Region V illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota

Michigan

Michigan Department of Transportation (1207)

Allegan County (346)

Allegan County Job Access (590)

Location: Allegan (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Expanded geographic coverage

Service description: The Job Access Reverse Commute project provides expanded access to employment transportation Monday through Friday (6 AM to 5 PM) to any employment site within our service area. This is service over and above the regular service availability. It was the goal of ACT to provide 1,725 hours of JARC services and 3,450 employment trips for FY 2009.

Evaluation: Number of trips provided is the main story of success; the second are the stories of people that share how grateful they are to keep their employment or start a new job because JARC is there to provide extra service otherwise not available.

Accomplishments: We have several passengers that have reached total independence because of their reliable access to employment. In our county, many low-income individuals can qualify for car purchase, but must be gainfully employed for period of time. The JARC program has been the only option for them to reach eligibility, in which they are then able to purchase a vehicle and achieve independence.

Lessons learned: We had found it very difficult to track actual employers served. Not everyone is willing to provide information about their job. It is very importation to fully understand the needs of job seekers. The local Job Club can help identify barriers to employment. Partnership and coordination with the local job training organization (Michigan Works) is vital. Learn about and understand alternate transit option for your customers. Share with employers your efforts made to meet employees’ needs. Don’t take for granted the employers willingness to be flexible with the drop off and pick-up times.

ALTRAN (347)

JARC evening/weekend services (583)

Location: Alger County (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Expanded geographic coverage

Service description: Providing transportation seven days per week for work trip runs throughout most of Alger County, including late evenings and weekends for people who were unemployed for lack of transportation and for people who cannot afford their own vehicle; coordinate with employment counselors and businesses to help keep the service cost effective.

Evaluation: We monitor by the number of rides in the evenings and weekends and compare year to year. We have a database program that records all work trips. We also monitor cost per ride, and we work with businesses and passengers on scheduling to keep costs down.

Accomplishments: Our greatest accomplishment is the provision of these services to specific individuals who would not otherwise be able to work. Because the majority of unskilled jobs in our area involve working various shifts, many of these people without vehicles had not been able to maintain their employment. Because of the availability of our weekend and evening services, these people are now able to maintain their jobs and continue to provide for their families.

Lessons learned: Probably the most important thing we learned and would recommend is to have a system in place for making reservations and scheduling. The most difficult aspect of this service is educating our riders on how to keep us informed of changes in their schedule and the need to communicate. We would also recommend using a smaller vehicle, such as a mini-van, for cost-efficiency.

Bay Area Transportation Authority (348)

After Hours (608)

Location: Traverse City (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Expanded geographic coverage

Service description: After Hours Service operates inside the Traverse City city limits with four buses to provide expanded service to Grand Traverse County residents who need a ride home from work or who work a late shift at an area business. These rides are set up on a daily basis through our dispatchers before 3 PM. The service runs from 4:30 PM to 12:30 AM, Monday through Sunday.

This program has been a great addition for our ridership who are transit-dependent and work non-traditional hours.

Evaluation: We use ridership trends and feedback from large local employers. We track ridership per route on a daily basis. In 2009, we did see a slight decline due to large factories in the area closing, but ridership is on the rise again. We also use annual comparisons to make decisions on whether to provide the service each year.

Accomplishments: We are starting to get more "choice riders" who have the ability to drive but would rather ride transit. This means our service has improved and riders are choosing to leave their car in the garage to ride public transit.

Lessons learned: It is important to understand what the employers in the area need and form a good working relationship with them.

Bay Metropolitan Transportation Authority (349)

JARC (335)

Location: Bay County (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Extended hours/ days of service

Service description: The BMTA JARC Program is contracted service which provides rides to and from work outside of regular, fixed-route service hours. The contractor provides curb-to-curb, demand response service anywhere in Bay County with a one way fare of $1.50. BMTA reimburses the contractor $2 per mile with JARC grant funds.

Evaluation: BMTA maintains a registration list of clients wishing to use the service. Once the client is initially registered, they are then able to book rides with the contractor. The BMTA evaluation is a comparison of the number of different individuals registered, the number of actual rides provided, and the ability of the funding level to sustain the program.

Accomplishments: The JARC Program registration list has over 300 individuals listed and through the fiscal year, accounted for 11,500 rides.

Lessons learned: BMTA has started this service relying on a "word-of-mouth" approach to marketing. If this service were to be publicized, it is felt the funding would not be able to sustain this type of program. Also, further expansion would require more policing of rides being booked directly to the contractor to avoid the contractor providing service outside the standards set in the program and turning in claims for reimbursement.

