2002 transportation disadvantaged implementation report

8/2/2019 2002 Transportation Disadvantaged Implementation Report

1/10

JI " ' : C ICi ti zens bUi ld ing. . _ ' : a be tt er communit y~ . - - - - , . " Transportation for the Disadvantaged StudyFinal Implementation Reportto the leeI Board of DirectorsAugust 16, 2002ProcessThe study on Transportation for the Disadvantaged was released in the summer of 1997. The purpose othe study was to explore the demand for and supply of transportation by individuals who are transportatiodisadvantaged. These include primarily individuals and families with low incomes, individuals who ardisabled, children and youth, and the elderly, who lack access to private-vehicle transportation and cannot usthe public bus system. The study also sought to identify the various modes of special-needs transportatioavailable and to suggest beneficial alternatives to assure that these transportation needs are metChair Cathy Winterfield, who also chaired the study, guided the JCCI implementation effort. Cathy selectemembers of a steering committee, people who had served on the study's management team and who acted a~ubcommittee chairs during the implementation effort. In its first year of implementation, the task force oibout 20 members conducted much of its work.through four subcommittees, each targeting recommendationspecific to its particular focus. After experiencing some reduction in volunteer participation, the steeringcommittee chose to consolidate these committees, and the task force continued its advocacy as a singlegroup.

fter two years of advocacy, primarily to transportation department heads and staff of the Duval CountyMetropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA), and members ohe Local Transportation for the Disadvantaged Coordinating Boards of Northeast Florida, task-force membersexpressed disappointment that more progress has not been achieved, despite sincere efforts by a few keindividuals within City government, especially in the Disabled Services Division, as well as the concertedefforts of the JCCI volunteers. The sense of disappointment derived from encountering both a lack of concernor the study's recommendations and an entrenched bureaucratic system, especially in the case of the DuvaCounty MPO at the time. However, as documented below, some progress was made on a number of studyrecommendations.CI records document 30 formal meetings of the task force held between August 1997 and September 1999

hese do not include several additional meetings the JCCI volunteers held with representatives from theveral Coordinating Boards in Northeast Florida, the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Jacksonvilleansportation Authority, and other public and private organizations. Nor do they reflect the many additionaours volunteers spent informally making plans and contacts and gathering additional information.s this implementation effort was being concluded, the Mayor's Council on Elder Affairs was becomingoncerned about the special transportation issue, reflecting a rising chorus of complaints about theffectiveness and efficiency of the private company that was acting as Community Transportation Coordinato" Duval County. Since the Council was using the JCCI report as a primary source of information and


2/10

rection, the JCCI volunteers decided to wait to submit their final implementation report to the Board until theouncil's recommendations were made. These recommendations, along with the other accumulatevidence, helped tip the balance toward JTA assumption of the responsibilities of the Communi;ansportation Coordinator for Duval County. An early assessment of the results of JTA's becoming direct!nvolved suggests that great improvement has already been achieved, while much work still remains to bne to make Duval County's system of transportation for the disadvantaged fully effective. Seeing no furthepportunities for fruitful advocacy of their own, the JCCI volunteers continued to monitor the situation. In thantime, leadership also changed in the MPO, resulting in a more amenable administrative approach there.artly because of a staff change at JCCI, the implementation effort on this study faded away without eveeing formally concluded. In early 2002, staff initiated an effort to facilitate formal closure. The JCColunteers reviewed this final implementation report in draft form, suggested some revisions, and achievensensus on closing out the implementation effort without further activity.is final implementation report to the JCCI Board outlines the results of the implementation process. Eaccommendation is printed in bold ItaliCS, followed by comments about the implementation effort and the tasorce's assessment of its degree of success. The report ends with the task force's recommendation to thCI Board.

te on bureaucratic tenninology and structure: Provisions exist under federal law to provide coordinateecial-needs transportation systems in urban and rural areas. These are usually demand-responsive varvices that provide reservation-based rides to eligible individuals. The law calls for creation of an appointedolunteer Local Transportation for the Disadvantaged Coordinating Board in each county to overselanning and policy making. It also calls for designation, by each Coordinating Board, of a Communityansportation Coordinator, either a private company, a nonprofit organization, or a public agency, actualloperate the coordinated transportation system.der separate federal legislation, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are established to conducordinated transportation planning for urbanized areas. The MPO for the Jacksonville metropolitan area ioused within the City of Jacksonville's Department of Planning and Development. It also provides planning

nd staffing services for the Duval County Coordinating Board. The Northeast Florida Regional Planninuncil provides planning and staffing for the Coordinating Boards in the other Northeast Florida counties. Ival County, the Community Transportation Coordinator during the study and implementation period wasivate company called COMSIS and later Intelitran. Because of its apparent inability to provide the needervices effectively and efficiently, it was replaced by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority in 2000. In thether Northeast Florida Counties, nonprofit "Councils on Aging" act as Community Transportationoordinators. In Nassau County, the Council on Aging subcontracts the actual operations to a privatmpany called Caravan Transportation Services.

JACKSONVILLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL INC74':14 Afuntir. Routevard I Jacksonville. Florida 32207 I 904-396-3052 I Fax: 904-398-1469 I www.icd.ora


3/10

3Results\

The Local Transportation for the Disadvantaged Coordinating Boards (Coordinating Boards) oNortheast Florida-Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, and St Johns Counties-should meet togetherquarterly to coordinate and evaluate the planning, funding, and provision of transportation servicesfor individuals who ate transportation..cJlsadvantaged.In fall 1997, task-force members began their advocacy effort for this and related recommendations (#2, #12and #14) by making a presentation about the study at a meeting of the Duval County Transportation for theDisadvantaged Coordinating Board (which is staffed by the Metropolitan Planning Organization, an entity withinthe City of Jacksonville's Department of Planning and Development). Prior to that meeting, board memberwere sent a copy of the study. Follow-up personal contacts revealed that most of the board members did noread the report or gave it a cursory glance. In response to JCCl's formal presentation, board members statedthat they often attend meetings of the Coordinating Boards in other counties and, therefore, did not feel theneed to schedule additional quarterly meetings to address this recommendation. In addition, some overlapexisted in the memberships of the Coordinating Boards.Task-force members also communicated with members of the Coordinating Boards in the surrounding countieand found no more receptivity among them to holding joint meetings. This position appeared to retied abroader feeling that closer coordination and planning among the Coordinating Boards was not neededespecially since funding was allocated by county. Despite the efforts of the JCCI volunteers, the CoordinatingBoards have not changed their position on this matter.

"

J . In order to increase the availability of transportation services, Coordinating Boards in NortheastFlorida should immediately begin to assess all transportation services and funding, both public andprivate, by: inventorying each county's existing supply of transportation services; exploring additional and alternative transportation service options, including taxis, jitneys,mass transit, school buses, and volunteer systems; and identifying mote efficient and effective use of each county's resources.The Coordinating Boards should complete their initial assessments by July 1998 and shouldcontinue these activities on an annual basis.A report, which contains the results of these assessments, should be published and distributed toorganizations that make decisions on transportation funding and services, such as theHumanServices Council and transportation providers.

sk-force members tried diligently to advocate for this recommendation, seeking support from not only theCoordinating Boards but also others, including the Jacksonville MPO and the Community Transportationoordinators. However, the Coordinating Boards were unwilling to engage in a formal, joint process ofventorying services, exploring alternatives, and seeking ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Thisituation has not changed since. .

JACKSONVILLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL INC2434 Atlantic Boulevard I Jacksonville, Florida 32207 I 904-39&-3052 I Fax: 904-398-1469 I www.jcd.org
http://www.jcd.org/http://www.jcd.org/


4/10

None of the counties appeared, separately, to have a complete inventory of either the demand (need) for orpply of special transportation services. Given this lack, the task force took advantage of an opportunity tproach the inventory issue in another way. The local Brooks Health Foundation (then named Genesis) habecome concerned by an increasing number of funding requests from agencies serving people with disabiliti~r vans to provide special transportation for their clients. Brooks was concerned about the degree to whide local coordinated transportation system was really coordinated and meeting the full need. In cooperatioth JCCI, Brooks administered a written survey, in late 1998, to 55 human-services agencies in Duval County0 of Which responded. The survey documented that those agencies directly provided 1,331 one-way tripring the same three-month period that the Duval County Community Transportation Coordinator provide1,367 trips. Agencies reported that many of their clients did not want to use the coordinated service becausf its reputation for unreliability and even lack of safety. While these findings raised serious issues about thffectiveness of the coordinated service, they still did not fully document the supply of special-needransportation services, although they did reveal the sources of supply to be multiple and not easil

n conjunction with the surveying, Brooks convened human-services agencies for several informationaetings about special-needs transportation and its availability in the community, seeking itself to help fostere and better coordination than was revealed by its survey.e Coordinating Boards felt that they were already sufficiently considering alternative transportation moded were doing their best, in their separate ways, to maximize effectiveness and efficiency.

