One hurdle for officials coordinating transportation services for low-income, disabled and elderly folks is building trust among the companies, nonprofits and government agencies that provide the transportation.
That was the message from the Utah Department of Transportation and the Wasatch Front Regional Council to the Transportation Interim Committee last week who, by federal law, are guaranteed access to public transit. The goal is to increase access and eliminate inefficiencies that currently exist. An example of those inefficiencies would be an instance when a senior citizen who lives in west Provo might call a senior center for a ride, when the Utah Transit Authority is headed in the same neighborhood to pick up a disabled person.
The request for reports comes on the heels of the Utah Transit Authority's contemplation of changes to its $15 million paratransit service, which UTA says it can no longer afford. In addition, the coordination of transportation services is mandated by federal law, first in an executive order by President George W. Bush in 2004 and, a year later, by Congress in the reauthorization of a transportation funding bill.
The Wasatch Front Regional Council in January began a survey of available transportation services, hiring Boston-based consultants Nelson/Nygaard for $250,000 to conduct the study.
Transportation service providers identified funding as the biggest hurdle to coordinating transportation services, said Wasatch Front Regional Council deputy director Doug Hattery.
Transportation providers are also unwilling or unable to mix their clients with other populations. For instance, a service for the blind may not transport low-income people. Transportation providers are worried about liability and insurance if they expand their services to include other populations. And there are turf issues among providers, Hattery said.
Some transportation providers worry they will lose their funding or become irrelevant if they expand their services, said Mary Guy-Sell, a planner for the Utah Department of Transportation
Sen. Kevin Van Tassell, R-Vernal, believes coordination is necessary to give people more access to transportation. "If we can get together and not protect our turf, we can have a pretty good success," he said.
Legislative policy analyst Lief Elder studied transportation coordination in other states. Almost 15 states have a coordinating committee that oversees the different businesses, agencies and nonprofits providing services. In Texas, the state transportation department coordinates with other service providers. In Nebraska, it's coordinated under the state's health and human-services department, he said. E-MAIL: lhancock@desnews.com
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