Minnesota Public Transit - Human Services Transportation Coordination Study

The State of Minnesota, through the Mn/DOT Office of Transit, undertook this project to establish a planning Framework to educate public transit and human service transportation stakeholders at the local level (e.g., organizations responsible for transporting agency clients, students, and the general public) about the benefits of coordinating public transit and human service transportation, identify transit industry Best Practices in public transit and human service transportation coordination activities, and develop a statewide action plan for improving transportation coordination.

Download Study cover, table of contents, and introduction
(786 KB PDF)

Stakeholder Surveys

Stakeholder surveys were used to determine the level of and commitment to existing coordination activities throughout Greater Minnesota and the Metro area. Two survey instruments were developed and administered to two primary groups of stakeholders: transportation stakeholders and local elected officials. This section of the study discusses those surveys and results.

Download full Stakeholders Surveys section
(276 KB PDF)

Stakeholder Input

This section of the study describes the methods used and comments received from four strategies designed to gain additional stakeholder input into the study. These strategies— conducting regional workshops, interviewing state agency officials, interviewing Metropolitan Council officials, and interviewing private sector transportation providers—identified existing coordination, duplication of efforts, obstacles to coordination, recommendations, and other findings.

Download full Stakeholders Input section
(268 KB PDF)

Coordination Obstacles

Obstacles to coordination are policies, procedures, regulations, or even laws that impede or hinder, either through direct interpretation or misinterpretation, efforts to integrate the delivery of passenger/client transportation services among two or more programs.  This section of the study describes some of the obstacles identified from surveys, workshops, and interviews conducted during the first phase of the study.

Download full Coordination Obstacles section
(288 KB PDF)

Best Practices

The Best Practices section describes case studies of innovative and successful strategies that address many of the obstacles to coordination identified in the previous phases of this study. These examples, from throughout the United States including Minnesota, are grouped according to topic area, including insurance, volunteers, incentive funding, motor carrier regulations, and others.

Download full Best Practices section
(252 KB PDF)

Economic Impacts

This Economic Impacts section of the study discusses the economic benefits most commonly achieved by coordinating human service transportation programs with public transit/paratransit services. Among those benefits are improved service productivity and cost efficiency, leveraged additional funding, and improved economic health of local communities.

Download full Economic Impacts section
(384 KB PDF)

Greater Minnesota Action Plan

The Greater Minnesota Action Plan describes a proposed framework for transportation coordination based on the stakeholder assessment and best practice information. The Action Plan aims to create a climate conducive to public transit and human services transportation coordination at the community level.

Download full Greater Minnesota Action Plan section
(120 KB PDF)

Metro Area Action Plan

The Metro Area Action Plan describes a proposed framework for transportation coordination based on the stakeholder assessment and best practice information. The Action Plan aims to create a climate conducive to public transit and human services transportation coordination in the Twin Cities Metro Area.

Download full Metro Area Action Plan section
(156 KB PDF)

Implementation Plan

The Implementation Plan describes the steps, as well as who should carry out the steps, necessary for improving coordination. A budget and timeline for implementing coordination is included.

Download full Implementation Plan section
(280 KB PDF)

Download full Coordination Study
(1.5 MB PDF)