02-10-09 Easter Seals Project ACTION Presentation

“Start Up and Expansion of Transportation in Rural Areas”

Brief Texas Transportation Facts 1997 the 75th Legislature and the Governor of Texas enacted bills that

required the Department of Human/Health Services and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), to increase coordination for those systems that use state and federal funds. Legislature meets in Texas every 2 years only Legislature mandates the budget balanced before sessions end

2003, the Legislature passed House Bill (HB) 3588 making significant changes to the structure and delivery of public transportation services throughout the state.

2005, HB 3588 came about due to the multiplicity of public transportation providers and services, coupled with a lack of coordination, as generating inefficiencies, creating overlaps in service and customer confusion. Texas is large enough that TxDOT is divided into 25 districts

throughout the state. HB 3588 mandated the coordination districts be Council of Government

(COG) district lines. These TxDOT districts and COG districts are not the same!!!!

TxDOT 25 Districts

Map taken from TxDOT’s website.

East Texas Council of Governments (ETCOG) Region 6 Map taken

from the Texas Association of Regional Councils website

(Point and Click does not work on this screen)

Brief East Texas Geographic Facts

2000 Census data

Population : about 745,180

Square Miles : about 10,000

14 Counties : 10 of these are rural

Eastern border : Louisiana

Map taken .

from ETCOG’s website

On this Texas map there are 4 items:1- the 14 county area of East Texas 2- the approximate location of Austin, the state capitol3- the approximate location of Dallas – Fort Worth4- the approximate location of Houston and Galveston

These last few slides are to help illustrate the vast area that is Texas, and the smallness of this East Texas Region in relationship to the rest of the state.

We are to coordinate transportation within this region in addition with surrounding regions and states.

East Texas Transportation Activities

2001, began public involvement in the planning process 2001, a group of stakeholders that included urban, rural and private

transportation providers, agencies and others began to meet monthly with the purpose of assisting both urban and rural transportation in assisting to plan and design projects which would allow for expansion or improvement of services (GETTA – Greater East Texas Transportation Association) This included purchase of vehicles, dispatch software and radio

equipment 2002, TxDOT contracted East Texas Center for Independent Living

(ETCIL) to construct a transportation resource database which included public, private and “other” transportation providers 235 agencies, organizations, and providers surveyed 99 ADA accessible and 178 non-accessible vehicles were identified

These vehicles were not all owned by transportation providers. Some were owned by nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, churches and other private agencies or businesses which provided their own transportation

2003, ETCIL staff and some Tyler District Transportation providers attended an Easter Seals Mobility Planning Service workshop in Washington, D.C..

East Texas Transportation Activities – continued 2005, Legislative HB 3588 mandated each of the Council of Government regions to

develop a regional coordination plan be developed for presentation to Texas Department of Transportation Commissioners by October 2006. Findings from the ETCIL study assisted with the construction of the committee. The East Texas Regional Transportation Coordination Planning Steering Committee (39 members) was implemented.

The structure of this included: Riders GETTA TxDOT ETCOG County Commissioners representatives from the 14 counties Health and Human Services Private providers Other Elected Officials

This Steering Committee identified through the above mentioned data gathering, public forums and the impact of the ESPA Mobility training 6 specific area or priorities

1- People first, barrier free 2- Multimodal interconnectivity across the region 3- Aggressive outreach and education to a broad base of people 4- Increased and flexible funding 5- Increase and expand services 6- Address emergency planning and homeland security

East Texas Transportation Activities – continued 2006, with the assistance of Easter Seals Project Action Ron Baumgart

of River Cities Transit, South Dakota came to Tyler, Texas and presented innovative ways to coordinate transportation in rural areas

2006, the regional coordination plan was presented to Texas Transportation Commission, again data from the ETCIL study was used in this final coordination plan

2007, the large Transportation Steering Committee disbanded , however the Executive Committee remained, and became the working committee which continued meeting and coordinating with Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) for further research of transportation needs in East Texas