. The Metropolitan Planning Organizations for the Jacksonville Urbanized Area and the NorthearFlorida Regional Planning Council should: . convene a regional consensus conference to establish an accurate way to measure the numberof people who are transportation disadvantaged to be used conSistently by each of Northeas

Florida's five counties; use this measure to generate a count of transportation disadvantaged individuals in each of thefive Northeast Florida counties; establish a transportation information system to increase know/edge among consumers andhealth and human-service providers about existing transportation options; and develop and implement a public-education process about the special needs of people who aretransportation-disadvantaged,The initial count of transportation-disadvantaged individuals should be completed by July 1998 andshould continue on an annual basis. The information system and public-education process shouldbe completed by January 1999.

he Jacksonville MPO reported, late in the period of active implementation efforts, that it had begun usineed data supplied by the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Floridaevertheless, neither the MPO nor the Regional Planning Council responded to this recommendation bitiating specific, new efforts to measure the need for special-needs transportation specifically in Northeaslorida counties, to establish a transportation-information system for consumers and human-service'oviders, or to develop a public-education process about the special needs of transportation-disadvantagel

JACKSONVILLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL INC2434 Atlantic Boulevard I Jacksonville, Florida 32207 I 904-396-3052 I Fax: 904-398-1469 I www,jcd.org
http://www%2Cjcd.org/http://www%2Cjcd.org/


5/10

5people. The Community Transportation Coordinators provide basic information about the service to newriders but engage in no public-awareness activities./he Jacksonville MPO reported its belief that human-service agencies themselves should be held responsible.or being informed about special-transportation services, not the Coordinating Boards or CommunityTransportation Coordinators. it also stated that its saw its role in public awareness to be limited to keepingmembers of the Florida Legislature informed.As reported under Recommendation #2, the task force worked with the Brooks Health Foundation on a surveyof human-services providers on the demand for and supply of special-needs transportation in Duval Countylthough the survey did not fully document the need, it did clarify that only about half of those documented inthe survey to be needy and to be served received transportation services through the coordinated system.

. The Jacksonville Transportation AuthOrity (JTA) should begin. immediately to increase theavailability and accessibility of mass transit to people who are transportation disadvantaged by: expanding Its service to all areas of Duval County that have concentrated employment andresidences; communicating and coordinating with area employers to design system operating hours thataccommodate employee needs; establishing minihubs for ease of travel within Duval County; providing busschedule information at all bus stops; providing bus-schedule information and ticket purchase at existing community centers, such as

FuJ I Service Schools and Senior Services Centers; providing support services, such as escorts and training on system utilization, to riders andpotential riders; and developing a transfer system.

his recommendation's purpose is to maximize the use of the public-bus system to meet transportatlon-sadvantaged needs, reducing the demand for special-needs transportation services. The JTA, responding tohis study and to other pressures in the community to improve the bus service, has taken several positive buited steps consistent with the recommendation. The results are as follows:has expanded and restructured certain routes to connect additional residential and concentrated-employment areas;

ith employers to adjust some bus routes afld;saftedules to accommodate the sltiftt;cli'aflgetimes of certain companies; : 0 : ') ', , '. (has developed two mini-hubs, in addition to the main hub downtown, one at Regency Square already inuse during the study's implementation period, and another at Gateway Shopping Center that opened in1999; -

JACKSONVILLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL INC2434 Atlantic Boulevard I Jacksonville, Aorlda 32207 I 904-396-3052 I Fax: 904-398-1469 I www.jcci.org
http://www.jcci.org/http://www.jcci.org/


6/10

provides electronic bus information at its hubs but no bus-schedule information at other bus stops; provides bus-schedule information in various public places, including some community centers, arprovides information and ticket sales at all Tax Collector's offices, JTA offices, the Southside SkyWcterminal, and at some Winn Dixie stores; , provides no support services (e.g. escorts or training) for riders or potential riders of the regular bus systembut. as Community Transportation Coordinator now, does provide such services, as required, for riders

the special-needs transportation system; and has not initiated a transfer system specifically but does now issue monthly passes good for unlimited travewhich may increase convenience but mayor may not reduce cost.

5. The JTA andeach of the Community Transportation Coordinators from Baker. Clay, Nassau, anSt Johns Counties should immediately begin establishing sites where residents of thescounties can access Duval County's mass-transit system. These sites should include a place tpark vehicles and secure bicycles, purchase bus tickets and passes, and receive bus-echeduteinformation. Multi-modal transportation, including para transit and jitney services, should bused to carry passengers from the outlying counties to these sites.

