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Pages 26-47

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From page 26... ... Would requiring insurance coverage at the same level that you require for a contractor operat ing ADA paratransit service price out some of the prospective local transportation providers that might be options for providing an alternative service? Transit agencies have taken different approaches for insurance. Read the entire page →
From page 27... ... Is there a budget the alternative service must meet? The case study transit agencies used different funds to support operations of their alternative services, including FTA Section 5310. Read the entire page →
From page 28... ... If one of the objectives of your service is to help reduce the overall costs for ADA paratransit (or to provide more trips without increasing the budget) , it may be useful to estimate the extent of the new trip-making and the estimated cost of those new trips and compare that with the savings from the mode-shift trips taken on the alternative service but that would have been taken on the ADA paratransit service. Read the entire page →
From page 29... ... If your transit agency currently uses any contractors for nondedicated service to support the ADA paratransit service, perhaps one or more of these contractors might be considered options to also provide the alternative service. If so, be sure the provider has adequate capacity for both types of service, and ensure there are no incentives or disincentives in an agreement, such as the rate structure, that causes the provider to favor one type of service over the other. Read the entire page →
From page 30... ... 3-8 Provision of Alternative Services by Transit Agencies: The Intersection of Regulation and Program customer may have to take and pay for a round trip to reach such an establishment. That said, if it's a location where errands are regularly made, adding one more to-do item would address that argument. Read the entire page →
From page 31... ... ADA paratransit. When a transit agency enters into an arrangement of some type with a private provider such as a TNC or taxi company to provide an alternative service, the "stand in the shoes" requirement does not apply when the transit Alternative service providers do agency only provides subsidies to the private provider to underwrite its riders' not "stand in the shoes" of a transit use of the private providers' service, such as those given to ADA paratransit agency. Read the entire page →
From page 32... ... . Service Equivalency Criteria Versus ADA Paratransit's Six Service Criteria Unlike the six service criteria that apply to ADA paratransit, the seven service equivalency criteria are not intended to frame service to be complementary to a transit agency's fixed-route service. Read the entire page →
From page 33... ... Given that communities of color are disproportionally low-income, each public transit agency has an obligation under Title VI to ensure that alternative methods of both payment and reservations are available." Foxx 2016 The FTA's Drug and Alcohol Testing Requirements Federal transit law requires transit agencies receiving funding through the FTA's urban and rural grant programs to comply with drug and alcohol testing of staff in safety-sensitive positions, including those operating, dispatching, and maintaining revenue service vehicles. Vehicle operators are the primary staff impacted by the regulations. Read the entire page →
From page 34... ... If a transit agency designs its alternative service such that it meets the applicable NTD reporting requirements -- e.g., shared-ride service, not a pilot, specified data submitted by the providers -- then a transit agency should be able to include data from the alternative service in its annual NTD submission, which means the provider contracts need to specify the collection and reporting of data required by the NTD. Finalize Design and Policies for the Alternative Service Various policies provide structure for the alternative service, with guidelines for riders' use. Read the entire page →
From page 35... ... This impacts productivity, which may increase the cost per ADA paratransit trip. One transit agency recommended looking for changes in riders' trip patterns, particularly unpredicted ones, with an alternative service that may impact the ADA paratransit service and the resulting cost-efficiency of the alternative service. Read the entire page →
From page 36... ... Service Policies The research found considerable variation on the policies transit agencies use to structure their alternative services; see Chapter 10 for a more complete discussion of service policy options. Service Area Should the service area for the alternative service mirror your ADA paratransit service area or extend beyond that? Read the entire page →
From page 37... ... Flagstaff, AZ Mountain Line Mountain Line designed its alternative service with a service area purposefully larger than its ADA paratransit service so riders could make longer trips than would be possible on ADA paratransit. With a finalized design, next steps involve preparing procurement and contract documents; see Chapter 4 on implementation. Read the entire page →
From page 38... ... □ Consider ADA criteria as well as the roles and responsibilities in fulfilling service criteria between the transit agency and service partners. □ Consider Title VI and drug and alcohol testing requirements and their applicability to the alternative service. Read the entire page →
From page 39... ... Several of the case study transit agencies used an RFP to solicit interested transportation companies to provide the transit agency's alternative service (RFP examples are in Appendix B) Read the entire page →
From page 40... ... Data The transit agency needs data from its providers to monitor and evaluate the alternative service. The range of data that should be available will depend on the design of the alternative service, for Source: Image courtesy of Tri Delta Transit and its three providers. Read the entire page →
From page 41... ... For user-side subsidy programs, the following data, by provider, should be collected: • Number of WAVs in fleet, if any • Aggregated data – Total passenger trips provided/subsidized – Total transaction amounts • Disaggregated data – Each trip and transaction amount Wheelchair-Accessible Service Ensure the RFP addresses the need for wheelchair-accessible service. As discussed in Chapter 3, the transit agency can require providers to have WAVs. Read the entire page →
From page 42... ... alternative service. With many user-side subsidy model alternative services, riders use a fare payment card sup plied by the fare card technology vendor or a credit card issued by a partnering bank where the use of the card is limited to a certain type of vendor (such as taxis and limousines) Read the entire page →
From page 43... ... Start Service as a Pilot Consider whether the alternative service should start as a pilot. The advantage of a pilot is that revisions and changes can be made as experience is gained before the service is a formal offering by the transit agency. Read the entire page →
From page 44... ... Feedback from the participat ing riders can be instructive to assess their experience and understand if the user information is effective. When the MBTA began its On-Demand Paratransit program as a pilot in 2016, it limited the pilot program to the first 400 ADA paratransit customers who signed up. Read the entire page →
From page 45... ... Outreach and discussion with your disability advisory group should also be conducted so members know the service is coming. User Information and Marketing Materials User information and marketing materials need to make clear the distinction between the on-demand service and ADA paratransit. Read the entire page →
From page 46... ... 4-8 Provision of Alternative Services by Transit Agencies: The Intersection of Regulation and Program Source: COTA. Figure 4-4. COTA held an open house to help introduce its alternative service, Mainstream On-Demand, to riders. Read the entire page →
From page 47... ... "Make sure you start slowly so the provider is not overwhelmed." Advice from GRTC Checklist □ Determine whether your agency should issue an RFP for the alternative service or negotiate directly with potential transportation providers. □ For RFPs, hold a bidders' conference to allow prospective transportation providers to ask questions and gain a better understanding about the service to be provided. Read the entire page →

From page 26...

... Would requiring insurance coverage at the same level that you require for a contractor operat ing ADA paratransit service price out some of the prospective local transportation providers that might be options for providing an alternative service? Transit agencies have taken different approaches for insurance.