve desired reductions in operating costs and adverse environmental impacts, with minimal disruption to agency practices and procedures. Read the entire page →
From page 46... ... 46 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Lessons Learned Shore Transit staff advise other transit agencies wanting to undertake a similar effort to contact local propane suppliers about project coordination. The supplier might be able to contract with other companies on conversion and installation. Read the entire page →
From page 47... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 47 Approach to Addressing the Challenge The alternative to cutting service was to ask county residents to vote for a tax initiative to replenish the lost funds. In February, MLTA requested that the levy measure be put on the May 10, 2016, primary county ballot because it believed there was a better chance of success than in the general election. Read the entire page →
From page 48... ... 48 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies One thing that helped the 2020 campaign was the Levy Pass Program implemented a few months before the vote. As described earlier in this case example, the Levy Pass Program was developed by MLTA's CEO, who came up with the idea while attending a Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) Read the entire page →
From page 49... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 49 Background MCAT is the department that provides public transportation for Manatee County, on Florida's Gulf coast. The largest city in the service area is Bradenton. Read the entire page →
From page 50... ... 50 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Having an adopted technology business plan in place enabled MCAT to quickly take advantage of an opportunity to conduct a mobile ticketing pilot effort at minimal cost to the agency. Staff learned a lot from the pilot effort and transferred that knowledge to the CAD/AVL procurement. Read the entire page →
From page 51... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 51 Approach to Addressing the Challenge MCTA is led by a director and five managers who each oversee a division within the agency. The agency uses a large number of third-party software packages, and the divisions need varying amounts of training on different software packages. Read the entire page →
From page 52... ... 52 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies • Few people possess the interest and skillsets to fully embrace new technology, instead of playing with it like it's a hobby. MCTA leadership tries to identify these people and use that interest to help the agency develop new capabilities. Read the entire page →
From page 53... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 53 Tools and Guidance Several years ago, ODOT became interested in GTFS data and wanted all transit systems in the state to create and maintain GTFS data for their fixed-route services. In addition to supporting transit trip planning, GTFS is very useful when employing tools such as Remix to improve transit planning (ODOT was Remix's first customer) Read the entire page →
From page 54... ... 54 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies written recommendations for technology investments. This was driven by ODOT's general sense that small and mid-sized transit agencies sometimes procured technology that did not fit their needs. Read the entire page →
From page 55... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 55 productivity, reduce the cost of paratransit scheduling through economies of scale, and improve support, PennDOT entered into a contract with Ecolane via a competitive procurement to install its paratransit scheduling software throughout the commonwealth's shared-ride services (except for such services in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh) Read the entire page →
From page 56... ... 56 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Due to the scope and complexity of Avail's systems, along with lessons learned from the previous Ecolane deployment, implementation was broken into several phases. The first phase featured technology implementation at four beta sites to test the implementation method and process. Read the entire page →
From page 57... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 57 allow all agencies in the state to make informed decisions to improve service efficiency and effectiveness. Also, the statewide data repository, which was enabled through all agencies sharing a single technology platform, enables PennDOT to collect and analyze data for all agencies to better inform statewide public transportation decision-making. Read the entire page →
From page 58... ... 58 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Harford Transit LINK, the county-operated transit system, has three components: 1. A fixed-route transit service. Read the entire page →
From page 59... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 59 can be accommodated in the future, which impacts scheduling. Drivers also can provide additional time for clients requiring it to board and alight. Read the entire page →
From page 60... ... 60 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies One unique program aspect is how CATC funded it. With local municipalities tapped out from their match, CATC turned to the private sector. Read the entire page →
