Short Range Transit Plan 2008-2013 - Omnitrans

IBI GROUP
SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN REPORT
OMNITRANS COMPREHENSIVE OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT
& SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN
services available to the general public. One may assume that many of the more discretionary trip needs
of these populations have not been met.
Transit providers and human service agencies have often worked to coordinate services, but barriers
sometimes limit the success of these efforts. These barriers include regulatory restrictions, funding
requirements and differing perceptions. For example, both Medicaid and ADA have scheduling
requirements that may make it difficult to coordinate use.
New directions in state and national policy on a variety of fronts show an increasing role and heightened
expectations for public transit. Project partners face many challenges in fulfilling that role:
• Revenue and funding constraints, including greater dependence on subsidies;
• Escalating operating costs;
• Changing demographic and settlement patterns that make providing transit
difficult and potentially inefficient if not appropriately coordinated or consolidated;
and
• Rising expectations for transit's social mandate, e.g.,
o
o
Increase the accessibility of persons with economical and transportation
disadvantages 8 ; and
Satisfying the needs of the population centers within fiscal and fleet size
constraints.
SANBAG’s Public Transit – Human Services Transportation Coordination Plan being conducted for San
Bernardino County has the following objectives:
1. Conduct best practices review (other jurisdictions with operating characteristics similar to
those of the SANBAG/regional paratransit services service area);
2. Expand stakeholder participation through a comprehensive approach to outreach and
consultation;
3. Identify opportunities to maximize the use of existing resources;
4. Identify alternate models for governance, service delivery and operations;
5. Increase the efficiency in delivering services in response to management/institutional
issues; and
6. Improve access (and mobility) for customers.
This Coordination Plan is scheduled to be completed in the Fall of 2007.
The implications of Coordination Plan outcomes for Omnitrans include:
• From an administrative perspective, a possible opportunity to assume a greater
mobility manager role; and,
8
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) creates strategic planning challenges and financial pressures that are unprecedented
within the transit and paratransit industry.
July 11, 2007 96