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Author Archives: Chris Rall

How is COVID-19 impacting rural transit in Oklahoma


Struggles for rural transit agencies show that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to public transportation are not limited to big cities.

Transit agencies are struggling to continue providing service in the face of plummeting fare revenues and increased costs associated with the need for cleaning vehicles and providing enough service to allow for safe spacing of passengers.

The fallout for transit in this crisis has been more visible in large cities than rural communities, since more people use transit in urban areas, and urban transit is typically more dependent on farebox revenue. But the impact has been just as severe for rural transit systems. Rural systems often don’t have staff that can dedicate time documenting impacts and calling members of Congress. They are trying to keep the doors open, the vehicles clean and running, and the drivers and riders safe. This may in part explain why many rural and tribal transit systems were caught off-guard when their share of the $25 billion of transit relief funding in the CARES Act was cut in half, from $4 billion to $2.2 billion just before the bill passed.

The reality is that rural transit agencies, already operating on very tight margins with unstable financial support, are already at a breaking point in this crisis. “Rural transit systems are at their wits’ end emotionally, physically, mentally and financially,” says LaQuita Thornely, Executive Director of INCA Community Services, an agency that operates JAMM Transit in four rural Oklahoma counties. “The nature of rural transit makes survival during this time questionable.”

What we heard from transit agencies in Oklahoma are examples of what is likely happening to rural transit agencies nationwide.

The modest pay and part-time nature of driving for a rural system means it doesn’t pay the bills but can supplement retirement income. Because of this, rural transit drivers are more often older — many are over 65 — and therefore at greater risk of complications or even death, should they be infected by COVID-19.

For good reason, drivers are already skittish about continuing to work, and many are quitting, often not even bothering to give notice. Recently, a dialysis patient tested positive for the coronavirus after exposing two drivers. “We are awaiting the ripple effects of that incident on driver retention,” said Charla Sloan, Transit Director for KI BOIS Area Transit System (KATS) that serves 12 rural Oklahoma counties. “Social distancing is not possible when rural drivers have to secure wheelchair passengers in the vehicles.” Several systems in Oklahoma have had to cut service due to the COVID-19-caused driver shortage.

Making sure drivers are protected could go a long way toward keeping drivers safe and more of them on the job. But personal protective equipment (PPE) and even hand sanitizer is in short supply and hard to come by. The Oklahoma Transit Association (OTA) has found a supply of hand sanitizer from a local distillery and protective masks from China through one of its vendor members. “We have been driving hundreds of miles around the state delivering hand sanitizer and masks to systems that have no other way to protect its drivers and riders,” said Mark C. Nestlen, Executive Director of OTA. “We have still not found a supplier for small spray bottles to dispense the hand sanitizer or vehicle cleaning supplies, so the stress level remains high.”

The fiscal impacts of the pandemic on already-stretched rural transit systems will be immense. “My system is two payrolls away from being broke,” said Melissa Fesler, Director of First Capital Trolley who serves three Oklahoma counties. “Already subdued local rural economies are shut down with physical distancing practices taking hold. Local revenue sources are drying up quickly, and those local revenues will not recover for years to come.”

“Concern is growing as to the long-term viability of rural transit once the pandemic subsides and we return to a new normal,” said state representative Avery Frix (R-Muskogee), who serves as Chairman of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Transportation Committee and represents two rural counties. “As a result of the COVID-19 health crisis and the related economic collapse, the funding from local sources is going to plummet. Our rural transit providers rely on local matching funds to leverage federal dollars to keep vehicles moving. And those local funds are not going to be there for years.”

Prior to the public health crisis many rural transit providers were already walking a razor’s edge with being able to continue service. Closing down entirely would be especially devastating to many seniors and people with disabilities who rely solely on their local transit system for the one meal at the senior site or access to much needed health care like dialysis or to the worker who relies on transit to get to work.

