Chapter 6: Stakeholder Recommendations & Action Plan For Coordinated Transportation

Transcription

1 Chapter 6: Stakeholder Recommendations & Action Plan For Coordinated Transportation Through the various outreach sessions and meetings of the Stakeholder Committee an array of recommendations were compiled for the purpose of the County s interim human service transportation plan. The recommendations are presented in relation to the major categories outlined in the FTA Self-Assessment exercise as follows; Making Things Happen by Working Together Taking Stock of Community Needs and Moving Forward Putting Customers First Adapting Funding for Greater Mobility Moving People Efficiently Each section sets forth an ambitious action plan for the County s central transportation organization, the Department of Transportation Services. The actions involve efforts to meet with various county and local organizations, elected officials as well as key transportation to learn more about the nature and extent of their service and its operation and to explore suitability and willingness of individual organizations to further coordinate transportation services. Additional technical work will focus on developing a comprehensive plan, possibly with assistance from a transportation consultant to determine the appropriate level of for. It should be emphasized that while there are opportunities for increased and integration among transportation, the creation of a centralized or consolidated organization would require major investment to achieve. Further study is needed to determine the appropriate level of for the county. Given the extensive service area of and unique demographic characteristics of the County s population, a consolidated system would require considerable facility investment, including a major upgrade to information and technology systems. is currently pursuing a major technology modernization project (phase I and II) that will result in the implementation of new transportation software and the installation of the MDT s Mobile Data Terminals on-board the demand responsive portion of the fleet. This comprehensive project has been advanced with full funding by the Board of Chosen Freeholders to support departmental efforts to attain optimal efficiency of existing driver and vehicles resources. maintains a positive, inter-active working relationship with various governmental, local, county and state as well as with local non-profit organizations. Current day-to-day cooperative practices relate to the following areas; -Joint purchasing programs; -Provision of technical assistance to local municipalities and organizations; -Provision of training opportunities to local organizations; -Cooperative trip reservation arrangements with local, governmental units; -Cooperative service planning arrangements; -Informal referral and trip fulfillment requests; and -Inter-agency cooperation agreements; ex., Brick, Manchester, Stafford Interim Human Service Transportation Coordination Plan 6-1

2 - Making Things Happen by Working Together - Educate leaders & organizations about Brief county leaders on changes in federal policy that encourage & benefits of transportation promote transportation, new federal policy Review existing, informal & voluntary framework that brings together, and consumers Explore support level for transportation Support efforts to increase the casino revenue funding from 7.5% to 8.5% Integration of system through smart card Conduct regular meetings with county and local transportation Gather GA data, conduct spatial analysis through GIS Promote existing transit services especially where capacity exists-bus routes Initiate transportation education workshops with One Stop Career Center Participate in One Stop Collaborative meetings Conduct annual in-service transit training meeting Continue comprehensive planning process to evaluate various levels of transportation Visit brokerage system in operation to convey model complexity Continue efforts to advance MOM Rail Project and to secure additional transit services by public and private Assess changes to current committee structure, need for clear guidelines, local, county, non-profits Support current legislation Research available technology, identify action plan and costs Create transportation working group, vision group, etc. Identify transit options that meet current needs Marketing campaign Develop program, conduct monthly transit orientation session staff to attend on quarterly basis to keep in the agency loop Arrange in-service mtg Prepare scope of work for five year plan Research best practice that closely approximates s service profile Participation in NJ Transit planning process Local, county Elected officials, County, consultant, local & county Board of Social Services, Ocean Ride, OC Planning, COAST TMA,One Stop Center,OC Human Services- WIB,OC Human Services,,One- Stop Collaborative mbrs,nj Transit, Bd Social Services, Job Link, seek consultant services, consultant elected officials and staff Short-Term Long-term 2007 Interim Human Service Transportation Coordination Plan 6-2