From page 61... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 61 that shows the location of the next bus on the route and its expected time of arrival. In the first 6 months following these changes, ridership increased by 14%, farebox revenue increased by 16%, and the average ride time was reduced by 33%. Read the entire page →
From page 62... ... 62 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies improve on-time performance. Phase 2 service recommendations were implemented in midAugust 2019. Read the entire page →
From page 63... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 63 city's transit manager stated that if they had to do it over again, they would run the simulations during the week, particularly during the 4 to 6 p.m. time slot. Read the entire page →
From page 64... ... 64 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies municipal boundaries, limiting rural public transit riders to local trips. However, the CRC established that there was a huge unmet need for regional travel. Read the entire page →
From page 65... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 65 Case Example 4D: Gaston County ACCESS Theme: Service Planning/Redesign Keywords: cost reduction Annual Ridership: 107,000 Annual Revenue Hours: 30,000 Agency: Gaston County ACCESS Location: Gaston County, NC Annual Revenue Miles: 490,000 Annual Operating Expense: $1.8 million Summary Gaston County's ACCESS Central Transportation faced the prospect of losing Medicaid NEMT revenue. The agency carved out the NEMT trips from its own service and chose to repurpose its overflow service to focus solely on NEMT. Read the entire page →
From page 66... ... 66 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies overflow carriers. The county also was able to arrange for more direct transportation to congregate meal sites for the area's growing senior population. Read the entire page →
From page 67... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 67 Summary Faced with a fixed-route system that lacked efficient connections and experienced a ridership reduction, Harford County accelerated implementation of a new route design that, through a reduction in headways from 90 minutes to 60 minutes, significantly increased ridership while reducing ride times through timed-transfer points. The innovative aspect of this case example was how implementation efforts included routing assistance from MTA, partnerships with county economic development and housing departments, help and buy-in from bus drivers in validating route timing, and assistance from a marketing contractor who developed a comprehensive and effective marketing program. Read the entire page →
From page 68... ... 68 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Approach to Addressing the Challenge The TDP effort was conducted from October 2017 to June 2018. A route development team, composed of drivers and associates, was formed. Read the entire page →
From page 69... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 69 Costs and Benefits of Approach During the first few weeks of operations in January 2019, Harford County officials saw immediate and positive results. On-time performance for five of the six routes improved more than 22%, customer service calls decreased by 70%, and no complaints were registered. Read the entire page →
From page 70... ... 70 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Case Example 4F: Minnesota Public Transit Association/ Minnesota Department of Transportation Theme: Service Planning/Redesign Keywords: coordination, service design Annual Ridership: N/A Annual Revenue Hours: N/A Agency: MnDOT Location: Minnesota Annual Revenue Miles: N/A Annual Operating Expense: N/A Summary At the instigation of the Minnesota Public Transit Association (MPTA) , MnDOT retained the service of four consulting firms to help 29 smaller transit agencies in Minnesota with the preparation of 5-year service plans. Read the entire page →
From page 71... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 71 Section 5311-funded transit agencies in Minnesota were to develop a 5-year short-range transit plan (SRTP) with the need for funding detailed, then MnDOT would have something more definitive on which to base funding allocation. Read the entire page →
From page 72... ... 72 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies plans also resulted in MnDOT gaining a more accurate understanding of vehicle replacement and long-term funding needs. With the disruption caused by the 2020 pandemic, it is hard to say exactly what impact the SRTPs have had on service, though more transit facilities are being planned as a result of plan completions. Read the entire page →
From page 73... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 73 Approach to Addressing the Challenge In 2017, Mountain Line completed a 5-year plan. In the course of the study, Mountain Line heard from the public (through a web-based survey and handout surveys at public events) Read the entire page →
From page 74... ... 74 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Summary NAIPTA, also known as Mountain Line, has undertaken several innovative programs in recent years to increase ridership and bolster community involvement. One of these is an analytical process and documentation format to communicate the impacts of proposed service changes. Read the entire page →
From page 75... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 75 – Solutions, with ridership estimates (including any changes to existing route ridership) and costs (including any changes in frequency, route alignments, and infrastructure improvements) Read the entire page →