2008, TTI’s research identified projected population and rider-ship growth, service gaps in the rural and urban areas, transfer points in each county, possible service expansion routes, equipment and funding needs to assist with expansion and coordination in East Texas

Involvement in Coordination Includes

ETCIL East Texas Council of Governments (ETCOG) East Texas Regional Transportation Coordination Planning Steering

Committee (39 members) Easter Seals Project Action Health and Human Services Longview Transit Metropolitan Planning Organization Private Sector TTI TxDOT Tyler Transit And a cast of many others

Current Transportation Providersin East Texas Tyler Transit Longview Transit Rural Transportation Private Cab Companies (with the largest in Tyler) Private Church, Day Care, Resident Facility and Medical

Transportation, MH/MR, Health and Human Service Agencies Interstate Bus Amtrak Small municipal airports

Out of the Box

. . .

. . .

. . .

Look at these dots and connect all of them with only four lines, do not retrace over lines and do not lift your pencil.

Out of the Box Solution

. . .

. . .

. . .As you see there is a solution,

but thinking outside the box is often the route to a solution.

Coordination in East Texas since HB 3588 (the last 6 years) Transfer points for rural and urban buses to meet, in progress Limited service in a small town in East Texas by using a bus from a

sheltered workshop during the day hours to provide para transit service One new fixed rural route, with more to come Some coordination between Council of Government regions to cross

regional boundaries Interstate coordination in progress – there is a Veterans Administration

hospital in Louisiana which is closer than the ones in Dallas or Waco.

Please do not leave anyone out at the planning table as you never know who may have great ideas or resources to assist with coordination. Invite everyone with a vehicle

or a driver to think outside the box to creatively coordinate transportation which fits your region. East Texas has a large a geographic, rural, area with an aging population and very limited resources.

Resource Contacts

Linda Woods Pugh Manager, Rural Transportation

and Community Development ArkTxCouncil of Governments Texarkana, Texas Phone (903)832-8636

Helen D. Thornton East Texas Center for Independent

Living (ETCIL) 4713 Troup Hwy Tyler, Texas 75703 Phone (903)581-7542

River Cities Public TransitRon Baumgart1600 E. Dakota Ave.Pierre, SD 57501Phone: (605)945-3166Fax: (605)945-4276ron.rct@midconetwork.com

Executive DirectorDakota Transit Associationwww.dakotatransit.org

General ManagerRiver Cities Public TransitPierre, SD

Poverty Levels in East Texas 2000 Census DataTM-P069. Percent of Families Below the Poverty Level in 1999: 2000 Universe: Families

Data Set: Census 2000 Summary File 3 (SF 3) - Sample Data United States by State NOTE: Data based on a sample except in P3, P4, H3, and H4. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, definitions, and count corrections see http://factfinder.census.gov/home/en/datanotes/expsf3.htm.

Percent of Families Below the Poverty Level in 1999

Geography:  Texas Value:  12 Percent  (universe = 5,283,474 families)(United States: Value: 9.2 Percent )

Percent of Families Below the Poverty Level in 1999

Geography:  Smith County, Texas Value:  10.2 Percent  (universe = 47,225 families)(Texas: Value: 12 Percent )

********************************************************************************************************************************************************** M1701. Percent of People Below Poverty Level in the Past 12 Months (For Whom Poverty Status is Determined): 2006  

Universe: Population for whom poverty status is determinedData Set: 2006 American Community Survey Survey: 2006 American Community Survey, 2006 Puerto Rico Community Survey United States by State NOTE. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see Survey Methodology.

Percent of People Below Poverty Level in the Past 12 Months

Geography:  Texas Estimate:  16.9 Percent Margin of Error:  +/-0.2 Percent (universe = 22,887,307 people)

(United States: Estimate: 13.3 Percent , margin of Error: +/-0.1 Percent)

Percent of People Below Poverty Level in the Past 12 Months

Geography:  Smith County, Texas Estimate:  17 Percent Margin of Error:  +/-2.1 Percent (universe = 192,647 people)

(Texas: Estimate: 16.9 Percent , Margin of Error: +/-0.2 Percent)