San Luis Obispo - Caltrans - State of California

SAN LUIS OBISPO REGION
COORDINATED HUMAN SERVICES-PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PLAN
8.2 PRIORITIES FOR PROJECT SELECTION
Meeting the specialized transportation needs of the three diverse and often overlapping
segments of the population (i.e. seniors, persons with disabilities and low-income individuals)
will continue to be challenging into the future. Actions and strategies developed should be
effective in incrementally improving services, by providing access to as many travel options as
possible to the target populations based upon their individual needs, and informing them about
those options. This can be accomplished by gradually building the capacity of public transit and
human and social service agencies and organizations to develop and implement coordinated
projects, plans and programs. Both public transit and human and social service agencies and
organizations must be active partners in this capacity building process.
The actions necessary to increase the capacity of public transit to offer improved access and
availability to transportation options for the target populations will differ from those actions and
strategies needed to build capacity for human and social services. For example, in San Luis
Obispo County, public transit operators have built significant infrastructure, and are taking the
initiative to build capacity by moving incrementally toward technological solutions to improve
service delivery and efficiency. Public transit operators are in the business of transporting the
“masses” as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible and have limited ability to serve the
specialized trip needs.
Moreover, the need to build the capacity of human and social service transportation providers to
complement public transportation services is critical, since the overall mission of these agencies
and organizations is to serve individualized needs, including operating services that public
transportation cannot (e.g., non-emergency medical, door-through-door, etc.). For this reason,
project opportunities designed to strengthen the ability of human and social service agencies
and organizations to meet the hard-to-serve trip needs of seniors, persons with disabilities and
low-income individuals should be encouraged.
Priorities relative to the development and funding of coordinated transportation projects
identified through this plan should, at a minimum:
1. Adequately address the unmet/underserved and individualized transportation
needs of the target populations;
2. Maintain consistency with current Federal and State funding regulations and
requirements;
3. Be financially sustainable;
4. Include reasonable, measurable goals and objectives;
5. Build and/or increase overall system capacity and/or service quality; and
6. Leverage and maximize existing transportation funding and capital resources,
including human services funding.
The single most important factor in order to prioritize and select coordinated projects for funding,
lies in its potential to satisfactorily address and/or resolve the identified transportation need(s) of
the target populations.
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OCTOBER 2007