From page 76... ... 76 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Background MLTA is the public transportation provider for Morgantown, West Virginia. Morgantown is the county seat of Monongalia County and home to WVU, which has an enrollment of approximately 32,000. Read the entire page →
From page 77... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 77 Costs and Benefits of Approach The transit hub relocation and service redesign budget totaled $936,500. There were several benefits to siting the new transit hub at MLTA property across the river. Read the entire page →
From page 78... ... 78 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies county residents. Survey responses suggested a unique service design, which has proved to be very successful in meeting needs. Read the entire page →
From page 79... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 79 To operate and support the route deviation service, OCTA hired 10 drivers, an operations manager, administrative support, and a clerk. Several of the drivers are remotely located, which helps minimize vehicle miles. Read the entire page →
From page 80... ... 80 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Theme #5: Microtransit and FMLM Access Case Example 5A: Manatee County Area Transit Theme: Microtransit and First-Mile/ Last-Mile Access Keywords: FMLM, technology Annual Ridership: 1.5 million Annual Revenue Hours: 141,000 Agency: Manatee County Area Transit Location: Bradenton, FL Annual Revenue Miles: 2 million Annual Operating Expense: $13.2 million Summary MCAT implemented a door-to-door service in low-density areas to provide FMLM connections to transit. Background MCAT, a county department, is the public transportation provider for Manatee County, which is located on Florida's Gulf Coast. Read the entire page →
From page 81... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 81 The microtransit service is working for MCAT and riders because the agency has been able to optimize service hours on the mainland. Lessons Learned The microtransit service was Phase 2 of a service optimization plan. Read the entire page →
From page 82... ... 82 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Deerfield, Whately, Gill, and Leyden. Zone 2 covers Orange, New Salem, Warwick, and Wendell. Read the entire page →
From page 83... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 83 per month, of which 77 were Access trips. FRTA's goal was 900 demand-responsive trips per month. Read the entire page →
From page 84... ... 84 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Background RVTD operates in the Rogue Valley region of Oregon, which includes the cities of Medford and Ashland, along with smaller cities. RVTD services are comprised of the fixed-route bus, paratransit, and the on-demand microtransit that is the subject of this case example. Read the entire page →
From page 85... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 85 the focal points of pre-implementation marketing were the senior center, senior residences, and senior community at large. (Note that the senior center's superintendent sits on an RVTD advisory board and was a vocal supporter of the ODOT grant.) Read the entire page →
From page 86... ... 86 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Service started in December 2019. Ridership on the two-vehicle system reached 640 trips per month before the 2020 pandemic, with a productivity of three trips per hour. Read the entire page →
From page 87... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 87 Summary In 2016, St. Lucie County launched Direct Connect, a service designed to fulfill the transit needs of low-income, mobility-impaired county residents after the fixed-route and ADA paratransit services stopped operating at 6 p.m. Read the entire page →
From page 88... ... 88 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies Direct Connect. Lastly, the required participant co-pay provides a revenue source to assist with program administrative costs. Read the entire page →
From page 89... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 89 County staff made several changes based on challenges and opportunities identified in the initial pilot. They include: • Preparing a Rider Responsibilities Guide to help users understand and comply with rules. Read the entire page →
From page 90... ... 90 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies On-Demand Treasure Coast Connector (Microtransit) In the pilot period, 358 registered users of the On-Demand Treasure Coast Connector took 3,415 rides. Read the entire page →
From page 91... ... Innovative Approaches to Addressing Transit Planning Challenges 91 Summary NAIPTA, also known as Mountain Line, has undertaken several innovative programs in recent years to increase ridership and bolster community involvement. In 2019, the agency completed the On-Demand Feasibility Study (On-Demand Study) Read the entire page →
From page 92... ... 92 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies 2:30 a.m. Saturday and from 11 p.m. Read the entire page →

From page 24...

... 24 C H A P T E R 5 This chapter summarizes the results of the project's case examples. For each completed case example, the following information is provided in narrative form: • Background information about the agency and the context in which it provides or supports transit service.