Region V illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota

SMALL URBAN/RURAL PROJECTS

Illinois

Illinois Department of Transportation (1177)

Henry County (1040)

Employment Transportation (1753)

Location: Henry County (IL)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Improved system capacity

Service description: County-wide employment transportation services to persons with disabilities 

Evaluation: Four criteria:
1. Ridership
2. Accessibility
3. Pick-up Time
4. Arrival Time 

Accomplishments: Increase in ridership, employer interest, and accessibility to persons with disabilities 

Lessons learned: Large need for employment transportation for persons with disabilities 

Shawnee Mass Transit District (1041)

Employment Transportation (1754)

Location: Alexander, Johnson, Massac, Union, and Pulaski counties (IL)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Improved system capacity

Service description: Employment transportation in the five-county service area 

Evaluation: Driver feedback and satisfaction surveys 

Accomplishments: Increased ridership to places of employment in all five counties 

Lessons learned: Public perception is that our service is for elderly and persons with disabilities, only. We are conducting outreach to increase awareness. 

South Central Illinois Mass Transit District (1042)

Employment Transportation (1755)

Location: Franklin County (IL)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Improved access/connections

Service description: Employment transportation for low-income, developmentally disabled riders 

Evaluation: Cost per trip 

Accomplishments: Increased ridership 

Lessons learned: JARC program is too restrictive for our overall service design

West Central Mass Transit District (1043)

Contractual Employment Services (1756)

Location: Cass, Brown, Morgan, and Scott counties (IL)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Improved access/connections

Service description: Contractual services with DOT Foods and Cargill companies

Evaluation: Ridership and accessibility 

Accomplishments: Provided ridership to each of the contracted companies and expanded commuting services from the areas where the companies are located into Morgan county employers 

Lessons learned: Shift work hours and overall instability in number of hours worked requires a more creative approach to transportation options.

Indiana

Indiana Department of Transportation (1189)

Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority (713)

Coordinated Plan for Rural Demand Transit (1425)

Location: Central Indiana (Indianapolis and surrounding counties) (IN)

Type: Capital Investment Projects/Other capital projects

Goal: Improved system capacity

Service description: As Central Indiana grows, the rural transit providers in the region are seeing a change in the needs of service recipients and increasing demand for services. Providers are being asked to connect to other providers in neighboring counties and employers are looking for mobility options for the workforce. Area leaders are looking for performance outcomes that meet local needs and rural transit providers are constantly looking to increase efficiencies and leverage partnerships. As a result, the rural transit providers of Central Indiana have agreed to partner on a planning effort that will bring attention to these matters.

The rural transit providers of the eight counties of central Indiana that surround Marion (Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Madison, Morgan, and Shelby) have agreed to partner in developing a coordinated planning process that will evaluate and make recommendations to address concerns in the following areas:
- Address the need for seamless travel from urban to rural areas and county-to-county transit
- Identify opportunities for resource sharing among rural transit providers looking specifically for economies of scale in purchasing, communications, and technology
- Develop a marketing plan for regional service operations 

Evaluation: As of reporting, the planning activities were still in process. Though evaluation will be measured by increased ridership through use of communication tools, increased shared resources, increased number of cross county trips, and improved performance on a cost per trip basis that results in improved capacity through implementation of strategies in the plan.

Accomplishments: As of the program year, we have successfully improved communication among the participating providers. Rural transit has been identified as a primary component in the family of transportation options in central Indiana. The planning process has also been covered by the regional weekly business journal.

Lessons learned: Coordination is best served by communication. Work to understand the goals and challenges of the providers individually. As your work to build coordination, strategies can be tailored to meet individual needs into the fabric of a regional transportation network.

Johnson County Access (705)

Access Johnson County JARC Capital Project (1314)

Location: Johnson County (IN)

Type: Capital Investment Projects/ITS-related hardware/software investments

Goal: Improved system capacity

Service description: Used the additional computer hardware and software to outfit the third position of the dispatch room

Evaluation: There are fewer errors in the scheduling and dispatch process.

Accomplishments: We are able to go paperless in the dispatch and scheduling process.

Lessons learned: It would be much more efficient to have two monitors to assist passengers with their rides and drivers with directions, etc.

LINK Hendricks Co. (704)

Link (1397)

Location: Hendricks County (IN)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Improved access/connections

Service description: Provide transportation services to bring persons with disabilities to Sycamore's Work Center for sheltered work or to take supported employment to their place of employment.