JARC (342)

Location: Bay County (MI)

Type: Capital Investment Projects/Vehicle for agency

Goal: Improved system capacity

Service description: One lift van was purchased with JARC funding and leased to the contractor providing JARC service.

Evaluation: Demand for JARC service has been such that the contractor needed an additional vehicle. BMTA has a lease agreement with AAA Transport and Limo LLC. 

Accomplishments: Based on FY 2009 service, the additional vehicle has been able to sustain service. However, additional vehicles may be needed in the future.

Lessons learned: The level of service needed was difficult to judge, especially for service running outside of BMTA fixed route service.

Blue Water Area Transportation Commission (350)

JARC Evening Service Demand Response (471)

Location: Port Huron (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Extended hours/ days of service

Service description: Blue Water Area Transportation Commission (BWATC) expanded demand response evening service to all of our service area with this JARC funding, increasing service from 6 PM until 10 PM, Monday through Friday. This expansion of demand response service included service in the cities of Port Huron and Marysville, as well as Burtchville Township, Port Huron Township, and Fort Gratiot Township.

Evaluation: Passenger count, review of passenger origin/destination, anecdotal evidence, and onboard surveys

Accomplishments: BWATC’s expanded demand response evening service was immediately popular when first instituted in FY 2008 and remained very popular in FY 2009. Ridership was up 20% compared to FY 2008.

Lessons learned: It is easier to add additional buses later, if needed, than it is to reduce the number of buses later, if not needed.

JARC Evening Service Fixed Route (467)

Location: Port Huron (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Fixed route

Goal: Extended hours/ days of service

Service description: Blue Water Area Transportation Commission (BWATC) expanded fixed route service until 10 PM, Monday through Friday. BWATC had extended evening line haul service for Port Huron and Fort Gratiot Township on Thursday and Friday, but this JARC program allowed us to extend line haul evening service for Port Huron and Fort Gratiot Township from 6 PM to 10 PM for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as well.

Evaluation: Passenger counts, review of passenger origin/destination, anecdotal evidence, and onboard surveys,.

Accomplishments: BWATC’s expanded line haul evening service was immediately popular when introduced in FY 2008 and remained so for FY 2009. BWATC experienced a 16% increase in ridership from FY 2008.

Lessons learned: It is easier to add additional buses later, if needed, than it is to reduce the number of buses later, if not needed.

JARC Mobility Manager (468)

Location: Port Huron (MI)

Type: Information-Based Services/Mobility manager

Goal: Improved access/connections

Service description: The Blue Water Area Transportation Commission (BWATC) Mobility Manager helps people in St. Clair County access existing transportation services. With the help of the Mobility Manager, people have access to BWATC’s fixed routes, demand response, and ADA service. In addition, through the Mobility Manager, people can access BWATC’s coordinated, non-profit agency transportation service, our commuter route to Macomb County, and our Voucher Programs. The Mobility Manager matches requests for transportation with existing service and works with the non-profit agencies to ensure the eligibility of travel under our Voucher Program.

Evaluation: BWATC keeps detailed records of vouchers issued and work-related transportation to eligible low-income passengers.

Accomplishments: Adding the Mobility Manager function was the necessary next step in our efforts to coordinate and consolidate non-profit agency transportation. With the Mobility Manager’s help, people throughout St. Clair County are now able to access available seats on directly operated service, as well as service provided by several non-profit agencies.

Lessons learned: Need to have a Mobility Manager in order to get the maximum benefit from coordination and consolidation of existing non-profit transportation programs.

JARC Regional Route (461)

Location: Port Huron (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Fixed route

Goal: Expanded geographic coverage

Service description: The Blue Water Area Transportation Commission (BWATC) operates two fixed commuter regional JARC routes, both of which connect the greater Port Huron area to the more densely job populated Macomb County SMART transportation system. One route, the "Express," runs from Port Huron to 23 Mile Road and Gratiot in Macomb County, via I-94 with one stop in the City of Marysville. The other route, the "Local," starts in Port Huron and runs along the M-29 corridor with stops in Marysville, St. Clair, Marine City, Algonac, Fair Haven, and New Baltimore. The Local also ends at 23 Mile Rd. and Gratiot in Macomb County.

Evaluation: Passenger counts, review of passenger origin/destination, anecdotal evidence, and onboard surveys

Accomplishments: FY 2009 was the first full year that the regional routes were in place. BWATC experienced an increase in ridership of 64% for FY 2009 compared to the same three quarters of service that were performed in FY 2008.

Lessons learned: Service was immediately too popular to be operated with a van.

