1. Long-Term Benefits of Travel Training
Lisa Almilli
Riverside Transit Agency

2. ‘FREEDOM TO GO’ TRAVEL TRAINING
2,500 square miles
18 cities and four county districts
Grant funded FY2012 (New Freedom/JARC)
People with disabilities, seniors and veterans
Why travel training?
Rising costs in transportation
Providing riders with options that best met their needs

3. SHORT GAME VS. LONG GAME Short Game:
Train those who are currently using paratransit to decrease costs
Cost Savings
Long Game:
Train future travelers before dependency on paratransit is created
Cost Avoidance

4. “Access to transportation, and the ability to use it, can open doors and provide a means to many otherwise unavailable opportunities to persons with disabilities. The ability to travel independently and at will provides people who have disabilities with a vital key to achieving as much participation in society as they desire.”
-- Peggy Groce

5. TRANSITION PROGRAMS

6. TRANSITION PROGRAMS

7. CHANGE CAN BE … SCARY

8. ACCEPTING CHANGE
22-year-old who has intellectual disabilities with significant “Mom Factor”
Transition program graduate who wanted to take community college classes
Mom wanted paratransit so that he could be ‘safe’
Overcame “Mom Factor” by personal approach

9. LONG-TERM BENEFITS Flexibility to Travel on a Moment’s Notice
Opening Doors to Opportunity
True Level of Independence

10. LONG-TERM BENEFITS

11. SUMMARY Cost Savings and Cost Avoidance (Short Game vs. Long Game)
Expand Opportunity
Safety and Inclusion
True Independence