November 2007 - Vol. 4 No. 1
In this issue:
Local Efforts in Community Transportation
Travel training helps new riders take the bus
For seniors or people with disabilities, navigating a metropolitan-area bus system for the first time may be daunting. But having this transportation option could greatly increase their mobility and independence.
To help these potential riders overcome initial barriers and learn to travel on fixed-route transit safely and independently, Metro Mobility now offers “travel training,” a voluntary travel instruction service.
Travel training is individualized, one-on-one training that covers all aspects of using the bus, such as how to pay the fare, signal the driver to stop, navigate the bus system, get information online and through the transit information line, and read a pocket schedule, explains Andrew Krueger, manager of Metro Mobility’s customer services.
Krueger adds that training is progressive: initially, an instructor may ride with the participant. Next, the instructor may travel on the same bus, but let the participant ride independently. Finally, the trainer may “trail” the bus for several days to ensure the person has learned to ride independently.
Besides easing the demand for specialized paratransit, the use of fixed-route transportation is less expensive for ADA-certified riders, who pay a $0.50 fare on the bus compared with $2.50 or more for a Metro Mobility trip.
Metro Mobility also offers group travel training, primarily for seniors. For this, the basics of riding the bus are covered in class before the group heads out together on the bus to an agreed-upon location.
For more information about travel training, call Metro Mobility at 651-602-1111 (TTY: 651-221-9886) or visit www.metrocouncil.org/transportation/paratransit/TravelTraining.htm.
Metro Mobility provides paratransit service in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and many surrounding suburbs for people who are unable to use, or have extreme difficulty using, regular-route transit service because of a disability or health condition.
State Efforts in Community Transportation
New partnership works on behalf of older drivers
As baby boomers reach retirement, mobility for an aging population is a concern spanning all age demographics. While older drivers must evaluate their options for staying mobile, their family and friends have to assist in finding resources to suit their needs.
The Minnesota Partnership for Safe Mobility (MPSM) is working to bring different mobility resources together to help drivers as their needs change. Formed in 2006, the 15-member partnership is a collaborative of public, nonprofit, and educational experts with plans to influence policy, create initiatives, and promote research to support the state’s aging drivers.
The partnership includes Mn/DOT, the Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute at the University of Minnesota, and the Toward Zero Deaths initiative.
By 2030, 18.9 percent of all vehicle-miles nationally will be driven by persons over age 65, which is three times that of 1990. Senior drivers also face more risks on the road, as motor vehicle injuries are the leading cause of injury-related deaths among 65- to 74-year-olds and the second leading cause after falls among 75- to 84-year-olds.
Older drivers are also more likely to be victims of fatal car crashes. In 2006, older drivers were involved in 7 percent of traffic crashes, but accounted for 17 percent of all traffic fatalities in the state.
DARTS, a nonprofit agency that offers transportation and other services for seniors, convened the partnership. DARTS president Mark Hoisser said that we live in a very mobile culture and seniors who lose their mobility often feel isolated and suffer from other health and mental issues. The ability of older adults to continue owning and operating a vehicle is a significant factor in their quality of life.
“We are a car-based society and I think it will continue to be that way,” he said. “Being a part of the community is based upon driving a car.”
Hoisser said driving accounts for 90 percent of all person-miles traveled daily.
But having drivers on the roads longer can lead to other concerns involving safety and insurance. This means the state needs to also focus on mobility options after older adults no longer drive. There are currently almost seven million persons age 65 and older that don’t drive.
Hoisser said he hopes the partnership will lead to better education of state and local government officials on the importance of senior-friendly communities, the construction of safer roadways and intersections, the creation of mobility resource centers, and increased availability of public transit. The partnership will also bring together existing resources into one centralized location for the state.
Hoisser said some of the main challenges facing MPSM are inadequate public transit, stretched alternative systems, family that is unavailable, and the disparity between urban and rural communities. In rural areas, limited public transit is a major concern, while seniors in urban areas can face crime, traffic, and confusing schedules and routes on public transit.
Some of the partnership’s strategies will affect drivers in all age demographics. MPSM plans to push for roadways and intersections with improved lighting, larger signs, and dedicated left-turn lanes.
“If it’s safe for them, then it’s safe for the rest of us,” Hoisser said.
For more information about MPSM, contact co-chairs Hal Freshley at hal.b.freshley@state.mn.us or Mark Hoisser at mark.hoisser@darts1.org.
Ensuring aging drivers and their cars are a good fit
As drivers age, their needs and safety precautions change. CarFit, a national program, helps empower mature drivers to stay independent and safe on the roads by improving person-to-vehicle fit.
Erica Stern, an associate professor in the University of Minnesota’s Program in Occupational Therapy–Center for Allied Health Programs, got the University involved in CarFit through a grant from the University’s Council on Public Engagement. The grant allowed Stern and her collaborators (DARTS, the Sister Kenny Institute, the Area Health and Education Center, the AARP, and the Area Agencies on Aging) to train CarFit coordinators and run two CarFit events in Minnesota.
For older drivers, “Ill-fitting vehicles can make it uncomfortable and unsafe to drive,” she said. This program has the added benefit of getting mature drivers to think of driving issues as things that can be helped. “CarFit starts the whole conversation about driving from a positive perspective, with our shared goal being [older drivers’] continued safe mobility,” she said.
Keeping aging drivers safe is extremely important, Stern said, because they have a greater likelihood of serious injury or death from crashes that younger drivers could easily survive. And by 2030, one in five drivers, more than 65 million Americans, will be age 65 or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
CarFit offers clinics where drivers bring their vehicles for a quick, free, 12-point check with trained individuals. The checklist looks at different issues including seat belts, headrests, and driver distance from the steering wheel.