“As rural states recover from the crisis, public transit will have to be a major component of the economic recovery,” Frix continued. “Without an effective public transit system operating seamlessly statewide within and between rural communities and urban cities, a recovery will be slow at best, if at all.”

Member Policy Memo: Final FY2020 THUD Appropriations Bill

On December 16, 2019 House and Senate negotiators released the text of an agreement, also known as
a “conference report” on FY20 appropriations. The agreement is comprised of two bills, with the THUD
appropriations included in H.R. 1865, the Domestic Priorities and International Assistance
Appropriations Minibus. The House and Senate approved the bill, and the President signed it into law before the current continuing resolution (CR) with temporary funding levels for federal agencies expired on December 20. Here is the analysis from our policy team provided exclusively to members.

Autonomous Vehicle Policy Letter

T4a led a diverse coalition of national groups this summer to write a letter to Congress with principles for national AV legislation. This letter calls for a national policy that addresses issues like safety, access, local control, and data issues.

You can view the letter here.

Phoenix voters could take extreme action to kill rail transit

Later this month, Phoenix voters will decide whether to ban all future rail transit investment, putting an abrupt end to light rail expansions and dealing a major blow to the city’s and region’s efforts to create a sense of place, attract talent, and grow the economy.

Proposition 105 on Phoenix’s August 27 ballot, if passed, will prohibit the city from spending money on development, construction, expansion, or improvement of light rail transit or other fixed rail transit. Local light rail funding would be diverted to other (auto-centric) transportation projects.

In the near-term the measure’s passage would immediately halt two light rail projects that the region plans to start constructing in the coming year, not to mention the impacts on long-term plans approved by voters in 2015.

The two near-term projects on the chopping block, the South Central extension and the Phase II Northwest extension, would connect major employment and recreation destinations to the region’s light rail system while connecting more residents to high-quality transit. Both projects are scheduled to be completed in 2023.

A radical vision

As with other anti-transit election efforts around the country, this one has financial and logistical backing from the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity. But unlike previous Koch-backed attempts to disrupt local transit funding, Prop 105 takes the fight against transit to new extremes. If approved, the measure would not only cancel all current plans to expand light rail (which voters have repeatedly approved at the ballot box on three separate occasions), but it would also prohibit any future efforts to expand or improve the network.

City leaders are clearly concerned about the potential impacts of the measure. The mayor and all but one city councilors have staked out positions opposing Prop 105. The Greater Phoenix Chamber and many other politically active organizations are also working against the measure.

“The Greater Phoenix Chamber has been a long-time supporter of investing in multimodal regional transit plans that move our city forward by connecting people to their community and to work opportunities,” said Todd Sanders, president of the chamber in a published statement. “The passage of Prop 105 would hinder our city’s progress and our region’s attractiveness as a thriving, modern place to work, live, and play.”

Opposition from business leaders is understandable and hardly surprising. As Phoenix diversifies its economy in knowledge sectors like financial and professional services, public transit is a critical tool to create walkable, vibrant neighborhoods and attract and retain a talented workforce. That’s why cities like Indianapolis, Reno, El Paso, and Albuquerque are investing heavily in new, high-capacity transit systems. It’s a sharp contrast to the future that Prop 105 would create for Phoenix.

Expansion of the light rail system also delivers a more convenient and affordable transportation option for residents who don’t have a car, whether by choice or necessity. It gives low-income residents, people with disabilities, older Americans who can no longer drive, children who can’t yet drive, and everyone else better transportation options.

In addition, investment in rail transit is important to Phoenix’s efforts to change its sprawling land use. Sprawl has big fiscal implications, particularly for this desert metropolis. In order to conserve water and balance the city’s maintenance and infrastructure obligations, city and regional plans have focused on shifting more development toward mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods. Rail transit is a key tool to facilitate that while improving quality of life.

