Regional Collaboration to Improve Public Transit Accessibility in North Central Massachusetts Bonnie Mahoney, MART

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

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.)

Senior transportation is growing quickly…

…but so is the cost.

Control costs through better contracting 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

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

Use resources wisely thru collaboration 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 MassHealth transportation benefits. This project has just begun – so we’ll keep you posted. Rides to Wellness