After receiving a Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant in May 2018, CCTA and County staff began preparations to launch the ATS Plan. That preparation included reaching out to various stakeholders. CCTA's Bus Transit Coordinating Council (BTCC) communicated the concern that three studies of this type have been done in the past with little success and asked how this study would be different. With that input staff reviewed the past efforts and the numerous studies available that document why these types of efforts are frequently unsuccessful.
That review resulted in staff developing a strategy to address the various risk areas of the study. One such area is that of funding availability. Funds in this field are notoriously scarce and dedicated almost entirely to operations. There is little flexibility or surplus funding available to make system changes or significant investment in capital or institutional capacity improvements. This proposal is intended to address that issue by making funds available to make system improvements without drawing on operations funding.
The details of the Seniors/Persons with Disabilities Transportation Program proposal can be seen in the two attachments. In summary, the proposal addresses two long standing problems in providing transportation service to this population, 1) the well documented need to make systemic changes and improvements to the way these services are provided, and 2) increased operations funding needed due to pressures from demographic and public health shifts.
Administrative Notes:
TWIC staff is coordinating with Lara Delaney, legislative staff, to ensure the this proposal is developed consistent with County processes. This proposal was developed with the assistance of Mark Watts, the County's legislative advocate, and Peter Engel, Director of Programs - CCTA.
Relative to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund request in the proposal, the SPD Program is consistent with #20 on our 2018 State Legislative Platform:
SUPPORT efforts to expand eligible expenditures of the Greenhouse Gas Revenue[sic] Fund to investments in accessible transit/transportation systems (serving seniors, disabled, veterans) which result in more efficient (shared trips, increased coordination) service and corresponding reductions in greenhouse gas production.
There are two attachments with similar information, one produced for internal County use and another developed for use by our legislative advocate:
- 2019 County Sponsored Legislation Proposal
- Detailed Seniors/Persons with Disabilities Transportation Program
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