CarFit providers recommend adjustments and adaptations to the vehicles, but the drivers must choose whether they wish to make the suggested changes, Stern said. Some of the devices available to drivers include a Handybar, which helps seniors get into and out of a car, easy-reach seat belt handles, key holders to make it easier to start the ignition, and gas-cap wrenches that help with fill-ups.
Stern’s research has been on driving, which led her to become involved in the larger issue of mobility for healthy and frail seniors. “I am very aware of the increasing need for occupational therapists' special skills in issues of seniors' community mobility,” she said.
In addition to the community benefits, the program is a way for students to be engaged in hands-on work. Stern said one-fourth of the University’s occupational therapy students participated in the training and nearly half of those trained volunteered to participate at a Willmar, Minn., event.
CarFit was created by the American Society on Aging and developed in collaboration with AAA, the AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons), and the American Occupational Therapy Association.
If you or someone you know is a mature driver, you can make adjustments to improve safety by ensuring:
- A clear line of sight at least three inches above the steering wheel
- At least 10 to 12 inches between the driver’s chest and the steering wheel
- Head restraint is centered with the driver’s head
- Seat belt lies across the driver’s hips and rib cage
- Headlights are clean and working
DARTS, located in West St. Paul, is planning to hold CarFit events on a regular basis. For more information about CarFit and to find other CarFit events in your area, visit www.asaging.org/carfit.
National Efforts in Community Transportation
TCRP Reports
The federal Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP), administered by the Transportation Research Board (TRB), provides practical transit research to address technical and operational issues. TCRP emphasizes putting research results into the hands of organizations and individuals that can use them to solve problems. TRCP publications may be viewed at www.trb.org/CRP/TCRP/TCRPProjects.asp.
The following recent TCRP publications, with associated reference information from the TRB Web site, focus on the topic of community transportation:
Web-Based Survey Techniques (TCRP Synthesis 69) explores the current state of the practice for Web-based surveys. The report examines successful practices, reviews the technologies necessary to conduct Web-based surveys, and includes several case studies and profiles of transit agency use of Web-based surveys. The report also focuses on the strengths and limitations of all survey methods.
Methods of Rider Communication (TCRP Synthesis 68) examines methods of communicating with transit customers in a variety of situations. The report explores the state of the practice in transit agency communications with customers, investigates how transit agencies determine the effectiveness of their communications activities, and reviews lessons learned in developing communications programs and communicating by electronic means.
Smartcard Interoperability Issues for the Transit Industry (TCRP Report 115) explores interoperability, identifies information needed by public agencies to implement smartcard payment systems interoperability, examines the necessary information flows, and outlines a set of functions needed for a standard public domain application programming interface (API) that may be used in the development of a uniform application protocol data unit (APDU). The report also includes a prototype for an API and an APDU.
Synthesis of Information Related to Transit Problems (TCRP Research Results Digest 80) is a digest of the progress and status of TCRP Project J-7, “Synthesis of Information Related to Transit Problems,” for which the Transportation Research Board is conducting the research.
Center Truck Performance on Low-Floor Light Rail Vehicles (TCRP Report 114) examines performance issues observed in the operation of low-floor light rail vehicle (LFLRV) center trucks (focusing on 70-percent low-floor vehicles), such as excessive wheel wear, noise, and occasional derailments, and provides proposed guidance on how to minimize or avoid these issues. The report also includes suggestions on LFLRV specifications, maintenance, and design as well as on related infrastructure design and maintenance to maximize performance of these LFLRV center trucks.
Bus Transit Service in Land Development Planning (TCRP Synthesis 67) examines successful strategies that help incorporate bus transit service into land developments, as well as the challenges that transit agencies face when attempting to do so. The report also explores the state of the practice regarding the use and components of transit agency development guidelines.
Fixed-Route Transit Ridership Forecasting and Service Planning Methods (TCRP Synthesis 66) examines the state of the practice in fixed-route transit ridership forecasting and service planning. The report also explores forecasting methodologies, resource requirements, data inputs, and organizational issues. In addition, the report analyzes the impacts of service changes and reviews transit agency assessments of the effectiveness and reliability of their methods and of desired improvements.
Coordinated Approaches to Expanding Access to Public Transportation (TCRP Research Results Digest 81) explores a study mission that examined coordinated approaches to expanding access to public transportation in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, and France.
Guidebook for Evaluating, Selecting, and Implementing Suburban Transit Services (TCRP Report 116) examines the current status of suburban transit services and land-use environments and the relationship between the two. Types of suburban transit services include commuter, route deviation, demand response, circulators, shuttles, and vanpools. The guidebook also describes the emerging trends that significantly influence the availability and operation of suburban transit services.
TCRP Web-Only Document 34, the companion document to the guidebook, includes eight case studies that describe the types of suburban transit services offered, types of operational issues, funding arrangements, marketing program, performance-measurement program, and successes, challenges, and lessons learned from introducing suburban transit services. The companion report also includes quantitative and qualitative decision matrixes.
The Americans With Disability Act (ADA): The Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA’s) Letters of Findings and Compliance Assessments (TCRP Legal Research Digest 23) includes FTA interpretations of Part III of the ADA, which pertains to public accommodations and transportation. FTA interpretations can be in letter findings, decisions on complaints, and compliance assessments and are available for download as an ISO image.
Racial and Gender Diversity in State DOTs and Transit Agencies (TCRP Report 120 or NCHRP Report 585), jointly produced by the Transit Cooperative Research Program and National Cooperative Highway Research Program, examines racial and gender diversity in state departments of transportation (DOTs) and transit agencies for establishing a baseline that reflects the current status of racial and gender diversity in state DOTs and transit agencies based on existing data.