TOWARDS COORDINATED RURAL TRANSPORTATION: A Resource Guide AUGUST 2014 - i ACCELERATING RURAL TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS Lack of transportation is a significant issue in all rural and remote communities in Ontario which affects most of the determinants of health. This report is a product of the ACCELERATING RURAL TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS initiative; a collaboration between the Rural Ontario Institute and the Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition. The purpose of this initiative is to enhance and strengthen the sharing of knowledge of effective models and emerging innovation in rural regional transportation. This project received funding from The Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Ontario government. The members of the study team that contributed to this report include the following: STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS Norman Ragetlie, Rural Ontario Institute Rob Black, Rural Ontario Institute Scott Currie, Rural Ontario Institute Lorna McCue, Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition Lisa Tolentino, Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition Brad Smith, Ride Norfolk Scott Butler, Ontario Good Roads Association CONSULTANT PROJECT TEAM Dennis Kar, RPP, MCIP, Dillon Consulting Limited Richard Puccini, P.Eng, Dillon Consulting Limited Stephanie Simard, RPP, MCIP, Dillon Consulting Limited Morgan Boyco, RPP, MCIP, Dillon Consulting Limited Special appreciation is extended to the lead organizations in the three study regions who contributed to the assessment and assisted with engaging local stakeholders, namely: Wellington County, Headwaters Communities in Action and Dufferin County, and in Leeds and Grenville, Every Kid in Our Communities and the Employment & Education Centre. For more on other resources or documents created through the Accelerating Rural Transportation Solutions initiative, visit http://ruralontarioinstitute.ca/resources-reports/ TOWARDS COORDINATED RURAL TRANSPORTATION: A Resource Guide AUGUST 2014 - ii This page left intentionally blank TOWARDS COORDINATED RURAL TRANSPORTATION: A Resource Guide AUGUST 2014 - iii Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................1 1.1 The Challenge of Providing Rural Transportation .............................................................................. 1 1.2 Coordinated Rural Transportation ..................................................................................................... 2 1.3 How to Use This Document ................................................................................................................ 4 2.0 CONTEXT FOR COORDINATED TRANSPORTATION IN RURAL ENVIRONMENTS ...........................7 2.1 Coordinated Transportation – A Definition ........................................................................................ 7 2.2 Benefits of Coordinated Transportation ............................................................................................. 7 2.3 The Rural Context ............................................................................................................................... 9 2.4 Existing Community Transportation in Rural Areas ......................................................................... 14 2.5 Is Coordination Right For You?......................................................................................................... 19 3.0 COORDINATED TRANSPORTATION MODELS .......................................................................... 21 3.1 Model 1: Centralized Control ........................................................................................................... 22 3.2 Model 2: Brokerage – Central Coordination .................................................................................... 24 3.3 Model 3: Brokerage – Confirmation Based ...................................................................................... 26 3.4 Model 4: Voluntary Cooperation Model .......................................................................................... 28 4.0 THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF A COORDINATED TRANSPORTATION MODEL ................................. 31 4.1 Service Planning ............................................................................................................................... 32 4.2 Customer Service and Complaint Handling ..................................................................................... 34 4.3 Intake Process .................................................................................................................................. 37 4.4 Marketing / Awareness .................................................................................................................... 41 4.5 Scheduling and Dispatch .................................................................................................................. 43 4.6 Passenger Fares ................................................................................................................................ 48 4.7 Eligibility Criteria .............................................................................................................................. 51 4.8 Policies and Procedures ................................................................................................................... 54 4.9 Vehicle Purchase .............................................................................................................................. 55 4.10 Vehicle Maintenance ...................................................................................................................... 58 TOWARDS COORDINATED RURAL TRANSPORTATION: A Resource Guide AUGUST 2014 - iv 4.11 Driver Training................................................................................................................................. 59 4.12 Volunteer Recruitment and Training ............................................................................................. 61 5.0 STEPS REQUIRED TO ESTABLISH A COORDINATED TRANSPORTATION MODEL ........................ 65 STEP 1 - Identify Two or More Organizations that Share a Common Goal ............................................. 66 STEP 2 - Inventory Existing Transportation Services and Key Stakeholders ........................................... 71 STEP 3 - Identify Service Demand and Gaps/Implementation Issues and Opportunities ...................... 76 STEP 4 - Assess Different Coordination Models ...................................................................................... 82 STEP 5 - Identify the Building Blocks of the Preferred Coordination Models ......................................... 85 STEP 6 - Select a Preferred Coordination Model .................................................................................... 88 6.0 FUNDING OPTIONS FOR COORDINATED TRANSPORTATION ................................................... 93 6.1 Passenger Fare Revenue .................................................................................................................. 93 6.2 Other Operating Revenue ................................................................................................................ 94 6.3 Municipal Subsidy ............................................................................................................................ 95 6.4 Provincial Gas Tax Program .............................................................................................................. 96 6.5 LHIN Funding .................................................................................................................................... 99 6.6 Federal Gas Tax Program ............................................................................................................... 100 6.7 Other Funding Sources ................................................................................................................... 101 7.0 STUDY REGION ASSESSMENTS ............................................................................................. 103 7.1 Wellington County ........................................................................................................................ 105 7.2 Dufferin County .............................................................................................................................. 135 7.3 United Counties of Leeds and Grenville ......................................................................................... 165 List of Figures Figure 1 - County of Wellington ................................................................................................................ 107 Figure 2 - Wellington County 2011 Population Pyramid .......................................................................... 110 Figure 3 - Potential Corridors Services in Wellington County ................................................................... 132 Figure 4 - Dufferin County Map ................................................................................................................ 138 TOWARDS COORDINATED RURAL TRANSPORTATION: A Resource Guide AUGUST 2014 - v Figure 5 - Dufferin County Population Pyramid ........................................................................................ 139 Figure 6 - Potential Corridor Service between Shelburne and Orangeville .............................................. 161 Figure 7 - United Counties of Leeds & Grenville ......................................................................................