JARC Voucher Program (469)

Location: Port Huron (MI)

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

Goal: Improved access/connections

Service description: Blue Water Area Transportation Commission (BWATC)’s JARC Voucher Program was designed to lower barriers to employment for people who could not meet their job-related transportation needs with the existing public transportation services available. The Voucher Program was coordinated between BWATC’s Mobility Manager and nine non-profit agencies who primarily deal with low-income clients in St. Clair County. Clients were reviewed and approved for work-related travel vouchers and were reimbursed for approved travel at IRS mileage rates.

Evaluation: BWATC maintains detailed records for Voucher Program eligibility of participants as well as number of participants, number of trips, number of miles, and purpose of trips. Transportation needs of each client were reviewed and reapproved monthly.

Accomplishments: BWATC was able to help 170 people maintain employment during very difficult economic times in southeast Michigan.

Lessons learned: Work with existing service providers that are familiar with the low-income population to determine eligibility for vouchers.

Branch Area Transit Authority (351)

Work First (591)

Location: Branch County (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Extended hours/ days of service

Service description: The Branch Area Transit Authority provides JARC service for Work First in Branch County. The local Work First office contacts the transit agency to coordinate transportation for their clients. Transportation is provided to and from jobs, employment services, job training, education. Service is available seven days per week, 24 hours per day. The clients using this service must be registered with the local Work First office. The transit agency schedules drivers to accommodate the needs of Work First and their clients on an as-needed basis.

Evaluation: We evaluate this project based on meeting the needs of Work First and their clients.

Accomplishments: We feel having the ability to meet the needs of the unemployed in Branch County to be our greatest accomplishment. Of course, we could not succeed in this accomplishment without having the staff at Work First helping to coordinate the service.

Lessons learned: Establish a good working relationship with your local Work First agency and be prepared to have a system in place to complete the required reporting.

City of Ionia Dial-A-Ride (353)

JARC Trip-Based Service (507)

Location: Ionia County (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Expanded geographic coverage

Service description: The service provides public transportation for WtW participants and persons with disabilities the full opportunity for employment and training programs as well as a means to conduct personal business. Routes are operated between the Village of Saranac (twice a month), the City of Ionia, and surrounding townships. Another route is run Monday through Friday, twice a day, from the City of Ionia to the City of Belding, Orleans, and Otisco Townships.

Evaluation: Monitoring of the project is done by the Coordination/Consolidation Committee on a quarterly basis. The performance measures used to track effectiveness are the number of clients utilizing the service. The service addresses the unmet needs of countywide transportation. Many residents of Ionia County, prior to June 1, 2000, were unable to reach job sites or WorkFirst facilities for job-related training due to lack of transportation.

Accomplishments: This program has fostered partnerships between Ionia Dial-A-Ride, Michigan Works, Department of Human Services, Community Mental Health, City of Belding Dial-A-Ride, Ionia County Intermediate School District, Saranac Housing Commission, and Belding Housing Commission. This program has reduced the transportation gaps in our County.

Lessons learned: I would suggest meeting with area agencies to determine their transportation needs.

City of Jackson Transportation Authority (354)

JARC (346)

Location: Jackson County (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Improved system capacity

Service description: Service to work is provided through a demand response mode of transportation, 24 hours a day, seven day a week at a premium fare throughout the County of Jackson in the State of Michigan.

Evaluation: Our community tracked the ridership, dollars expended, and trips performed.

Accomplishments: Providing a meaningful life experience for persons that really appreciate the opportunity to work and be productive taxpaying citizens. Partnering with local agencies that know much more about work service than bus guys do!
Lessons learned: Keep your mind open to trying different options.  The Locally Derived Coordinated Human Resource-Transit Plan is a document that needs to have clear and concise communication on who creates it and who edits the document. The required changes to our previously acceptable document have created additional work for many local agencies on short notice. Hopefully, the plan will be accepted by the deadline, given that each agency has other priorities.
I wish I had know how much need (demand) there is from persons with disabilities to go to work.

City of Sault Ste. Marie (355)

JARC (369)

Location: Sault Ste. Marie (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Extended hours/ days of service

Service description: Four hours of demand response service was added during the peak time of the day and service hours were extended one hour later each day to provide more job-related trips to persons with low-income.

Evaluation: Customer feedback, drivers, dispatch, and drivers logs 

Accomplishments: Add more service 

Lessons learned: How much service to provide and check maximum funding is available

Clare County Transit (356)

AM JARC (618)

Location: Clare County (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Extended hours/ days of service

Service description: We are located in Clare County in rural Michigan, serving a population of approximately 30,000 with 570 square miles. Unemployment in this area is between 15-20%. Currently, we offer curb-to-curb service for regular riders, with no set pattern of pick up. As other rides gain employment, they call in and we schedule them.