Evaluation: Evaluation is based on increase in ridership to their place of employment. No benchmarks were available because this was a new service.

Accomplishments: Satisfaction in helping clients to get to their job and provide meaningful fulfillment in their lives

Lessons learned: It would have been very helpful if we would have had training up front.

Marshall County Public Transit (708)

Marshall County Public Transit (1137)

Location: Marshall County (IN)

Type: Information-Based Services/Information materials/marketing

Goal: Improved customer knowledge

Service description: Advertisement and promotion of our transportation service, especially for people with jobs who will not drive

Evaluation: We are hoping for an increase in ridership. We have seen some increase in the outlying areas.

Accomplishments: Set up program within sheltered work shop

Lessons learned: Continually work with group homes; getting word out to them as well as general population regarding our transportation service

Van-Go (706)

Knox County Commissioners dba Van Go (1275)

Location: Knox County (IN)

Type: Trip-Based Services/User-side subsidies/vouchers

Goal: Improved system capacity

Service description: Our first attempt at utilizing JARC funding began with a three month education plan. From October to December, our focus was on preparing a new voucher program for Head Start children and their families. The primary goal was to provide much needed transportation to low-income children/families to Head Start, employment, and school. By allowing these children to get to Head Start, parents had the opportunity to continue their education or find work while the child was away. In addition, the Head Start program was assisting families with medical, dental, nutrition, and early intervention for the child. Transportation seemed like a continuum of the service.

The new voucher program would allow for parent to earn vouchers through the public transit system for their children and themselves. The voucher must be earned by going to classes, work, or volunteering at different functions. Vouchers are good for one month and must be re-issued each month. For the first year, our goal was to establish one new route inside the City of Vincennes. We hired one new driver. Due to the young age of these children, this route was established as a door-to-door service with drop off at PACE. The route was to run to accommodate both morning and afternoon classes, though some children would stay all day. Rides would also be available to parents, low-income, and persons with disabilities who need to access public transportation for work-related purposes. The vouchers were issued through the PACE/BABE store; who kept track of those earning a voucher for the month.

Evaluation: Surveys were sent out to all Head Start families in July, however the return rate on those were minimal. Our biggest evaluation was the how quickly the program took off. In the first six months, one part time driver was capable of handling most of the riders, with slight spillover to other route drivers. As the year went on, we realized that the driver would need to be fulltime and the requests from children and their families were coming in countywide. Our one small route had turned into making twelve individual runs daily to accommodate all the families needing transportation.

Head Start numbers have increased to the point where we have established a whole new route system for these children. AM and PM routes have now been established in both Vincennes, Bicknell, and the surrounding area. Two buses and drivers are needed to accomplish these routes. By the end of the first grant year, we had gone from six to 80 families being served. We have based the success of the program on increases in calls, routes, drivers, and families served.

Another evaluation is the number of businesses we are transporting individuals to for employment. Currently, we are taking individuals to YMCA daycare, Grandy's, Lincoln High School, Clark Middle School, Taco Bell, Fazoli, Big Lot, Subway, Norge Laundry, Mr. Gatti, Cardinal Liquor, Pizza Hut, KCARC, Dove Manufacturing, McDonalds, Gentlecare, and Willow Manor Nursing Home.

Accomplishments: Established four routes. One route originates in Vincennes and takes children to Bicknell for services. We have extended our hours to pick up workers as early as 5:45 AM. Creation of a new voucher program, which has greatly enhanced the lives of many of our consumers. The fact that the vouchers must be earned, not just given out, seems to give these families a sense of pride and independence. Vouchers may also be earned through volunteer program within the city, such as community events, bus aide, or volunteering for PACE. Our biggest accomplishment is seeing people utilize the system who would otherwise be unable to be so independent.

Lessons learned: The amount of time it would take to get started; the whole first quarter was spent with paperwork, marketing, and education. Our actual routes did not start until January and even then at a very slow pace. Give yourself more lead time when getting your ideas together. When this takes off, it really takes off. Have a target number of people that you will be happy serving your first year. Be prepared to handle it when things finally fall into place. Our service seemed to blossom over night after several months of hit or miss. Don't be afraid to try new things. We ran into so many family dynamics that we were unprepared for. Hauling small children has it's challenges. Be prepared.