WWW.PROJECTACTION.ORG

Mobility Management Value and Benefits

CalACT Fall Conference 2012

Ken Thompson

Easter Seals Project ACTION

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Easter Seals Project ACTION (ESPA)

• Mission: promote universal access to transportation for people

with disabilities…

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) assistance

• Begun by Congress twenty three years ago to build bridges of

understanding between the Transportation and Disability

Community

• Cooperative Agreement funded by the Federal Transit

Administration and Administered by Easter Seals

• Aligned with Easter Seals work to improve the lives of children,

youth, and adults with disabilities

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Four Functional Areas to Help Local

Organizations Build Accessible

Transportation Capacity • Training Events – travel training, webinars, online training

• Technical Assistance – 800#, email, in-person coalition building events

• Applied Research – fund catalyst and gap filling programs to stimulate

academic inquiry and leverage new product development

• Outreach – build awareness & create partnerships

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Achieving Full Access

• Physical access

– Vehicles

– Stops and stations

– Pedestrian pathways

• Have specific standards or guidelines

• Can be scheduled for improvements

• Can be clearly evaluated for success

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Achieving Full Access

• Attitudinal access

– Good customer service

– Reasonable modification

• Relies on human factors

– Interpretation

– Decisions

– Communication

• Can fluctuate greatly

• Is harder to measure for success

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The Accessible Transportation Coalition

Initiative Process

• Spans 2 years (minimum)

• Starts with forming a planning committee

• Competitive application process

• Builds into a coalition of significant stakeholders

• Has a two-day facilitated event

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The ATCI Event

• Brings 25-35 people to the table

• Facilitates discussion resulting in:

– Guiding principles

– A vision statement

– An action plan to take concrete and immediate steps

– A structure for the coalition to sustain itself

– A commitment from ESPA to provide technical support for a year

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Successes Achieved:

• Increasing traveler knowledge and skills through

travel training

• Lowering cost through public/private partnerships

• Establishing a united voice in the community for

transportation

• Bringing advocates to the table for planning

• Building or expanding capacity through volunteers

• More rides

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Transportation and Education

• Building transportation education into the school’s curriculum

– Skills students will need to travel independently

– Alternatives to driver education

• Marketing public transportation to educators

– Bus familiarization

– Field trips using public transit

• Supplementing pupil transportation with public transit

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Leverage Public Transportation for All

Facilitate a culture shift

Drivers education to transportation

education

Provide role models and examples

– Build collaboration across mobility

management & education

– Support performance measurement

– Develop platforms for sharing and

learning

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Voices from Youth

I feel like I am independent. I don’t

need to depend on my mom and dad to

take me places. Now I can ride

the bus to get to my job and to the movies

with my friends.

These are some of the reactions from youth and adults with

disabilities who have gained independence and mobility due to

the simple fact that they can now get a ride to work, school, the

mall or the library.

http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/183/183.pdf

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I Also Must Know About…

• Performance Measurement

– Adds value to your program

– Contributes to efficiency & effectiveness

– Facilitates understanding around gaps and needs

– Reinforces the integrity of work – to you, funders,

and customers.

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Value of Mobility Management

• Community Connection for people and providers

• Access to community resources

• Identifies gaps and needs in service

• Person directed, empowerment

• Quality of life for riders

• Community based service rather than hospital based

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Value of Mobility Management

• Cost analysis by comparing paratransit with fixed routes

• Efficiencies of other forms of transportation

• Voucher programs, etc.

• Economic benefits to transit and community

• Economic benefits to customer and family

• Income from work

• Fewer vehicle miles good for environment

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Coordinated Transportation Planning to

Improve Secondary Transition

A Local Story

The Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) had a goal of

creating a new model of travel training that would teach

transition-age students with disabilities how to use the

fixed route system prior to being introduced to paratransit

Partners:

• Transit Authority

• Mobility Management System

• School District

• Teachers

• Parents

• Students

Benefits From The Student’s Perspective

• I don’t have to rely on others

• Other kids learn to drive; using public transportation is my

mobility solution

• I’ll be more independent

• I’ll feel more confident

• Using public transportation supports my ability to live,

learn, work, and play in my community

Benefits From The Family’s Perspective

• I won’t have to “chauffeur” all the time

• She’ll be more independent after I’m gone

• He’ll be more like other kids his own age

• My child will be able to practice safety skills

in a controlled, but real environment

• Using public transportation supports my child’s ability to

live, learn, work, and play in our community

Benefits From The School’s Perspective

• Travel training addresses transportation needs in the IEP

• Students learn how to travel independently to and from

work or internship

• Decreases the burden on school transportation services

• Provides mobility solution/option for parents whose kids

cannot participate in driver’s education

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Contact Information

Ken Thompson

Coordinator, Veterans Dialogue and Technical

Assistance

Easter Seals Project ACTION

1425 K Street NW, Suite 200 • Washington, D.C. 20005

(800) 659-6428 or TTY (202) 347-7385

kthompson@easterseals.com

www.projectaction.org