Evaluation: We look at the number of riders everyday and monitor. If we have no riders, we don't have provide any service. We never know when someone will call for a ride to work, but we are available when that happens. Over the few years, we have had an average of five riders per day.

Accomplishments: Our greatest accomplishment is getting a person to work so they can make money and support the economy. We work closely with Mid Mich Works to secure transportation for their placements.

Lessons learned: Go out and find people who need rides through word of mouth and social agencies.
If I had known all the paperwork associated with this program, I might have thought twice about starting it.

Clinton Area Transit System (357)

JARC Demand Response Service (549)

Location: Clinton County (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Improved system capacity

Service description: FY 2009 passengers at 150% poverty level, as determined eligible by appropriate human service agency, received transportation to work and work-related activities for no fare. In most cases, this was priority service during our regular operating hours, which are from 6:30 AM to 5:30 PM, Monday through Friday.

Evaluation: Out of 1,442 rides provided, 124 of the passengers were persons with disabilities. 82% of the bus trips were for passengers being trained on skill development and how to present oneself to an employer.

Accomplishments: Coordination on the MPO-level with private transportation, human service, and public transportation agencies. Additional coordination with six other human service agencies who identified clients in need of transportation to work and verified eligibility and schedule by filling out a form and signing it. Passenger then took responsibility and arranged for the service with our dispatch. 100% of the service provided was for JARC-eligible passengers.

Lessons learned: Once the process is in place as developed through coordination with human service agencies, it goes fairly smoothly.

Eastern UP Transportation Authority (359)

Curtis Run (477)

Location: Luce County (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Extended hours/ days of service

Service description: The "Curtis Run" was targeted to get low-income people to work and to provide essential transportation needs in the outlying areas of the Village of Newberry in Luce County. Currently, there are no other means of public transportation in this rural area. The Eastern Upper Peninsula Transportation Authority (EUPTA) provides transportation for people with disabilities and the general public to attend workshops, jobs, and other appointments as needed.

Evaluation: Ridership counts were used as our performance measure.

Accomplishments: Positive feedback from the general public, as well as human services agencies who use our service.

Lessons learned: Increased costs have forced EUPTA to cut our service hours in the past and we have not been able to bring the service back to the public needs. Develop a flexible budget that will allow the service provider room for decreased funding.

Isabella County Transportation Commission (360)

Isabella County Transportation Commission (358)

Location: Isabella County, Mt. Pleasant city (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Extended hours/ days of service

Service description: JARC funding has allowed the Isabella County Transportation Commission (ICTC) to increase the number of flex-routes serving the county areas outside the immediate area of the City of Mt. Pleasant and surrounding Union Township. Funds added evening service to facilitate use of public transportation services by rural county residents entering or re-entering the job force in positions traditionally referred to as second and third shift work. Additions allow efficient use of public transit to and from job sites without long waits, or no service.

Evaluation: Adult county ridership is up 50%. More people are using the out-county service after 5 PM and a higher percentage are using service for job-related transportation.

Accomplishments: Increasing county ridership. Coordination with local agencies serving job seekers; facilitating a more efficient use of tax dollars to reintegrate employees into the workforce.

Lessons learned: Work with human service agencies helping the unemployed seek work and with major employers in the community to help sustain their workforce.
We wish we had a better knowledge of workforce needs from the employer's perspective to more immediately address their service needs and to facilitate a more coordinated scheduling time frame to improve efficiency of service.

Key Opportunities (361)

Key Opportunities, Inc. - Job Access (559)

Location: Hillsdale County (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Improved access/connections

Service description: Job Access provides rides to work and work training, application, and interview process. The top priority is to provide night and weekend service, but rides are provided at other times as well as possible within budget. Most rides are individual, although efforts are always made to combine rides and riders when feasible.

Evaluation: We evaluate the service by the number of people served, rides given, and meeting needs upon short notice (generally less than one day's notice is received to schedule rides). Key has been able to meet these needs with minimal notice, thus assuring that people are able to apply and interview for jobs, accept jobs, and maintain them due to this service.
We commit to providing rides 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, with 24 hour notice, however, it is frequently upon less notice.
Accomplishments: 353 rides provided to 21 people (some duplication) to 20 jobs, means that those people and their families experienced increased self-sufficiency and self-worth. It also means a reduction in long term dependence on support services due to having short term transportation. This service is also helpful to employers as they do not see absence from their lines and a reduction in daily output.

Lessons learned: We suspend people from service for no show. This is important in saving financial and personal resources. Before we instituted this policy, some people showed no respect for the service with drivers going to pick up passengers and being frustrated as the person did not take the ride.
After a person has been employed for at least three weeks, they pay a minimal ride fare which increases slightly as employment is maintained. This has helped to encourage people to develop ride shares at their jobs. Prior to instituting the fare, we had some people say they would work only until the "free" rides were done.