The JTA reported that it expected the peripheral park-n-ride facilities or regular bus stops already in placeprovide appropriate linkage points between special-needs vehicles from Clay and Sl Johns Counties and JTbuses. It expected the Gateway hub to be the linkage point for special-needs riders from Nassau County. iconsidered Baker County's ridership to be too low for concem in this regard. The JTA has not establ lshespecific terminals, with separate parking and access to bus information and bus tickets forthis purpose.

6. The JTA, the City of Jacksonville's Public Works Department, and the Florida Department oTransportation (FDOT), with input from transportation consumers, should jointly develop a plathat eliminates existing phYSical barriers, such as the lack of sidewalks and curbcuts, to the usof mass-transit services. A coordinated workplan~ which includes measurable objectives~ shouldbe developed and funded by September 1999.ith invaluable advocacy assistance from the City of Jacksonville's Disabled Services Division and thMayor's Disability Council, and with active support from Mayor Delaney, the task force achieved specifiuccess on this recommendation. At the Mayor's request, the major entities concerned with providingmenities for disabled access at bus stops (primarily JTA, Public Works Department, and FDOT) , met tevelop a solution. A GIS map was created with the locations of all bus stops plotted against a list oddresses of people with disabilities in the Disabled Services Division's files. The results yielded a list of abou50 bus stops most likely to serve bus riders with disabilities, and a plan If!las initiated to provide curb cuts anoncrete pads for wheelchair access to and from buses at these bus stops.

JACKSONVILLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL INC2434 Atlantic Boulevard I Jacksonville, Fk:lrida 32207 I 904-396-3052 I Fax: 904-398-1469 I www.jcd.org


7/10

77. TheJTA should assure that annually allocated funding levels for its ADA-mandated paratransitsystem aresufficient to cover the demand for theseservices.funding remains an issue for the JTA's 'ADA-mandated paratransit system and for its larger special-needsransportation system. However, the City of Jacksonville and JTA took some steps, during the implementationperiod, to increase the funding allocated for these services from the sales-tax dollars allocated fotransportation (which replaced previous bridge-tall funding). Specifically, funding for ADA-mandatedparatransit was increased in 1999 by $500,000 (about 25 percent) to $2.36 million to eliminate the problem o

unserved riders because of insufficient funding and to reduce the advance reservation requirement to 24hours. Funding for this service was scheduled to increase by $150,000 annually through 2003. While theseresults revealed limited progress, task-force members felt that they would not be sufficient to continue to meeall future needs.

8. Community Transportation Coordinators should develop technology improvement plans toincrease the supply of transportation services. New technologies, such as Ground PositioningSystems (GPS), advanced communication techniques. and computerized scheduling systems,should be used to increase the efficiency of transportation scheduling and tracking. A regionalplan that identifies funding sources and implementation dates should be developed by Septembe1999 to ensure that new technologies arecompatible among counties.

e JTA now uses GPS technology, two-way electronic communications with vehicles, and a computerizedcheduling system. No plans have been made to regionalize these kinds of technology uses. '

. The Florida Transportation for the Disadvantaged Commission should update its fundingdistribution formula for Trust Fund dollars by the end of the 1998-99 legislative session so thatfunding distribution is moreequitable among Florida's urban and rural counties.e JCCllmplementation Task Force Chair had the opportunity to make a presentation on the funding formulassue at a meeting in Miami of the Florida Transportation for the Disadvantaged Commission. Although theommission acknowledged the importance of the issue, it did not follow up with significant changes in thermula, largely because of the political and financial stakes involved in such proposed changes.

JACKSONVILLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL INC2434 Atlantlc Boulevard I Jacksonville, Florida 32207 I 904-396-3052 I Fax: 904-398-1469 I www.jcci.org
http://www.jcci.org/http://www.jcci.org/


8/10

.Beginning with their next funding cycles. the Florida Legislature and theHuman Services Councilshould require health and human-service providers to havea plan to meet the transportation needsof their program participants. This plan should comply with Chapter 427 by coordinatintransportation with the local Coordinator and other health and human-services organizations. Thplan, which should specifically identify how transportation services will be provided and fundeoshould be required In o~derto receiveprogram funding.

he Task Force made a presentation to the Duval Delegation, advocating for this recommendation. However,he Florida Legislature has taken no action to require human-services providers to have plans to meet theransportation needs of their clients.artly in response to this recommendation, the Human Services Council has included in its common funding-pplication form a request for infonnation about how applying agencies plan to meet the transportation needsf their clients. If the agency indicates that it will not provide transportation or have it provided by appropriateeans, the agency is asked whether or not the service to be provided requires transportation and, if sohether participants are expected to provide their own transportation. This information is considered ieviewing the funding application, but providing participant transportation is not stated as a requirementecause it may not be needed for all kinds of services.

