RURAL ACCESS AND MOBILITY: A CASE OF MANAGING INDIVIDUALIZED MOBILITY NEEDS

THROUGH INNOVATIVE MANAGEMENT IN NW USA Sen, Lalita Ph.D.

Texas Southern University, Houston, TX, US Sen_LX@tsu.edu

Johanson, Karl, Ph.D. Pullman, WA, US

Council on Aging & Human Services karlmjohanson@gmail.com

Majumdar, Sarmistha R., Ph.D. Texas Southern University

smajumdr@gmail.com

Providing Subsidized Transportation Services for Sparsely Populated Rural Areas

• US Rural transportation has a history of challenges and success requiring innovation

• Service to agriculture or forested areas with little or no services or infrastructure to support the population

• Early examples of such rural service is Access Transportation Services, serving Allegheny County started in the early 1970s to serve the larger rural areas around Pittsburg

Case of Rural Transportation in NW USCharacteristics of Case Service Area

Sparse population density Large expanse of forests and/or agricultural land Little or no service infrastructure Aging population Lower income of residents Need for innovation and sustenance of transit

service to provide mobility to the rural population

COAST-Serving Eastern Washington and Western Idaho

• Council of Aging & Human Services Transportation (COAST) provides an example of innovative transportation service to the rural area with

Sparse rural population No major cities/ towns Low income population Older population who are aging in place

Case of COAST

• The Council on Aging & Human Services (COAST) provides transportation services and serves an area of over 17,000 square miles, much of which is designated as wilderness

• Service area includes three rural counties in the eastern part of Washington State and five mostly rural counties in the north central parts of Idaho.

Case Study Service Area of Rural Transport Source:http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-633-1

Parts of Washington & Idaho Served by COAST

Two State Service Area

Socio Economic Characteristics of WA Service Areahttp://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/53000.html

Counties in Washington State

Asotin Garfield Whitman

Population for 2010 21,623.0 2,266 .0 44,776 .0

% Population 65+ 19.4 23.1 9.8

% Females 52 51.2 49

% High School Grad. 88.9 91.7 95.7

Per capita income ($) 23,731 .0 22,825 .0 19,506.0

% Pop below poverty level 13.5 15.7 27.6

Federal Spending ($) 179,208 .0 42,362.0 445,578 .0

Land Area (in sq. miles) 636.21 710.69 2,159.09

Persons per sq. mile 34 3.2 20.7

Metro/ Micropolitan Lewiston ID/WA None Pullman, WA

Measures of Characteristics Associated with Per Capita Subsidy in Washington StateSource: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/16000.html

Counties in Washington State

Asotin Garfield Whitman

Pop. Below poverty (%)

13.5 15.7 27.6

Per capita Income 23,731 22,825 19,506

Population 21,623 2,266 44,776

Federal Spending ($) 179,208 42,362 445,578

Per Capita Subsidy 8.28 8.69 9.95

Nearby micro/metropolitan cities

Lewiston/ID,WA _ Pullman

Eastern Washington State

WhitmanCounty

GarfieldCounty

Asotin County

Socio Economic Characteristics of ID Service AreaSource: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/16000.html

Counties in Idaho Clear Water

Idaho Latah Lewis Nez Perce

Population for 2010 8,761 16,267 37,244 3,822 39,265

% Population 65+ 23.2 21.7 10.4 23 18.1

% Females 45.7 47.6 48.7 50 50.5

% High School Grad. 84.7 85.7 93.5 90.2 89.7

Per capita income ($) 20,507 18,980 20,218 18,580 23,899

% Pop below poverty level 11.7 19.1 21.5 16 11.6

Federal Spending ($) 130,195 183,126 289,005 83,360 422,695

Land Area (in sq. miles) 2,457.27 8,477.35 1,076 478.8 848.09

Persons per sq. mile 3.6 1.9 34.6 8 46.3

Metro/ Micropolitan None None Moscow None Lewiston

Measures of Characteristics Associated with Per Capita Subsidy in Idaho

Counties in Idaho Clear Water

Idaho Latah Lewis Nez Perce

Pop. Below poverty 11.7 19.1 21.5 16 11.6

Per capita Income ($) 20,507 18,980 20,218 18,580 23,899

Population 8,761 16,267 37,244 3,822 39,265

Federal Spending ($) 130,195 183,126 289,005 83,360 422,695

Per capita subsidy 14.8 11 7.75 21.8 10.7

Nearby micro/metropolitan cities

Moscow Lewiston

Western Idaho

Latah County

Nez PerceCounty

Idaho County

Clearwater County

Lewis County

Federal Subsidy Programs for Transportation • 5310 -contract for expanded services-Capital funds for vehicles for

E/H transport

• 5311- Non urbanized area formula funding for transportation services-allowing 80% subsidy for administration and capital costs

• 5316- Job Access Reverse Commute Program

• 5317- New Freedom Program for transportation alternative that improves mobility for individuals with disabilities

• Medicaid- Medical Transportation Program ensures that individuals enrolled in Medicaid and Healthy Kids Gold have access to necessary medical services.

Funding Source for COAST’s Operation Source: COAST

Funding Source Idaho FY 2011 Idaho FY 2012 WA FY 2011 WA 2012

5310 POS Contract ( for expanded service area)

105,000 114,800

5316 0 16,500

5317 41,000 30,000

5311 0 49,800 137,000

Medicaid 48,000 48,000 100,000 128,000

State 0 0 137,000 251,000

Area Agency on Aging 0 0 36,000 36,000

Volunteer Drivers(in kind)

48,000 48,000 90,000 90,000

Total (excluding in kind) 194,000 259,100 410,000 415,000

Vehicles used by COAST to serve Clients

Securement system for the seat inside

Other Methods of Innovation Introduced by COAST

SHARING RESOURCES• Purchase / maintenance of vehicles for other agencies, retains title,

and once FTA reverts the vehicles to COAST, who will then turn over the vehicle to the host agency to operate.

• Coast has directly/ indirectly secured funding for services in an area to an agency who may have been denied further funding (Canyon Area Bus Service-CABS) through successfully obtaining funding and then contracting CABS personnel &pay for their operating expense

• In turn All of CABS’s funding and in-kind service has been pledged to COAST for FTA proposal match, freeing up more funds for more services with CABS.

Value of Innovation

COAST has generated revenue through a variety of complementary activities which include: vehicle insurance pool; acquiring and loaning vehicles; operating van pools; supporting volunteer car pools; providing training services; maintaining vehicles; operating eight county Information & referral;dispatching rides throughout the region.

Value of Innovation ………………continued

• Annual budget of $1,200,000 (recently reduced to $900,000) due to the loss of the “Information and Assistance” contract for care management in Whitman County

• Anticipating further federal funding cutbacks , COAST is seeking ways to cover costs (volunteers etc)to maintain services essential to the local population

• Important to allow people to age in place and not be forced to relocate and further endanger their independence

Transportation Services Provided by COAST• COAST provides demand response services

• serves as broker for van pools and car pools

• Provides coordination between fixed route services along the US Highways

• Provides more personalized cost efficient service using volunteers to meet the demand for accessible transportation services

• Coast provides door to door services for the special needs population to connect to the fixed route services to the nearest towns

Global Value of Innovative Services

• Combining subsidies, good will, and volunteers to meet and

sustain transportation services in remote communities while serving a genuine need, is effective

• This example provides the nature and form of services, the operations and the equipment used, and lends itself to flexibility of location and service design based on local conditions and other resources available

• This case demonstrates that rural accessibility do not require huge resources

• Such strategies could be applied by the SAARC member nations to their own rural operations.