January 2012 NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Responsible Senior Program Officer: Gwen Chisholm Smith Research Results Digest 366 LOCAL AND STATE PARTNERSHIPS WITH TAXICAB COMPANIES This digest presents the results of NCHRP Project 20-65, Task 30, “Local Practices in Developing Coordination Partnerships with Taxicab Companies.” The project was conducted by Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates of San Francisco, CA, with Total Contract Solutions, Little Elm, TX, under subcontract to ICF International, Sacramento, CA. David Koffman of Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates was the Principal Investigator. The other authors of this digest were Ellen Oettinger of Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates and Charles Johnson of Total Contract Solutions. CHAPTER 1—INTRODUCTION nerships work in practice, what barriers AND SUMMARY have had to be overcome, and steps taken to overcome these barriers. This research was undertaken to identify Following this introduction and sum- how states and local governments can best mary of lessons from the case studies, the promote partnerships with taxicab compa- balance of this digest consists of a presen- nies for provision of public transportation. A tation of the survey results, 23 case studies, “partnership” typically involves some form and previous research. of contract for service, but also includes less formal arrangements as well as regulatory CONTENTS involvement intended to expand or create Types of Partnerships Chapter 1—Introduction and service for the public. An expansive under- and Case Studies Summary, 1 standing of “public transportation” has been Eight kinds of partnerships between Chapter 2—Survey Results, 7 applied including not just service provided public agencies and taxicabs have been iden- Chapter 3—General Public by public transit agencies but service for all Dial-a-Ride, 18 tified and studied in this research. The fol- types of public agencies, including state and lowing partnership types, case studies, and Chapter 4—Contracting for Senior and Disabled Demand Responsive local governments, human service agencies, other sources used are shown in Figure 1. Service, 22 and school districts. Chapter 5—Subsidized Taxi At the outset of the research, a list of General public dial-a-ride. Contracting Rides, 27 known partnership types was created on the with taxi companies for general public dial- Chapter 6—Wheelchair Accessible basis of a literature review, along with a list Taxicabs, 31 a-ride service seems to be uncommon, but of factors that may hinder or help establish Chapter 7—Non-Emergency case studies of the Ann Arbor Transit Au- Medical Transportation, 40 partnerships. A survey of state departments thority (AATA), the Pomona Valley Transit Chapter 8—Guaranteed of transportation (DOTs) and taxicab regu- Authority (PVTA), and Wisconsin Shared Ride Home, 44 lators was then used to learn more about the Ride Taxi programs illustrate how this does Chapter 9—Student prevalence of partnership types and factors prove effective in certain situations. Transportation, 46 that promote or hinder partnerships. Using Chapter 10—911 Transports, 51 the survey results, telephone follow-up, and Demand responsive service for seniors or Sources, 53 further literature review, a series of case people with disabilities. Transit agencies Endnotes, 54 studies was selected to explore how part- provide demand responsive service for Partnership Type Sources General public dial-a-ride • Ann Arbor Transit Authority (Night Ride) • Pomona Valley Transit Authority • Wisconsin Shared Ride Taxi programs Demand responsive service for • Pennsylvania Senior Shared Ride program (3 cases) seniors or people with disabilities • San Joaquin Regional Transit District • Orange County Transportation Authority Subsidized taxi rides • Maryland Transit Administration (Baltimore) • Los Angeles, California • West Hollywood, California • Olathe, Kansas Wheelchair accessible taxicabs • Chicago, Illinois • Seattle, Washington • Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments Non-emergency medical • Kentucky transportation • Massachusetts • National brokerage company Guaranteed ride home • Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments Student transportation • New Haven, Connecticut • St. Lucie County, Florida • Palatine, Illinois • Cleveland, Ohio • St. Louis, Missouri 911 transport • Houston, Texas Figure 1 Partnership types, case studies, and sources. people with disabilities as required by the Americans and Seattle, Washington. A report from the Taxi- with Disabilities Act (ADA), often using taxicabs for cab, Limousine, & Paratransit Association (TLPA) some portion of service as illustrated by case studies provides some perspective and additional examples. of the San Joaquin Regional Transit