Boulder County Transportation Gaps Survey

Final Report of the Boulder County Local Coordinating Council on Transportation

March 10, 2014

Margi Ness and Kathy MurpheyConsultants/Facilitators

303-444-8721

Survey ResultsTotal # of

Organizations to which the

survey was sentTotal # of Surveys

Completed % Completed

ALL CONTACTS Human Service

Agencies + Residential Facilities

103 32* 31%

AGENCIES 71 30 42%

RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES

32 2 .06%

*Two partially completed

Responses Received From: Unduplicated Clients/Year

Association for Community Living 400Boulder County Area Agency on Aging xBoulder County CareConnect 700

Boulder Senior Services 688 (Resources only, not overall attendees)

Boulder Shelter for the Homeless 1200Bridge House Estimate is 1500Centennial Peaks Hospital 800CPWD 504

Center For People With Disabilities (CPWD) a lot

Center for People with Disabilities 100EFAA 2200-2300 householdsFirst Presbyterian Church 1700

First United Methodist Church of Boulder 150 (guess, hard to estimate)Genesis (Boulder County Public Health) 80Genesis 425Imagine! 2000Intercambio Uniting Communities 1000Longmont Senior Services 3000+ estimateLouisville Senior Services 3300Louisville United Methodist Church 8Meals on Wheels of Boulder 850 plus 1200 in Cafe ClassicoMental Health Partners xMillBrook Homes ?Nurse-Family Partnership Program program not agency 140Outreach United Resource Center 5,000 householdsSafe Shelter of St. Vrain Valley 391Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence (SPAN) 200-300Sister Carmen Community Center 8075The Bridge @ Longmont 50-62Trinity Lutheran Church 10-15Wild Plum Center 259Workforce Boulder County 1700

Value Count Percent

No 11 34.4%

Yes (please describe: see next slide)

21 65.6%

5. Do you take your clients' transportation costs into account when planning, programing and budgeting?• Transportation is a primary topic that we discuss with clients and make appropriate referrals to transportation resources.• We take our events/classes to senior housing sites, senior centers, and other convenient locations• Volunteer mileage reimbursement• Make referrals to Via and medical mobility agencies; provide bus passes; try to schedule some meetings in neighborhoods; use shared city van

• Minimally. We, along with VIA and BoHo, organize transportation from the Shelter to downtown in the mornings and between downtown, the Shelter, and the BOHO locations at night. We also provide bus tickets for emergencies and when BOHO is not operating.

• We buy single ride bus passes. We budget about $650 a month for this program.• On individual as needed basis• Budgeting and planning• When doing budget counseling with clients• For off-site retreats• Charged against their Medicaid funding• Recreation programs the cost is figured in

• We occasionally provide bus passes, but I don't think I can fully speak to this• We provide bus passes for certain activities.• We order what we can through the RTD Reduced Fare Program

• We are able to partner with community agencies like EFAA and DHHS to receive monthly tickets for shelter programs and transitional housing programs• Annual budgeting• We provide a weekly bus to worship• We account for bus drivers, gas, insurance, vehicle repairs• Some of our programs provide gas coupons and bus passes10 Agencies responded “no” to this question

Value Count Percent

Yes 25 80.7%

No 6 19.4%

Value Count Percent

Older Adults 15 75%

Individuals with mentalhealth issues

15 75%

Individuals with economic challenges

14 70%

People with disabilities 14 70%

Homeless individuals 13 65%

Families 11 55%

Children 11 55%

Youth 9 45%

Other (Victims of sexual assault)

1 5%

Value Count Percent

It's too expensive 15 65.2%

Transportation for specific type of trip isn't available

(eg to visit a friend)15 65.2%

Days and/or hours of service are inadequate

14 60.9%

Scheduling is too difficult 13 56.5%

Geographic area not served 12 52.2%

Lack of same day service 11 47.8%

Lack of information 10 43.5%

Language barrier 10 43.5%

Cultural norms or values 4 17.4%

Other (see next slide) 4 17.4%

Vehicles aren't appropriate (i.e. not accessible)

4 17.4%

8. Why do you think there are unmet transportation needs?

Other: Comments

Transportation to appointments involving anesthesia, personal vehicles cannot accommodate clients with wheelchairs, and some of our more remote service areas (i.e. Nederland) lack a large enough volunteer pool.

Sometimes driver can't get the client from their home to the vehicle

Many of our clients need to be at job sites early in the morning when there are minimal buses running, especially on the weekends. There are no funds that I am aware of to help people travel long distances - for example, to return home after becoming stranded in Boulder without money.

In Longmont, unless you are on a bus route, it's hard to get around because of having to walk too far to a stop using public transportation.

Service and employment focus on auto users.

using strollers on RTD can be challenging.

