San Luis Obispo - Caltrans - State of California

SAN LUIS OBISPO REGION
COORDINATED HUMAN SERVICES-PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PLAN
CHAPTER 6: FINDINGS OF THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT PROCESS
This chapter considers the findings of the work activities completed and presented in the
previous chapters. There is discussion of the resources and needs assessment and
identification of gaps and unmet needs.
6.1 FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION (FTA) PROGRAM GUIDANCE
FTA guidelines require that the coordinated plan must contain the following four (4) required
elements consistent with the available resources of each individual agency/organization:
1. As assessment of available services that identifies current providers (public, private and
non-profit);
2. An assessment of transportation needs for individuals with disabilities, older adults, and
people with low incomes – this assessment can be based on the experiences and
perceptions of the planning partners or on data collection efforts and gaps in service;
3. Strategies and/or activities and/or projects to address the identified gaps between
current services and needs as well as opportunities to improve efficiencies in service
delivery; and
4. Priorities for implementation based on resources (from multiple program sources), time,
and feasibility for carrying out specific strategies and/or activities identified.
Meeting these required elements began with the extensive effort involved to develop a master
database listing of agencies and two rounds of surveys distributed to this listing, to invite key
stakeholders or “planning partners” into the process. Stakeholders included both
representatives of public transit organizations and of human service agencies throughout the
San Luis Obispo region. The methods used to ensure participation included administration of
the countywide stakeholder survey, stakeholder agency/organization meetings and interviews
and consumer meetings. In addition, meetings with various SLOCOG committees at several
stages during the study process provided opportunity to review and comment upon project
issues.
The stakeholder survey and accompanying trip demand estimation presented in Chapter 3, and
the outreach processes undertaken and documented in Chapter 4 provide considerable data
and information from which to develop a profile of the needs of the target populations. A profile
of the available transportation resources of public transit and human service agencies
throughout the county is given in Chapter 5. These data and collected information will be used
to inform the development of strategies and recommendations presented in Chapter 8. This
chapter discusses the project findings relative to the required FTA elements.
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OCTOBER 2007