If Phoenix does ban light rail expansion, the region will lose out on billions in federal transit funding. The Federal Transit Administration has already announced its intention to fund the South Central extension, but other cities are waiting in the queue should Phoenix abandon its own transit projects.

Whether Phoenicians are aware of it or not, they are in a race to remain an economically competitive city. By the end of this month, we’ll find out if they’re still on the racecourse.

Member Policy Memo: Senate EPW Authorization Bill

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee introduced America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act on Monday, July 29 and passed it out of the committee on Tuesday, July 30. This is the first step in passing a long term transportation bill to replace the FAST Act of 2015, which expires in September 2020. T4A’s policy team developed an in-depth analysis of the 487-page bill exclusively for members.

Read the memo here  > >

Repair Priorities Resources

On May 14, Transportation for America released Repair Priorities 2019. Here are all the resources related the report, available to T4A members in one place:

1) Full report

2) Webinar recording

3) A PowerPoint slide deck describing the report’s findings, which you can use in your own presentations. (Member-exclusive resource).

Local business groups fight for public transit

Twenty-five chambers of commerce and other organizations representing local business interests across the country have formed Chambers for Transit, a coalition facilitated by Transportation for America to fight for more federal support for transit.

The importance of robust public transit for local economies is clear. Core Values: Why American Companies are Moving Downtown showed that walkability and transit access were key to attracting businesses and talent in 2015. The Amazon HQ2 search was just the latest example: “access to mass transit” was one of the core preferences in Amazon’s request for proposals. From Kansas City where the business community rallied around the downtown streetcar to Indianapolis where the business community led the effort to build out a network of bus rapid transit lines, local business groups are keenly aware of how important transit is to economic success.

“I believe transit is a powerful catalyst for inclusion, connecting people to employment, education, and daily necessities,” said Mark Fisher, Chief Policy Officer of the Indy Chamber. “And it’s not just helping people leave their neighborhoods for these things, but bringing new investment to the areas that desperately need it. Knowing that transit means empowerment for my neighbors across Indianapolis is a daily motivation.”

However, many in Washington, DC haven’t gotten the memo. The Trump administration proposed eliminating funding for transit grants in its first two budgets. This year, President Trump proposed a draconian, $1 billion cut in his budget instead. While Congress has so far rejected those requests, it remains to be seen whether legislators will give transit a more equitable split of overall federal transportation funding as they draft long-term federal transportation policy (current policy expires in September 2020).

That’s why Transportation for America is bringing the voices of local business groups that are clamoring for transit investment to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. These groups understand that transit is critical to improve access to jobs, spark new development, and create the kinds of vibrant communities that can attract a talented workforce.

Congress should fully fund federal transit programs and strengthen its role supporting transit in the coming reauthorization. Chambers for Transit will bring that message to Washington.

“As Utah’s population continues to grow, transit is more important than ever,” said Derek Miller, President & CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “The availability of high quality transit in our communities directly correlates with Utah’s economic success, business-friendly climate and high quality of life.”

Visit the Chambers for Transit page to learn more and see which organizations are all aboard for more public transportation.

Exclusive Resources from T4A Micromobility Playbook

Produced in collaboration with 23 cities, Transportation for America released a new “Playbook” in January to help cities manage shared micromobility services like dockless bikes, electric scooters, and other new technologies that are rapidly being deployed across the country. The Shared Micromobility Playbook is intended to help cities better understand their policy levers and explores the core components of a comprehensive shared micromobility policy for local governments.

If you want the information from the playbook in a more digestible form, or are delivering a presentation to others about this issue, use our slide deck. If you want a T4A staffer to help you understand the playbook, or are interested in having someone do a presentation about it in your community, reach out to us!

Policy Memo: THUD Conference Agreement

This information was supplied to members via email on January 22, 2019. We are posting it here today so members can use this option to find it.