3 Stakeholder Recommendations & Action Plan For Coordinated Transportation - Taking Stock of Community Needs and Moving Forward - Review data from county-wide survey Communication effort campaigninternal/external Local, county transportation Determine appropriate follow-up actions regarding need for additional inventory information Further document the specific needs, key issues and barriers related to various target populations CMO-young parents seeking parental education Ryan White GA population, TANF veterans Olmsted impacts Aging out 21+ Dual diagnosed Dislocated workers Persons with disabilities Leave no child behind reqs Assess process for identifying duplication of services, underused assets & service gaps Review utilization level of Section 5310 vehicles in Conduct focus group meetings to better understand specific gaps and service needs Build on strength of existing service network-sr. Project Directors Implement pilot project(s) to test approaches based on varying geographic services areas Assess and develop clear guidelines, clarify services & eligibility issues Work with county and local to further identify issues, gaps, barriers Develop informal review mechanism for service review Develop usage criteria, determine suitability for Meet with various customer populations to assess specific gaps and needs Create transportation subcommittee, explore opportunities for pilot Target specific service opportunities; South- Stafford, Northwest- Plumsted/Jackson Local, county transportation, local, county, local, county, Local, county, Sr. Centers Community Services Inc., Caregivers of Central Jersey, Stafford Dial-A- Ride, Community Services Inc Interim Human Service Transportation Coordination Plan 6-3

4 Stakeholder Recommendations & Action Plan For Coordinated Transportation - Taking Stock of Community Needs and Moving Forward - Priority Recommendation Action(s) Needed Responsible Form and strengthen existing partnerships with county, local and state Stakeholder groups from will meet with representatives from of the NJ Dept. Children & Families regarding planning and of local transportation resources and needs Involve corporate employers into transportation issues Incorporate state of art transportation technology into transit system Include transportation users and other stakeholders in the community assessment process will participate in One-Stop Collaborative Committee once/every quarter Provide staff for inservice training to new TANF clients at the One Stop Career Center, involve the COAST TMA Arrange meetings with relevant to explore potential for Prepare briefing packet to inform local employers about transportation in two phase IT project underway, share results of effort with local As part of public outreach, provide opportunity for further community input - Putting Customers First -, county, local, OC Human Services, NJ Div Youth & Family Services, NJ Div Child Behavior Health Services, Div Prevention & Community Partnership Cooperative effort,, NJ Transit, COAST TMA, Human Services-WIB In progress on-going Review and adapt array of user-friendly Assess, critique and and accessible information sources improve marketing, Riders Guide material to increase COAST TMA Color-coded timetables public awareness Website Outreach through county connection and 2 mobile county connection vehicles 2007 Interim Human Service Transportation Coordination Plan 6-4

5 - Putting Customers First (continued) - Education Program- actively seek opportunities to showcase transportation services to, nonprofits, local community groups Offer Travel Training to groups Identify barriers to creation of Seamless payment system Explore methods to create bus pass for purchase by non-profits-must meet fiscal and compliance requirements Improve awareness of bus routes through enhanced signage Assess openness of process for obtaining customer feedback -OceanRide info@co.ocean.nj.us Seek to build upon existing Education Assess clear guidelines Tailor travel training to r group/service area Further explore improvements to bus pass program Research best practices, for relevancy to Ocean County system bus stop signs, timetable holders, key locations-bus shelters Research common methods of access, 9COAST TMA, OC Bd of Social Services, COAST TMA, OC Board of Social Services, TMA Campaigns-211, Library Meet with Contact of OC and OC Library, OC Library Create more formalized Trip Planning Create template trip, Assistance planner COAST TMA Service Providers - Adapting Funding for Greater Mobility, on-going Explore current authority for local municipalities to assess developer fee for transit operations, dialysis facility contribution, etc. Review systematic tracking of financial data by major programs Identify barriers to related to billing and financial systems Seek to resolve billing & financial system incompatibility/obstacles to efforts Encourage transit to create flexible services that are seamless to customers Encourage facilities to research transportation service availability prior to locating new facilities Analyze various options for creating centralized dispatch system for Research current authority for assessment Conduct local research Conduct research on local systems Conduct local research - Moving People Efficiently - Work with transp working group to identify opportunities Create facility siting questionnaire to consider transportation availability Create transportation working group to explore coordinated dispatch concept, local, county, local, county, local, county, consultant Seek to improve transit beyond county Identify priority, out-ofcounty, & boundaries destinations adjacent counties Long-term Develop strategies for service expansion Identify priority needs Long-term through extended service hours 2007 Interim Human Service Transportation Coordination Plan 6-5

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