Workshops, studies, grants, a myriad of federal funding programs — around 62 at last count — are all aimed at tackling issues related to human service transportation delivery.  Not only is the list long and confusing, but one has to wonder how much time, money and effort are duplicated between and among all these initiatives.

One recent initiative from the U.S. Department of Transportation Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) office, called the Mobility Services for All Americans (MSAA), aims to cut through all this redundancy and establish a replicable model that shows how providers and agencies can utilize ITS to address the rising costs and needs of all riders, but especially those with special transportation challenges, whether it be disability, age or rural barriers.

The MSAA initiative is related to the United We Ride (UWR) program, which was designed to implement the Executive Order on Human Service Coordination issued by President Bush in February 2004.  The simple answer on how they differ is that the UWR program answers the “What” is to be accomplished — more rides and easier access for older adults, people with disabilities and low-income populations - and the MSAA initiative is the “How” is this going to be accomplished — how will communities across the country cooperate and use newer tools to achieve coordinated, integrated transportation services.

Off to the Races
After a research phase that established a record of past and current human service transportation related projects, identified needs and gaps in current transportation practice and barriers, the MSAA initiative issued a request for proposals (RFP) on April 14, 2006 to select up to 10 sites that would be able to plan and design a replicable and scalable travel management coordination center (TMCC) that could deliver enhanced human service transportation across different environments and scenarios.

An inter-departmental committee including those from the Department of Transportation, Department of Labor and the Department of Education fielded 37 applications from across the country, meticulously reviewing written RFPs to find the best demonstration sites, regardless of geographic location. In the end, eight sites were selected:  Aiken, S.C.; Atlanta, Ga.; Cherry Hill, N.J.; Fitchburg, Mass.; Kent, Ohio; Louisville, Ky.; Paducah, Ky.; and Orlando, Fla.

“What struck us the most is that all of the sites chosen are east of the Mississippi, but we didn’t focus on geography when selecting sites, rather we focused on selecting sites that had at least some basic infrastructure and made steps in planning,” says Yehuda Gross, ITS transit program manager.

“We were surprised to see that some sites were very advanced in coordination planning, but had zero ITS infrastructure.  Also, the contrast between rural and urban centers:  rural remote locations were more advanced in organizational planning with little technology, while urban centers had more technology but much less focus on coordination and planning.”