Unable to schedule due to other rides scheduled

Medical issues get in the way (ie: last minute appointments)

Trips too long between communities.

It's too expensive; language barrier

Value Count PercentGoing to the doctor /

dentist / medical16 69.6%

Accessing social service providers 15 65.2%

Recreational activities and events 15 65.2%

Travel to surrounding communities 15 65.2%

Weekend activities 13 56.5%

Visiting friends and family, running errands

12 52.2%

Getting to/from work (please identify times when

transportation is needed)12 52.2%

Shopping 10 43.5%

Attending training or education classes

10 43.5%

Getting kids to childcare, school or school activities

9 39.1%

Religious / spiritual 9 39.1%

Senior meal sites 5 21.7%

Other (see next slide) 2 8.7%

Getting to/from work after 10:00PM 0 0.0%

Getting to/from work between 8:00-10:00PM

0 0.0%

9. What are your organization and / or client’s unmet transportation needs?

Getting to/from work (please identify times when transportation is needed.: Comments:

Getting to/from work : Before 6 am Travel to out-of-county medical appointments and appointments which require anesthesia.

Getting to/from work : early morning, evenings, weekends

People are very intimidated by taking a bus, particularly out of town

Getting to/from work : all times; Other: After-hours and late night trips

Our biggest gap is people needing to go to the Anschutz campus or the VA in Denver

Getting to/from work : Nights, early mornings, weekends

Any of these things are difficulties. We cannot offer them bus tickets to anything other than health, school, or job related.

Getting to/from work : all times...problem is lack of funds, not bus schedules

We are only able to provide 6 bus tickets per client during their stay at shelter. At times we are not able to provide 6 tickets due to lack of passes. They are provided for medical, social services, legal apts, and work. We are unable to provide passes for things like grocery shopping and traveling outside of Boulder.

Getting to/from work: night hours

Especially if out of Longmont

10. Your agency may not specifically track unmet client needs. Please respond to this question with your best estimate of how many one way trips per week your clients are unable to receive transportation for the following travel purposes:

  Medical Work / School

Personal (errands,

friends and family)

Grocery Shopping

Senior Activities

Others (identify the number here and specify the trip type

(see next slide)

Responses

Same day trips 100%10

60%6

60%6

60%6

50%5

.0%3 10

Evenings 75%6

75%6

37.5%3

37.5%3

25%2

25%2 8

Weekends 62.5%5

62.5%5

37.5%3

37.5%3

25.0%2

37.5%3 8

Trips out of their town

83.3%5

50%3

50%3

50%3

33.3%2

50%3 6

Trips out of county

87.5%7

50%4

50%4

25%2

25%2

25%2 8

Subscription trips (ongoing regular trips schedule in

advance, without the need to call before each

trip)

75%3

25%1

25%1

50%2

25.1

50%2 4

10. Other / CommentWe require at least a week's notice for scheduling rides.

Weekends/Other: Transportation between downtown and the Shelter at 5 pm and 8 am.Other: Transportation scheduled for a conference.

In Longmont, no one can get same day trips except with RTD. The buses don't run in evenings. They always have to call for any trip.I don't have information to make an educated guess.

We have 1,700 people in our congregation, with 1,000 people over 60, as well as a significant number of homeless individuals who come for services every week. There are too many people to be able to even guess at their travel needs. So sorry!

I might know about one of any of these in a week, or more. It really varies. Some weeks I don't know of any. (medical)We do not track this information

I can't answer these...our clients are pretty much restricted to their homes for a number of illness, disability or injury issues. I think their motivation to get out is pretty limited and it is somewhat difficult to arrange for the same-day transportation, or spontaneous transportation they may need.

We have clients that find a way to get places but who also miss appointments or don't schedule appointments because transportation is difficult.Unable to complete. Do not keep this data.Except for limited medical, work and school, we can provide 0 tickets.Other: Public benefit meetings, job interviews, out of county advanced education.I am not able to answer this question. I do know that families have to remove their children from preschool because they cannot get their child to and from school and they are often not up-to-date on medical needs due to transportation

  How many Responses

Regular RTD service100%

1515

RTD service that can go off route on request

100%6

6

Curb to curb (client is dropped off at their destination)

100%15

15

Door to door (client is assisted directly to door at destination)

100%14

14

Door through door (client is assisted into home or facility)

100%5

5

Service that accommodates wheelchairs and other mobility

devices

100%12

12

Escort/companion assistance required

100%11

11

Same day service100%

1111

11. What type of transportation do your clients require (please indicate the number of clients that require each type of service)?