Lenawee County (362)

Lenawee County Collaborative for Human & Transit Services (546)

Location: Lenawee County (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Extended hours/ days of service

Service description: Walk-ins and consumer referrals from the DHS, SCMWs, CAA, MDLEG, Goodwill Industries, CMH, our LAC, and the MPRI are evaluated through the South Central Michigan Works! office. A cost-effective transportation plan for employment-related activities is determined. Walking/bike riding/public transportation are the first and most cost-effective resources explored. JARC funds are used for transportation services needed in the evening, outside of public transit's normal service area, or during weekend hours.

Eligible participants call to set up their rides, at least by 5 PM the day before. With this information ahead of time, a predetermined schedule can be developed and rides can be coordinated. Same day service is available if it is reasonable and if time allows. If there is a conflict, other options are explored, such as the local taxi.
Services are provided as needed. We do not have a fixed route and schedules are set up based on our customers' needs.

Evaluation: Through the collaborative efforts of our core committee members, potential riders are identified. The fact that we have this service available "after hours" is a measure of success. We evaluate our project on the impact it has on our clients/participants. First, we consider barrier removal to be a successful outcome. With these program dollars, we are able to remove the transportation barrier for over 90% of the participants for whom otherwise would be limited. Additionally, we use entered employment as a performance measure. With unusually high unemployment rates (17.4% in Lenawee County, March 2010), we find it is important to establish realistic benchmarks. Matching candidates to employment opportunities is a measure of success. Job retention and program sustainability is another measure. Our goal is to be sure that no participant loses employment due to transportation issues.

Accomplishments: We consider the small increase of funding an accomplishment for this competitive grant. Our group continues to meet on a monthly basis to discuss transportation barriers and how we can best reduce or eliminate them. Our Collaborative is an example of a successful work group that focuses on the best interest of the consumer. We have been successful in compiling transportation services that are available in our County. This information has been made available to our 2-1-1 center.
We transported 1,661 passengers and traveled over 42,400 miles. We spent over 1,500 hours on the road at an estimated cost of $72,900. Transportation service is the primary purpose for the job retention and success for the sustained employment, despite a bleak economic climate.

Lessons learned: Make sure transit agencies have the proper equipment to accommodate everyone. At least one back-up vehicle would be extremely helpful, too. Make sure you have plenty of operating funds up front and be prepared for the worst. Excellent organizational skills, proper record keeping skills, and the ability to multi-task are essential for a successful operation. Flexibility and patience are a bonus. Gather a dedicated team of supporters with similar goals and keep the lines of communication open. Share ideas. Prepare agendas each time you meet.

Mecosta/Osceola Transit (364)

Mecosta Osceola Transit Authority (604)

Location: Mecosta and Osceola counties (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Improved system capacity

Service description: Provide transportation to low-income clients to work, job training, and job seeking on all of our vehicles.

Evaluation: Last year our service only provided 651 one way trips. In this fiscal year, we provided 1,152 one way trips, almost double from last year.

Accomplishments: Having the service available for clients to train, obtain, and retain working status in their lives; creating a sense of worth in our communities

Lessons learned: Promote your system, contact human services, Michigan Works, senior centers, and employers in your area.

Muskegon Area Transit System (365)

Muskegon Area Transit System Suburban Transit Targeted Marketing Project (568)

Location: Muskegon County (MI)

Type: Information-Based Services/Information materials/marketing

Goal: Improved customer knowledge

Service description: JARC-funded marketing efforts were conducted through print and radio media to encourage ridership on a particular suburban route of the system and the system as a whole.

Evaluation: The project was evaluated by a comparison of FY 2008 and FY 2009 ridership. System-wide ridership during this period increased 1.3%. However, ridership on the targeted suburban route declined 4.9%. System-wide growth, but decline on this suburban route, is attributed, in hindsight, to the economics of the local community. With a high unemployment rate, the system continued to serve as an important link for the community. However, the trip attractors (jobs, shopping, etc.) of the suburban service were used to a lesser extent. The marketing and outreach efforts of this JARC project did, however, help to mitigate what could have been a more substantial dip in ridership.

Accomplishments: This project assisted in developing awareness of the value of public transportation to suburban retailers and non-users of the service.

Lessons learned: Market to ridership markets, but also to broad public support markets. These broader markets, such as the business community, can be great supporters of transit services, even where they have not been engaged before.

