$4.00 Gas Confirms Need for Transit Talks
In the early days of The Kansas Collaborative we did a series of “Sharing Approaches That Work” meetings around the state. The morning agenda focused on getting the word out about the potential savings on prescription drugs for the inmate population. People came, listened and chose options. It was these initial meetings that paved the way for the nearly $21 million saved to date. In the afternoon, we met with commissioners and county staff to brainstorm other issues that required the attention of The Kansas Collaborative. Transit needs were very high on everyone’s list. Well here we are three years later and transit is having its day. It does not take long for gas to be at $4.00 a gallon before real attention can be focused on making transit more efficient and effective in serving the needs of Kansans.
The Kansas Collaborative has been working with KDOT to identify a small number of pilot projects that could show promise for many parts of the state. The pilots are still being determined but what can be shared are the project types. Here is a run down.
1. Workforce Transportation
Transportation is a key issue to both employers and employees. KDOT has had interest from major employers around the state. Further, this pilot will provide a concrete example of the role transit can play in supporting economic development.
2. One Stop Call Center
This pilot would test using a large provider as a one stop call center for smaller specialty providers in the region. This would allow for effective use of scarce resources by assigning customers and trips while balancing needs and resources. Chaining trips instead of providing demand response service (often less than two riders) could heighten efficiency. An additional value of this pilot would be to gather information on the transportation needs of people.
3. Rural Coordination
Coordination is key to being efficient and effective. This pilot would seek to create coordination in two arenas.
a. Maintenance: Creating a center for specialty maintenance that is able to provide potential savings to all transportation providers in the geographic region.
b. Beyond County Rides: The challenge—learning how to coordinate systems across jurisdictions i.e. between counties and cities.
KDOT plans to announce the pilot project locations in September. Once that is done The Kansas Collaborative will share through the County Comment much more detail on each of the pilots. We welcome your feedback. Feel free to email Joel Wright with comments or questions.
Until next month…
Kathleen and Joel
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