1.The Florida Legislature should provide a mechanism through which volunteer transportationproviders can obtain low-cost liability insurance or can beprotected from liability claims.he Task Force made a presentation to the Duval Delegation, advocating for this recommendation. Althoug'he Legislature did not respond specifically to this issue, it did pass significant tort reform legislation in 200those purpose was to create a less litigious climate in Florida around liability issues, which might have aositive effect on people's willingness to provide volunteer transportation.

Members of the Coordinating Boards in Northeast Florida should meet with local governmentofficials to: inform officials about the transportation needs of individuals who are transportation

disadvantaged; educate officials about the funding needs of thecoordinated transportation system; and Develop additional. local funding sources for theprovision of services.

he Coordinating Boards have not responded to this recommendation with specific, new education anddvocacy efforts directed toward their local-government officials. They do seek to inform members of thelorida Legislature. The Community Transportation Coordinators are more likely than the Coordinating Boardsadvocate directly for local funding support.

JACKSONVILLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL INC2434 Atlantic Boulevard I Jacksonville, Florida 32207 I 904-396-3052 I Fax: 904-398-1469 I www.jcd.org


9/10

913.The Community Transportation Coordinator in each Northeast Florida county should providefrequent training opportunities to: educate transportation consumers about how to work best with the coordinated transportationsystem; teach safety, awareness, and sensitivity to all transportation services personnel, including

drlvers$ dispatchers, andmanagement; and educate health and human-services providers who schedule appointments about the positiveImpact that proper appointment scheduling can have on meeting the transportation needs o

their clients.onsistent with this recommendation, with the encouragement of the task force, and after noting that it wasreceiving increasing numbers of funding requests for the purchase of vans, the local Brooks Health Foundationnvened several meetings in 1998-99 of human-services agencies, especially those providing services toeople with disabilities, seeking to enhance the effectiveness, efficiencY,and sensitivity with which theyrovide special transportation services to their clients, including effective use of the coordinated transportation

o long-term follow up has been evident; and the Community Transportation Coordinators do not makeoncerted efforts to provide training for consumers and human-services providers, though they do provideme training for their own transportation-service employees, especially concerning safety. The JTA has aansportation Advisory Committee, which has used the JCCI study as one source of information to advise theTA about consumer use and needs for transportation services. In addition, it started a program in 2000 toovide training for potentially disabled riders in how to continue to use the regular bus service successfully.

4.The Coordinating Boards of Northeast Florida should work together to develop a commonevaluation that assesses the quality of customer service provided by each county's coordinatedsystem and identifies appropriate methods to increase quality. This evaluation process shouldidentify additional training and retraining needs.OT reported that it paid for development of a standardized evaluation process to be used by all Communityransportation Coordinators and that they all should be using it, thus bypassing the need for Coordinatingoards to take action. The task force did not review this process to identify whether it identifiesaining/retraining needs, nor did it inquireto see whether Community Transportation Coordinators in Northeasorida are using it.

JACKSONVILLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL INC2434 AtiantJc:Boulevard I Jacksonville, Florida 32207 I 904-396-3052 I Fax: 904-398-1469 I www.jcd.org


10/10

f . , .

1RecommendationThe task-force members concur that the study and its subsequent implementation effort have had a maypositive impact on the community, primarily in terms of increasing public awareness and giving greater visibih,and a higher priority to issues related to services for the transportation-disadvantaged. At least partly becauseof the study, the problems of the private Community Transportation Coordinator in Duval County were exposedand dealt with. Other limited successes followed, such as the creation of a plan for curb-cut and concrete paaccessibility at JTA bus stops and the meetings of human-services providers convened by the Brooks HealthFoundation. Despite these successes, the task force's ultimate assessment was one of dlsappointment thatdid not successfully advocate for more complete implementation of some of the key recommendations,especially those designed to enhance regional cooperation and planning on franspcrtatlon-dlsedvantaqedissues.The task force came to a de facto realization over two years ago that it had accomplished as much as wouldbe possible on behalf of a JCCI implementation effort. However, for a variety of reasons, formal decisionmaking and closure of the implementation effort were deiayed until now. Some of the task-force membersremain actively involved in transportation issues, continuing to contribute toward implementation of the study'srecommendations.This final implementation report represents the consensus of the task-force members as of early 2002, arrivedat without reopening active implementation efforts, either to obtain up-to-date information or to engage ifurther advocacy. Based on this consensus, the task force, somewhat belatedly, recommends that the JCCBoard of Directors Officially conclude the fonnal JCCI implementation effort on this study .

2002 transportation disadvantaged implementation report

Documents