REGIONAL COLLABORATION TO IMPROVE PUBLIC TRANSIT ACCESSIBILITY IN

REGIONAL COLLABORATION TO IMPROVE PUBLIC TRANSIT ACCESSIBILITY IN NORTH CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS Bonnie Mahoney, MART

Transit demand is rising …but resources are not Population is aging The young are moving away from rural areas State resources are tight and federal resources are unstable The need is exceeding the resources, so Zero and single car households are increasing Bigger focus on Healthcare transportation Last mile CURRENT STATE OF TRANSPORTATION Coordination of resources and transit efficiencies become more important Public/Private Partnerships

MART Service Area

COUNCIL-ON-AGING TRANSPORTATION THRU MART Each member municipality is loaned 1 MART paratransit van to provide Senior & Disabled transportation in their respective community. (3 cities & 2 towns have MART operate their COA transportation directly which gives them access to more capacity. )

Ridership 120 000 116 004 116 756 117 084 2015 2016 115 000 110 000 105 292 100 336 100 000 102 645 98 263 95 000 90 000 85 000 2011 2012 2013 Ridership SENIOR TRANSPORTATION IS GROWING QUICKLY…

COA transportation Costs 2 500 000 2 250 000 2 000 1 750 000 1 947 276 1 942 183 2010 2011 2 092 723 2 053 037 2012 2013 2 400 686 2 394 183 2014 2015 [VALUE]† 1 500 000 1 250 000 1 000 750 000 500 000 Cost w/Overhead …BUT SO IS THE COST. 2016

MART reimburses each member municipality all COA Transportation related expenses each month. Some of the COA’s were charging administrative overhead Some COA’s hired full-time dispatchers/schedulers when the ride levels didn’t warrant a full-time position Some COA’s were using the MART van for non-consumer transportation related tasks. MART only had a verbal agreement with the towns as members for this benefit. MART decided that a structured contract was the best way to control costs. Shift insurance for vehicle from MART to the town to reduce MART direct costs and to shift liability to the proper employer of the driver. Admin/Dispatch hours limited to 1/3 hours of driver(s). Required better reporting of vehicles miles and hours used in transportation of consumers. MART also established a new method for cost allocation of it’s own administrative overhead CONTROL COSTS THROUGH BETTER CONTRACTING

Training the COA staff in the new reporting requirements The hardest transition is still taking place… Train drivers to record data points Proper invoicing – just what is eligible? Train staff to use template to get accurate calculations from data Proper communication of need to reduce costs without cutting service THE TRANSITION HAS BEEN ROUGH

MART and the LRTA were a part of a groundbreaking coordination collaboration with the Cross Town Connect Transit Management Association (TMA) to use our COA vans in Littleton & Boxborough across RTA boundaries into Acton and Maynard. This model uses a centralized dispatch hired by CTC to reduce deadhead and other inefficiencies previously incurred by administrative barriers. Goal is to maximize seat occupancy and increase efficiency USE RESOURCES WISELY THRU COLLABORATION These same parties are currently trying to solve the “last mile” problem for commuters to and from Littleton and Action Commuter Rail Stations.

MART recently received a federal 5310 Rides to Wellness grant The goal of this research grant is to see if we can utilize the COA resources and ride scheduling software to solve the healthcare transportation issue for those who don’t qualify as Senior, Disabled, or for Mass. Health transportation benefits. This project has just begun – so we’ll keep you posted. RIDES TO WELLNESS