On January 17, the House of Representatives released the full conference agreement between the House and Senate for the remaining six appropriations bills that have not been signed into law. The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) FY19 appropriations bill conference report is included in this package. If Congress passes a full year FY19 appropriations bill this year, it is extremely likely that these are the final THUD funding levels and provisions.

T4A’s policy team has provided this memo exclusively for members. In addition, here is a brief power point slide deck that puts funding levels for various programs in context.

116th Congress Begins

This information was supplied to members via email on January 4, 2019. We are posting it here today so members can use this option to find it.

There are a lot of issues in play as the 116th Congress starts this week: a continuing government shutdown, new leadership in the House of Representatives, a new FY19 Appropriations bill from the Democratic-led House, committee leadership decisions, and discussions on an infrastructure package, reauthorization of the FAST Act, and the beginnings of FY20 appropriations discussions looming in the next few months. To keep you informed and prepare you for what almost certainly will be an interesting year, our policy team has provided what you need to know in this memo.

For those of you who like charts, and to help place the Democratic House FY19 Appropriations bill funding levels in context, check out this slide deck.

Also, not on the memo linked above because it just happened a a few hours ago ago: Senate Republicans finalized their committee memberships. As a reminder, committee assignments for Senate Democrats are here.

USDOT’s AV Guidance: Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0

On October 11, 2018, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) released ​Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0​.​ According to the USDOT, this document builds upon, but does not replace the voluntary guidance previously released in 2017 as ​Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety​. An analysis exclusively for Transportation for America members on this latest guidance is here.

FY19 THUD Continuing Resolution and Bus Grants

On September 28, President Trump signed H.R. 6157, the FY19 Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education appropriations bill, which also includes a Continuing Resolution (CR) to extend government funding at FY18 levels through December 7th. The CR covers any appropriations bills not enacted before October 1, 2018, which includes the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) bill that funds federal transportation programs.

Also, on September 25th 2018, the Federal Transit Administration announced it was awarding $366.2 million in Bus and Bus Facilities grants to a total of 107 projects in 50 states and territories.

Download T4A’s more detailed policy memo here for more in depth information and analysis.

The Paris Metro in small-town Texas

While many people think of public transit as a big city service, transit also serves scores of residents in small towns and rural areas across the country. New transit service in the small city of Paris, TX (pop.  25,000) offers the first reliable public transportation option that residents can use to travel to work, classes, and job training.

Share your rural or small city transit story here

 

The Ark-Tex Council of Governments Rural Transit District (TRAX) serves a 10-county area in the northeast corner of Texas, including one county in Arkansas, along the border with Oklahoma (about 100 miles northeast of Dallas). Given the vast area TRAX serves, their regional transit service is operated on-demand, with reservations made 24 hours in advance.

Paris, TX—marked with the maroon pin—is in the rural, northeast corner of Texas.

Although this on-demand service provides a vital lifeline for residents making critical trips to reach health care or reach a grocery store, the advance notice required, the limited availability of rides, and small fleet presents some very real limitations on the service’s ability to meet daily and emerging transportation needs.

According to former Paris, TX Councilman Edwin Pickle, city leaders realized that the region’s meager transit options were a barrier for residents, and that they needed to help find a solution.

“We started realizing transportation was a bigger problem because people couldn’t get to their medical needs, couldn’t get to their grocery stores, they couldn’t get anywhere,” Pickle said on T4America’s webinar.

With support from the city and several local partners, TRAX launched new fixed-route bus service running on a regular schedule in 2016. The service consists of four routes in Paris, TX known as the Paris Metro. Buses run hourly between 6:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The Paris Metro logo, which appears on the side of their buses.

The “Paris Metro”

According to TRAX transportation manager Nancy Hoehn, the new routes “have gone a long way towards meeting the community’s needs for jobs access.”

“We have heard from a lot of the social service agencies in Paris that work with a target population of lower-income and transit-dependent people. When they would go to interview in the past and were asked if they had reliable transportation, the answer was no. Well, now the answer can be yes. Just that, in itself, has been huge for the community at large.”

