2008 National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference Nebraska Statewide Coordinated Public Transit - Human Services Transportation Plan Joe Kern: SRF Consulting Group

2008 National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference Nebraska Approach  Statewide effort for rural areas  Built on Rural Transit Needs Study  Extensive stakeholder involvement  Intended to create framework for leaders  Separate urban area plans

2008 National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference State Demographics  1.7 million total population  500,000 rural residents  Most rural areas <10 persons per square mile  Rapidly growing 65+ population  100,000 new seniors by 2020  Almost 40% of rural residents transit dependent

2008 National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference Counties with Transit Dependent Populations

2008 National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference Available Rural Transportation Services  8 Intercity carriers  providers - almost half operate 1 vehicle  providers  75 of 93 counties have some transit  Mix of city and county, on-demand and route service  Typical service 8-5 Monday - Friday

2008 National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference Current Rural Transit Service

2008 National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference Regional Stakeholder Workshops  Transit and human services providers  Agency and community leaders  Framework for Action self-assessment  Existing coordination activities  Gaps and needs  Top priorities

2008 National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference Self - Assessment  Making Things Happen  Community Needs  Customers First  Adapting Funding  Moving People Efficiently  Brightest spot related to safety of services  1 needs significant action  1  0 needs to begin  0 Rating(Scale 0 to 3)

2008 National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference Gaps and Needs  Number of destinations needs to be expanded  Boundaries need to be challenged  Better information needed  Improvements needed in equipment  Improvements needed in operations  Real coordination needed

2008 National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference Service Priorities  Link communities  Coordinate long-distance trips  Break down barriers (borders)  Provide evening and weekend service  Provide access to jobs

2008 National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference Operations Priorities  Utilize computer scheduling tools  Establish “best practices” manual  Develop qualified driver pool  Create traveling mechanic program

2008 National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference Administrative Priorities  Create Mobility Managers across state  Develop resource guides  Develop better understanding of local needs  Encourage change in insurance industry

2008 National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference Equipment Priorities  Work with FTA and industry to “right size” rural fleets  Work to accommodate large customer equipment

2008 National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference Next Steps  Continue planning efforts from NDOR  Encourage larger, more sophisticated systems to take on more  Continue the dialogue on regional level

2008 National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference “What do you do when you’re at the county line and you can see the guy but you can’t pick him up because he’s on the other side of the line?” “The long and short of it is there aren’t a lot of soldiers to fight this fight.” “You can’t do coordination without a coordinator.” “How do you put together pots of money to get funding that isn’t silo-driven?” “Many of us serve the same clients. We should be able to blend funding.”