Item Total Score1 Overall Rank

Affordability of service 127 1

Expanded hours of operation 113 2

Expanded service outside of town

95 3

Central dispatch / information source (one phone number to

call for ride, etc.)51 4

More service that is accessible for people with disabilities

46 5

Better marketing / more awareness of options

43 6

Better coordination between service providers

31 7

Other 15 8

Total Respondents: 1 Score is a weighted

calculation. Items ranked first are valued higher than the

following ranks, the score is the sum of all weighted rank

counts.

12. How could current services be improved (please drag and drop in order of preference your top three choices):

13. If you could change one thing about human services transportation for your clients, what would it be and why?

Responses related to the cost of service:Affordability

Include some payment for all trips.

Making bus fares less expensive, and increasing the time window in which transfers are valid.

The main barrier for SPAN client's is cost to use transportation resources.

Cost and kindness

Some sort of free bus passes for homeless and low income passengers

The cost

Monthly bus passes for clients without other means of transportation

Have more low cost or free services like rtd does for some holidays/getting people where they're needed is too often not optional

Sliding scale rates. The only way to be able to get income is to be able to travel to a job site (WFBC, Labor Ready).

Better access to RTD. Reduced fares.

Students ride free - paying for 7+ is almost impossible. Better discounted rates - so more people could get to jobs inside and outside of Longmont.

13. If you could change one thing about human services transportation for your clients, what would it be and why? (continued)

All other responses:

Anticipate increased usage as the Silver Tsunami arrives. Better transportation options through Boulder County. RTD is the only option.

Getting same day service cross county line tripsContinue efforts to get travel training info to as many folks as possible. better adaptability with medical care realitiesI would love to see personal limo service to all our clients.... impossible, but wow!

Our population tends to have a strong network. People manage to get to where they need to go assuming it is a priority for them.

That Via could expand their service to weekends, to taking people outside Boulder, and to visit their friends. I work with the seniors at our church and am very aware of their needs for rides. Some don't quite have the cognitive abilities to call for rides, therefore they don't do it. Via is great about bringing members who live in a few retirement communities to church on Sunday, but they don’t have the funding to bring individuals to church from their homes. Hopefully, as people age in place, there will be more weekend services. Hopefully funding will increase somehow.

Make it easier to ride VIA--one member in a care facility & in a wheelchair rides VIA to worship & back but has to remember to call on Monday for the following Sunday service & wait after services for a pickup. The actual ride on VIA is a great experience for him. Another member lives at home & does not drive-she doesn't like the long wait before and after appointments. A 3rd, in a senior residence, says it takes all day to take VIA from Boulder to the Dr. in Lafayette & back--due to having to be ready long before the ride and wait for a return ride. VIA is a wonderful service--perhaps we need more vehicles & drivers? The ride itself has been great for each of them, but it is inconvenient for them to utilize it.

Better routes. Less time between Longmont, Boulder and Denver and less time for travel within Longmont.

It would be usable by families with children - i.e. car seats on buses and can be used by those families daily to get children to and from school

Bus schedules and routes that would make it possible for people to get to their destinations in a reasonable amount of time

Ease of use, flexible scheduling on pickup time for appointments of unpredictable length (ie food bank visit, medical appt)

Easier Access - it is extremely difficult to get set up with First Transit and it is frustrating to schedule a ride. Access-a-Ride eligibility is not convenient for people in Boulder County. Via has a limited schedule.

When some clients are trying to schedule transportation for surgical procedures, they run into the problem of needing someone to sign liability paperwork stating that the person picking them up will be responsible for their well-being for ~24 hrs. Finding a way around this requirement would make it far easier for clients to find rides when they need to schedule medical procedures requiring anesthesia.

Value Count Percent

Yes 27 90.0%

No 3 10.0%

Value Count Percent

A current member 10 33.3%

Interested in being a member - send me info!

3 10.0%

Interested in receiving regular updates

11 36.7%

Not interested at this time 6 20.0%

Value Count Percent

Information session 14 70.0%

Webinar 12 60.0%

Other 2 10.0%

17. Please share any final comments or suggestions:

• More funding for fare assistance.• Thank you for all you do to coordinate such an important service in our county.• I would love it if we could find a partner to provide transportation services to children

in the Head Start programs in the county so that the Head Starts can focus on their strength (educating children and families) and transportation providers can focus on their strength.

• Marketing of all the possible options for transportation within Boulder County would help residents find the right thing for their needs. Posters in high client locations, e.g. reception rooms at Public Health, Department of housing and Human Services, the court house... might be helpful. No one person can know all the resources and we need one place to capture this information.

• Thank you for caring about the transportation needs of our elderly, low-income and disabled folks!

• There is definitely a need for transportation for seniors & disabled adults in Boulder. Having adequate, convenient transportation helps keep folks active in the community and improves their overall health & life!

• I think Via and RTD provide a great service....but, there are more and more who have given up driving and they truly feel isolated and limited in their freedom. I don't know a solution...but, thanks for working on this!