Local Efforts
In this issue:
Local Efforts in Community Transportation
Partnerships find unique ways to deliver service
Throughout Minnesota, human service agencies are using creative ways to provide transportation to their clients. At the Transit Coordination Best Practices Forum, held February 21 in St. Paul, a session on transit partnerships featured two speakers describing innovative approaches for expanding transit service.
Volunteer driving force comes at a price
Volunteer drivers comprise the heart of the transportation services at Western Community Action (WCA), which serves five counties in Southwest Minnesota in an effort to eliminate poverty and build community.
United Way, Holiday give charities a break on gas
Twin Cities charities that provide transportation for human service clients in the community face the same costs as everyone else on the road: insurance, maintenance, repairs, and fuel. This past July, the Greater Twin Cities United Way and Holiday gas stations announced a free initiative to reduce one of those costs.
Local agency recognized for coordination efforts
Dakota Area Resources and Transportation for Seniors (DARTS) has received a 2005 United We Ride National Leadership Award. The agency was one of five public transportation providers that received the award, presented by U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta at the Community Transportation Association of America's Annual Expo in St. Louis, Missouri, May 24.
City of St. Paul
The City of St. Paul's Parks and Recreation Senior Advisory Council recently completed a project that surveyed 18 providers of community transportation for the elderly population of its city. The city asked the providers questions about their sign-up procedures, requirements of their drivers, types of vehicles owned, and cost. The goal of the program is to help educate seniors on how to access transportation to St. Paul's Parks and Recreation activities as well as other destinations.
Car sharing in the Twin Cities
Dozens of cities across the country have car sharing programs with steadily increasing memberships. Would it work in the Twin Cities? To help answer this question, University of Minnesota researchers Frank Douma and James Andrew, both with the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, studied car sharing best practices from other areas and identified markets in the Twin Cities region where a car sharing program might be effective.
DARTS launches vehicle maintenance business
After successfully maintaining and repairing its own vehicle fleet for a decade, Dakota Area Resources and Transportation for Seniors (DARTS) in January launched a new venture to help other agencies while bringing in revenue to support increasing demand for its services.
Group works toward better scheduling and dispatching
In 2003, a group of regional specialized transit providers, known as the County Transit Associates (CTA), began a project to upgrade its scheduling and dispatching technology in order to provide more efficient and more coordinated services.