Peoples Express (366)

People's Express Mobility Mgt, RideConnect (394)

Location: Washtenaw County (MI)

Type: Information-Based Services/Mobility manager

Goal: Improved access/connections

Service description: RideConnect is a coordination call center that provides individuals with information on available transportation options. This information is based on the individual's trip needs in Washtenaw County and selected areas in Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston, Monroe, Oakland, and Wayne counties. RideConnect also coordinates transit services among existing public, private, non-profit, and human service transportation providers.

Evaluation:

Information tracked daily and compiled monthly:

- number of calls into the call center, callers assisted with ride, callers assisted with fare subsidy, and times each transportation provider is used to complete a trip tracked by a web-based database

- number of individuals travel trained tracked via registration forms and training log

Information tracked daily by the database and compiled quarterly:
- number of human service agency staff travel trained tracked via training log
- number of new providers added to the database tracked by web-based database
- number of brochures and locations brochures distributed tracked by distribution log
Accomplishments: RideConnect has developed several key relationships within the community. Due to its ability to reach a wide audience, Blue Print for Aging requested that RideConnect administer its current voucher program and as a result, the Director met with ETCs to discuss development of voucher program for WorkFirst clients. In addition, because RideConnect has become a central part of coordinated efforts in Washtenaw County, it was selected to be the lead to update both Ann Arbor Urbanized Area and Rural Coordinated Public Transit - Human Services Transportation Plans.

Lessons learned: Have a long range strategic plan in place with an implementation plan that outlines specific benchmarks and timelines. It is also beneficial to have a clear understanding and grasp of the political climate regarding transit issues in the county.

People's Express Work Rides (347)

Location: Washtenaw County (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Expanded geographic coverage

Service description: Transit access, demand responsive, scheduling 24 hours in advance with commuter service stops for transfer along the U.S. 23 corridor between Washtenaw, Livingston and Oakland County border boundaries. The service delivers individuals curb-to-curb and to bus stops of Livingston County and AATA in Ann Arbor.

Evaluation: All benchmarks exceeded expectations. Rides also available for the under-employed and employment services. All rides are designated by type of ride and funding source at the time the schedule is made. The rides that are picked up at commuter stops are recorded by the driver at the time of pick up and added to the monthly manifest by the data controller each day. All rides are tallied at the end of each month and reported to MDOT Quarterly in the PTMS. Directors reports are maintained monthly and by fiscal year.

Accomplishments: Keeping as many people working as possible, even if they are part time. Many people leave one part time job and have to go to another in the same day. Before JARC ride funding, we did not have the man hours available to provide these extra services. One of our greatest accomplishments is the success of providing more rides by adding two extra hours in the morning and in the evening. We adjusted our hours through the requests from the customers themselves. Through outreach to work places we were able to find small groups of people who were all going at the same time to a particular location, i.e. hospital worker/s, business associates, etc. and coordinate a time and place of pickup.

Lessons learned: Begin research and collaboration with Work Groups in your county and neighboring regional common borders. Set up transfer points and coordinated hours. Draw in all members of your Coordinated Human Services Plan and Urban Coordinated Plans. Though different in composition, for the person going to work many cross jurisdictional lines and collaboration is critical. People are traveling further to jobs than they once were as many have had to take jobs further from their homes. JARC is one of the most successful programs we have. We have been providing JARC rides for several years and have several victory stories. A worthwhile program from FTA.

Pioneer Resources (367)

Pioneer Resources Job Access Countywide Service (567)

Location: Ottawa County (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Expanded geographic coverage

Service description: Pioneer Resources provides transportation to work for low-income adults and adults with disabilities (also qualified as low-income) within Ottawa County. The service area encompasses the entire county and includes suburban and rural areas. Pioneer Resources is the only countywide transportation provider in Ottawa County. Service hours are 24 hours a day and seven days a week to accommodate jobs that are second and third shift. The majority of these passengers are employed in manufacturing or service sector jobs that depend on these extended hours and service area to access their employment at a wide variety of companies including Herman Miller, Kandu Inc., Meijers, Pizza Hut, and many other major employers within our community.

Evaluation: Pioneer Resources has numerous performance measures that are used to track the quality and effectiveness of our transportation program. The most important measures are customer satisfaction and safety. We complete yearly customer satisfaction surveys. These surveys are reviewed by stakeholders within the community. Some of the other measures that are tracked include service miles, accidents, training of employees, customer complaints and the resolution process, and feedback from community partners such as social service agencies that refer individuals with unmet transit needs.

Accomplishments: We feel this has been a highly successful program! One of our passengers, Jessica W., boarded the bus the other day and said "I love my job!". She is unable to get a driver’s license due to a disability and relies on Pioneer Resources to get to her job. And we are supporting hundreds of employees such as Jessica. We know that the employers are depending on us to get their valued employees to work. Ottawa County has extremely limited transportation services, with most of the areas we serve having no other transportation provider. This program is our passengers only source of transportation to work, so the service is critical to keeping jobs in our community. Thank you for all of your support! The passengers might not know the bus service is being funded by the Job Access program, but they know they love their jobs and appreciate the transportation program we provide with your funding! 