Hoehn credits community involvement during the research and planning stages with developing a bus service that supports all members of the community. Community organizations like New Hope Center of Paris, which works with individuals and families experiencing homelessness, helped the agency identify crucial points of origin and destinations for riders. Now, the Paris Metro stops on the corner directly outside the New Hope facility, giving residents access to medical treatment, social services, and education.

Procuring funding for the new service depended on a combination of public and private partners. Local sponsors include the Paris Regional Medical Center, United Way of Lamar County, Paris Junior College, the City of Paris, The Results Company, Texas Oncology, and local private foundations.

Along with local funding partners, federal funds were critical for launching the service.

“We would not exist if it were not for the federal funds that come through TxDOT,” said Hoehn. “In the local counties we serve, the income levels are low and the counties are strapped just to fund the things they are responsible for. That’s why we’ve tried to be creative with our match money to come from other sources.”

Serving all residents and engaging the community

The Paris Metro was tailored to meet the specific transportation needs of each sponsoring partner.

For example, the Paris Regional Medical Center, the largest employer in the city, is located outside the city center and was previously inaccessible by transit. While dependable transportation was important for employees getting to work, hospital management knew that lack of reliable transportation was also a major impediment to quality health care. Patients discharged from the hospital were often unable to reach necessary follow-up care, like physical therapy, and were winding up back in the hospital as a result. Now, the Paris Metro allows residents to reach scheduled appointments rather than coming in through the emergency room.

Map of the four Paris Metro routes.

The medical center not only made financial contributions to launch the new Paris Metro fixed route service, but also donated office space to manage it. The exterior of this donated space has become a new bus station for the city and is now served by Greyhound and rural transit, as well as the Metro.

Similar adjustments in service were made for other sponsoring partners. Texas Oncology’s patients need door-to-door service, so the route loops through the clinic’s parking lot. The clinic installed a signal light on the street to alert bus drivers when there are riders to pick up. Paris Junior College has students with disabilities who had trouble reaching classes because they lacked reliable transportation to school. To help their students reach classes and other daily needs, TRAX and the college created a discounted semester pass for students subsidized by Pell grant funds. Reliable, affordable transit allows students to enroll.

Fulfilling an unmet need

The new fixed route Paris Metro service has been a success, providing 50,000 rides in its first year. The Texas Transit Association recognized it with an award for “Innovative Project of the Year,” and TRAX is adding larger buses to accommodate the demand for rides.

Greg Wilson, member of the Executive Board of the Lamar County Chamber of Commerce and President of Lamar National Bank, which has branches in Paris, said that the bus service fulfills what was once an unmet need. “The impact of our bus system has exceeded all expectations when it comes to the impact on the local business community. I see people getting off the bus downtown to shop, visit our bank branches, and access medical care.”

For many households the new transit service provides freedom and flexibility, allowing parents to reach a job and giving young adults access to get to summer jobs, after school activities, or other programs. For these households, transit means added stability.

As the Metro enters its third year in operation, the city is looking forward to expanding the service in order to better serve the needs of the community.

Do you work for an operator of a rural transit system? Are you someone who rides it frequently? We want to hear from you.

Share your rural or small city transit story here

Senate-Passed FY19 THUD Approps Bill Summary

Download the Senate passed FY19 THUD Appropriations Bill Summary here.

On August 1st, the full Senate approved the fiscal year 2019 (FY19) Transportation, Housing and Urban
Development (THUD) appropriations bill. The bill was included in a package of four appropriations bills,
known as a “minibus”, which was approved by a vote of 92-6.

The bill is substantially similar to what the THUD subcommittee approved on June 7th, though the full
Senate did approve several important transportation amendments on transit and on passenger rail that
are described in the document linked above.