District and the Orange County Transportation Authority. In addition, Non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT). states and localities provide other demand responsive States provide access to medical care for participants services for seniors and people with disabilities, as in the state-run Medicaid programs, often by means of illustrated by the State of Pennsylvania’s Shared Ride taxicabs. Approaches and issues with using taxis for program and its implementation in three counties. NEMT are illustrated by case studies of programs in Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. A Subsidized taxi rides. Popularized in the 1970s as national survey and interviews with two national NEMT brokerage providers give perspective. “user-side subsidies,” subsidized taxi rides enable individual riders to obtain taxi rides at a discount. Guaranteed ride home. Agencies in many metro- Historically, they have used tickets, scrip, coupons, politan areas operate programs that encourage com- and vouchers and mechanisms, but recently there is muters to use transit and ridesharing. As part of these a trend toward using smart cards. Case studies have programs, they offer commuters a way to get home in been conducted of subsidized taxi rides in Baltimore, case an emergency or long work hours require a trip Maryland; Los Angeles, California; West Hollywood, home that is not feasible using their regular commuter California; and Olathe, Kansas. The targeted pop- mode. Commonly this involves paying for a taxi ride. ulations include seniors, people with disabilities, A national review by the Federal Transit Administra- low-income people, and people with AIDS. tion (FTA) provides a good overview of guaranteed ride home programs and a case study of a large pro- Wheelchair accessible taxicabs. Public agencies gram in the Washington, DC, area illustrates a partic- have provided subsidies to help taxi companies ular approach to overcoming challenges. obtain and operate wheelchair accessible taxicabs. Three case studies illustrate some of the issues that Student transportation. Many school districts pro- have arisen in Washington, DC; Chicago, Illinois; vide transportation either because of a broad state 2 requirement or else for specific groups of students ulations under which they operate require driver covered by certain state or federal laws or court background checks (78% of companies), con- orders. Most of this transportation is provided using trol fares (76% of companies), and control entry school buses, but taxis also provide many trips that do into the market (64% of companies). not fit on bus routes. Various situations and methods • Taxicabs are heavily involved with contracting are illustrated in five case studies: New Haven, Con- with public entities. Of survey respondents, necticut; Palatine, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; St. Louis, 54% contract with local government, 32% with Missouri; and St. Lucie County, Florida. The case transit, and 74% with social service agencies studies include transportation of special needs stu- (which may include non-profit agencies in dents, homeless students, students transferred out of addition to public entities). a school that fails to meet standards, and transporta- tion for school desegregation. TCRP Report 121. TCRP Report 121: Toolkit for Integrating Non-Dedicated Vehicles in Paratransit 911 transport. One example was found of taxis Service and the associated Case Study Report provide being used to serve non-urgent needs of 911 callers. a comprehensive examination of how taxicabs and Despite the apparent rarity of this type of service, the other non-dedicated vehicles are used in public para- case of Houston, Texas, is included because of the transit programs. The case studies of public paratransit promise that it seems to hold for other areas. in this digest were chosen to highlight developments since the research for TCRP Report 121. Published Information Project ACTION taxi survey. A Survey on the Use Five previously published reports are particularly of Taxis in Paratransit Programs, published by relevant to this research. Easter Seals Project ACTION in 2008, includes five case studies focusing on the use of taxicabs in con- TCRP Report 75. TCRP Report 75: The Role of the junction with ADA paratransit. It includes some Private-for-Hire Vehicle Industry in Public Transit, information about wheelchair accessible taxicabs, published in 2002, looked at the role of not just taxi- which is incorporated in the discussion of that topic cabs but also limousines, specialized vehicles used in this digest. The case studies herein were chosen for non-emergency medical transport, and shuttles. to avoid duplicating the Project ACTION survey Reliable information about the taxicab industry over- and to highlight issues not covered