Lessons learned: Our biggest challenge was keeping up with such a dynamic system. We had people coming from all over the county and work schedules that varied by days and times. We started with paper and pencil type dispatch, but this was not enough to track all of these trips and schedules. We moved to spreadsheets and then to a customized Access database. Expensive software was out of our reach, but we were able to create homemade solutions that work. Pioneer Resources gets our passengers to their jobs safely and on time! 

Saginaw Transit Authority Regional Services (368)

Saginaw Transit Authority Regional Service (350)

Location: Saginaw County (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Expanded geographic coverage

Service description: The project is the continuation of taxicab services offered after STARS regular hours of operation for eligible individuals to return from work or work-related activities. The service is offered as an additional means of transportation since the Authority's hours of operation (6 AM - 8 PM) do not coincide with the employment hour opportunities within the Saginaw community (24 hours a day).

Evaluation: The service is coordinated by STARS acting as the administrator of the program working participants. Once eligible clients have been identified and approved through the process established, those participants may directly contact the taxicab service (HRPB, Co.) to arrange for transportation after STARS regular service hours.

Accomplishments: Through the first quarter of FY 2009, the service has provided 531 rides and traveled 2,412 miles in 91 hours. The first quarter numbers represent a significant increase in the utilization of this service (over six times as many passengers, miles, and hours). The addition of the Department of Human Services (DHS) has proven effective in successfully marketing this program to Saginaw County residents 

Lessons learned: Coordination of this service could be better with more participation from DHS.

Shiawassee Area Transportation Agency (369)

JARC Operations (340)

Location: Shiawassee County (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Extended hours/ days of service

Service description: Our demand response service operates Monday through Friday, 6 AM - 6 PM. JARC Operations expands that service to 10 PM in the most populous portion of the County and to weekend service by appointment.

Evaluation: The growth of our JARC service shows the continued demand for service to and from second and third shift jobs.

Accomplishments: In FY 2008, we were able to provide 12,231 trips with JARC Service. The amount of JARC funding has not kept pace with expenses.

Lessons learned: Keep asking for help from funding sources and network with your peers for ideas.

Mobility Manager (341)

Location: Shiawassee County (MI)

Type: Information-Based Services/Mobility manager

Goal: Improved access/connections

Service description: Our Mobility Manager program has three major functions: 1) Manage the New Freedom Accessible Taxi and Volunteer Driver programs; 2) See local match funding for these programs and publicize the availability of services; and 3) Keep an up-to-date directory of transportation resources available in the community and coordinate their use for customers seeking such help.

Evaluation: Since the program is relatively new, we do not yet have accurate benchmarks. We evaluate our projects by the usage they get.

Accomplishments: We have been able to fill a small part of the transportation gaps for our county citizens, especially those whose needs cannot be met by our demand response service. This is especially true for medical appointments outside our county.

Lessons learned: Be sure that you can meet the match components of each grant.

SMART (370)

JARC (595)

Location: Oakland County (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Improved system capacity

Service description: The JARC grant was used to provide work rides to residents of the non urban areas of Oxford and Addison townships. NOTA provides rides to work on a demand response basis for no charge to residents within these communities. NOTA took residents to various places of employment including the Palace of Auburn Hills, Kroger, Meijer, McDonalds, Burger King, RLM Industries, Unisolar, Certified Products and Supplies, General Motors, and many more. The service area provided was within the Addison, Orion, and Oxford townships, plus 15 miles beyond each border. Service also included trips to Great Lakes Mall where a SMART connector bus was available to help riders connect to locations outside of the NOTA area.

Evaluation: NOTA evaluated the rides given by using the approved cost allocation plan formula as its basis. All rides were broken down by rider category, community, and purpose. The rides were then summarized on a quarterly basis and compared with the year prior to determine if the program was successful. The number of work rides by rider type was also computed including Seniors to work, Disabled Seniors to work, Disabled to work, and Regular to work.

Accomplishments: NOTA gave 8,773 work rides, which was up from 6,847 from the same period of the previous year. This increase of 1,926 rides equaled a 28% increase in work rides, primarily to the extra five buses that were on the road as a result of the JARC funds, as well as the start of the weekend service from 8 AM to 4 PM on Saturday and 8 AM to 2 PM on Sunday. In addition, NOTA made an effort to speak to various places of employment and employment agencies in the area, informing them of the service available.