The role of transit in rural America: a case study from Washington State

Top: Centralia Downtown Historic District; bottom from left to right: The former St. Helens Hotel in Chehalis; the original Farmers & Merchants Bank Building in Centralia, the Olympic Club Hotel/Saloon in Centralia. (Images: top and bottom left Steven Pavlov, wikimedia | bottom middle and right Joe Mabel, wikimedia)

Some perceive public transit as exclusively an urban issue. However, rural communities and small cities rely heavily on transit as a key component of the transportation system—not just as a social service to those who cannot drive, although that is one factor. We hope this example from Washington State will inspire you to share stories about the role of rural transit in your community.

Share your rural or small city transit story here

 

About halfway between Portland and Seattle on the I-5 corridor sit the cities of Centralia and Chehalis. Chehalis is the seat of Lewis County and Centralia is the county’s economic center. Twin Transit serves these two cities, but not the rest of the Lewis County, a narrow rectangle that extends 65 miles from the crest of the Cascade Mountains at White Pass to the coast range near the Pacific Ocean.

Lewis County in red, with Chehalis and Centralia marked in the western part of the county. (Image: Google Maps)

Centralia and Chehalis (pop. of approximately 20,000 and 7,500 respectively) boast stately historic buildings and well-connected street grids. Centralia also has a four-year college, Centralia College, and an Amtrak station with service to Portland and Seattle five times per day. Both Seattle and Portland are less than two hours away by train, and an additional train trip in each direction will be added later this year.

Since 1998, the non-profit LEWIS Mountain Highway Transit has filled part of the gap in transit service in the more rural part of the county, by serving rural communities on the east side of the county between Packwood and Centralia.

“From its inception, LEWIS Mountain Highway Transit was an effort by White Pass Community Services Coalition to provide previously non-existent and much needed public transportation service for east Lewis County residents,” says founder and manager Doug Hayden.

The 85-mile route sees about 700 boardings per month and provides a critical connection for residents of Packwood, Morton, Mossyrock and other communities along Highway 12 to reach shopping, social services agencies, do business with county government, and attend Centralia College.

In the past year, however, Hayden announced that this transit service would have to end in 2019 due to changes in state transit funding rules regarding local match requirements. There isn’t enough local funding for the non-profit to keep providing the service.

If LEWIS Mountain Highway Transit’s critical bus line is canceled, many people along the route who have come to rely on the service will be stranded with few options for accessing medical appointments, shopping, and other necessities.

Crisis leads to action

As is often the case, impending crisis has led to action. Twin Transit developed a plan for adding the remainder of the county to the existing transit district. This would prevent the loss of service in east Lewis County along Highway 12 where many people already rely on it, and add service to other communities throughout the county where it is badly needed. Many leaders and community groups have rallied to support this plan, and in April all the jurisdictions (save one) agreed to put a measure on the November ballot giving Lewis County residents outside Twin Transit’s service district the opportunity to vote to be added. Under the plan, the remainder of the county would pay the 0.2% sales tax just as people making purchases in Centralia and Chehalis do now, and would see transit improvements in their communities in return.

Transit conference where all jurisdictions (save one) supported putting a measure on the November 2018 ballot to expand the Twin Transit district to include all of Lewis County.

County Commissioner Bobby Jackson, who chairs the Twin Transit Board of Directors, has been an active leader on this issue, working to get support from the jurisdictions. “We have an opportunity to make a huge investment in our community’s future with expanding transit to the entire county,” Jackson said. “This will meet needs on so many fronts for our citizens.”

He’s driven by the need to make sure folks without options get them so they can get to work, and because he sees transit as key to the county’s economic future with businesses choosing to locate and grow where they know they will have access to a strong labor pool.

Come November, we’ll know the outcome of this ballot measure vote and prospects for future transit service in Lewis County.

Do you have a story to tell about the role of transit in your rural community or small city? Share with us so we can continue to educate decision-makers that transit is not just an urban issue!

Share your rural or small city transit story here