The proposed project will purchase an accessible… (TX2024045) – Project Grant to Panhandle Regional Planning…

Activities: The project schedule is built to allow for ample time to procure a vehicle and to plan program and implement the pilot project. Due to supply chain issues the vehicle procurement would take place after authorization to utilize grant funds. Staff will use 12 months to plan program and build the ride share voucher program with extensive input from amarillo city transit potential vendors (taxi companies car services tncs) stakeholders and their advocates as well as the regional coordinating group prompt. Staff will allow 6 months for piloting the program documenting issues and implementing solutions. The final 6 months of the project will be dedicated to data evaluation assessment and final reporting to FTA on the results of the program.prpc expects that the short mid and long-term goals for this program will be achieved with this timeline.short term goals: design a ride share voucher program to be utilized for rides such as non-emergency medical transportation; encourage continued regional coordination for the enhancement of transportation services; engage priority populations and the general public in discussions related to transportation needs.mid term goals: completed design and preliminary testing of ride share voucher program; successfully negotiate agreements with transportation providers to participate in the pilot program; identify rider participants for the pilot program.long term goals: establish a replicable and scale-able program for a ride share voucher demonstrate the need for coordinated transportation planning build a program that will be implemented in the long-term to meet needs in the region. Specific performance measures will include but are not limited to: the number of one-way trips utilizing a voucher number of vehicle operating hours saved by amarillo city transit number of available transportation services (taxis tncs etc.) in the area number of trips for medical care number of accessible rides and number of ride referrals from amarillo city transit. These performance measures will be further refined and/or expanded if funded. In developing this application prpc staff requested input and comments from various organizations including healthcare providers transportation providers human services organizations local governments and advocates for veterans and children. Input from these groups are incorporated in the application.
Expected outcomes: The implementation of this program would provide cost savings to the city of amarillo in the form of providing rides at fare cost to persons who would otherwise need to utilize a vehicle that costs $60 per hour to run. This will ultimately provide cost savings in the form of trip revenue per mile and will serve to support the external transportation network. As the city of amarillo and surrounding region grow the demand for transportation services also grows. The proposed project will tie to ftas objective of implementing a region-wide pilot program for a coordinated service which demonstrates the value of regional coordination. The panhandle regional planning commission has been a participant in region coordination planning long before IT was required by law. The proposed project will demonstrate the social and economic advantages of regional coordination through the ride share voucher program. Upon completion this project is expected to be scaled into a regionwide program that will increase access to healthcare in the surrounding counties and cities of the panhandle region. Specific performance measures and data points that would be available at the conclusion of the pilot program would be the number of one-way trips utilizing a voucher number of vehicle operating hours saved by amarillo city transit number of available transportation services (taxis tncs etc.) in the area number of trips for medical care number of accessible rides and number of ride referrals from amarillo city transit.
Intended beneficiaries: The proposed project will develop pilot and implement a ride share voucher program in the city of amarillo. The program will be fully developed and tested by panhandle regional planning commission and amarillo city transit staff. The ultimate outcomes of the project will be a functional voucher program that is focused on providing non-emergency medical transportation for underserved communities. The program will be scale-able and will likely be implemented on a regional basis in the panhandle. The service area for this project is the city of amarillo which spans over 90 square miles. Within the city limits more than 15% of persons are living in poverty according to the 2019 american community survey (ACS). The general age of the city is older than many areas of similar size with 13.5% of the population being over 65 years of age (2019 ACS). The current unemployment rate for the city of amarillo sits at 3.6% while the unemployment rate for persons with disabilities is 9% (2019 ACS). The area is economically and socially diverse with the majority of households living in poverty residing along the business IH 40 corridor in north amarillo. The city of amarillo has recently made several economic investments into this part of the community in order to encourage growth and bring new businesses to this part of the city.
Subrecipient activities: The panhandle regional planning commission (prpc) has signed a formal agreement of commitment with the city of amarillos transit department. This agreement formalizes the relationship between prpc and the city of amarillo to successfully complete the proposed project. Amarillo city transit will assist prpc staff with active participation in the design implementation and data collection for the program providing access to transit data providing specific information related to the transit system and intake process as well as providing partner support and voucher program funds to implement the ride share voucher program within the parameters set out by the amarillo city council. Amarillo city transit has also submitted a letter of support for the application. Other planning partners who have submitted letters of support include the city of amarillos community development department workforce solutions panhandle the area agency on aging of the panhandle the senior ambassadors coalition the panhandle independent living center potter county and others. These agencies are founding members of the regional transportation coordination board the panhandle regional organization to maximize public transportation (prompt) and have been involved in planning for projects to increase access to transportation for a number of years.

The proposed project will purchase an accessible van build a program for ride share/taxi vouchers contract with several entities including ride share and taxi companies to provide services and pilot…

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