Lessons learned: It would have been helpful to have the cost allocation plan done prior to starting the program to help with the evaluation as the year went on. Also, the waiting period for the available grant funds that year was difficult to pre fund the weekend service until the federal funds were available.

St. Joseph County Transportation Authority (371)

Job Readiness Transportation (573)

Location: St. Joseph County (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Improved system capacity

Service description: Transportation of low-income and welfare recipient clients to job/work readiness training, job search, and related activities. Both job/work readiness and job search activities are provided by Michigan Works. 

Evaluation: We look at all our numbers every month to figure out if we are missing riders that had ridden the month before and check with all of our agencies to see if we are taking care of the clients that are in need of the service. We have talked to a lot of employers about the JARC service to see what the needs are. I think the benchmarks are to make sure every year we are able to increase our awareness in the county for the program and raise our number of riders by at least 25%.

Accomplishments: Our county took a big hit with unemployment and we have had riders who called and said that their car had been taken away and had no way to seek work or riders who still had a job but their car was not running and in a panic about getting to work. In both cases, we have been able to transport these riders with the JARC funding. All the riders have been so overwhelmed with this service they can't thank us enough. We have been working very hard to get the service re-established in the county.

Lessons learned: Please make sure before you apply for JARC that you fully understand the program and make sure that you are aware of the needs in the area. We had a bigger need than we thought and the funding did not last for as long in the year as we needed it to. Do your homework in your county to determine how much service you will need to provide.

Thunder Bay Transportation Authority (372)

FY 2009 Section 5316 Job Access (JARC) Program (427)

Location: Alcona, Montmorency, and Oscoda counties (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Expanded geographic coverage

Service description: The JARC Program provides funds for local programs administered by the Michigan Works and Department of Human Service agencies within our three-county service area. These programs include transportation to and from work, as well as transportation for job searching and/or employment-related activities. The service agencies of each county work together with TBTA on a regular basis to monitor ridership and funds. TBTA also works within our Coordinated Transit Plan to find additional service providers in order to stretch funds. Some of the job searching trips require transportation out of the service area (and some jobs have as well).

Evaluation: Currently, TBTA monitors the program based on the funding. The service agencies themselves monitor the ridership and routes to ensure effective transportation scheduling. TBTA will monitor the routes - dates and times - and schedule accordingly to ensure efficient transportation routes. We are looking at revising the performance measures for the upcoming fiscal program year.

Accomplishments: Currently, we are able to provide access to transportation that these individuals wouldn't have without the funds. There have been some individuals that have landed fruitful employment, but TBTA doesn't have anything spectacular to report overall; just overlying success with the program.

Lessons learned: TBTA is currently reviewing our Coordinated Transit Plan. We feel it is not detailed and "meaty" enough. You need a good plan, as well as a great partnership with the agencies involved in order to make this program work. We have been very lucky in that respect; all of our agencies work very well together and share the funds appropriately.

Western Washtenaw Area Value Express (373)

Mobility Management (485)

Location: Washtenaw County (MI)

Type: Information-Based Services/One-stop center/referral

Goal: Improved customer knowledge

Service description: JARC-funded services provided during FFY 2009 were in three specific areas: Transportation Providers Databank inclusion; human service agency contacts and education; and prospective riders.

Since this is grant was used to set up a Mobility Management program, it was done from the ground up....physical plant, mobility management team, data bases, then outreach to transportation providers, human service agencies, and potential users.

Evaluation: Performance measured used in tracking this project were award funding; and the performance of the Mobility Manager and team to continue setting up project in areas of physical plant, data base, website, and contact made with community agencies.

Accomplishments: Establishing the first Mobility Management center of this kind in southeastern Michigan.

Lessons learned: Understanding the implications of working with other contributing entities would have been helpful in setting up this collaborative venture.

Yates Township (374)

Yates Township Dial A Ride (351)

Location: Lake, Mason, and Oceana counties (MI)

Type: Trip-Based Services/Demand response

Goal: Expanded geographic coverage

Service description: JARC funds are used to provide transportation to employment needs of individuals with limited incomes as well as providing transportation to employment opportunities from urban and non-urban areas to suburban areas for individuals of all income levels on a 24/7 basis.

Evaluation: We have meetings among the providers to evaluate ridership and effectiveness of services. Meetings are held two times a year to review and monitor the success of the program and to make necessary adjustments. Accounting data will reflect actual expenses and budgeting.

Accomplishments: We had an increase from FY 2008 of 101 rides with an additional 19,647 miles driven. We had enough funds for 11 months out of a 12-month period.

Lessons learned: Team work is essential with public service organization and transportation systems. Coordination and communication is vital to the success of the JARC program.