Rural & Human Services Transportation (RHST)

Coordination Plan Update

Georgia Department of Transportation is working with Department of Human Services (DHS) and Department of Community Health (DCH) to update the State’s Coordinated Rural and Human Services Transportation (RHST) Plan. To date, this effort has involved assessing the current extent of coordinated RHST efforts within Georgia and identifying ways to serve more trips across the state by improving efficiency, reducing redundancy, and leveraging new funding opportunities. Study efforts have been ongoing since 2010 and the current phase of activity will continue through March 2012.

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Statewide Coordination Efforts

The RHST Coordination Plan Update recommends the implementation of Mobility Management at both the State and Regional levels – mobility management is a strategic approach that designates a dedicated resource, or Mobility Manager, to focus on identifying and implementing coordination principals and strategies that enhance and improve efficiency and levels of service for customers, ultimately helping to stretch the transportation dollar further. Ongoing activities in support of the mobility management initiative include:

• Technical Coordinating Group

  The three major state agencies in conjunction with a variety of other state entities are working together as a Technical Coordinating Group (TCG) to advise a statewide Mobility Manager. The Mobility Manager is responsible for ongoing coordination efforts at the state level while also providing advisory and technical support to regional Mobility Managers. The goal of the TCG and State Mobility Manager will be to determine effective coordination efforts that will result in reduced overall costs and expanded mobility.

• Statewide One-Call Number

  Georgia DOT is currently working with the state’s transit 511 service, operated by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority’s (GRTA) Xpress Customer Service Center, to incorporate statewide RHST information into the system.

• Unified Policies and Procedures

  Georgia DOT is working with DHS and DCH to conduct a thorough review of the operating and reporting policies and procedures for each of their RHST activities. The goal is to identify common elements that can be consolidated into a unified policies and procedure manual that streamlines duplicative reporting. This will save regional and local transportation providers time and administrative costs by eliminating reporting redundancies.

• Education and Outreach Materials

  The TCG is working to develop a series of educational and outreach materials that can be tailored to fit the needs of the 12 regional commissions to help educate their local decisions-makers on the benefits of RHST coordination.

• Regional Pilot Projects

  As a part of the statewide coordination effort, GDOT has met with the regional commissions (RCs) and local stakeholders to assess the current RHST conditions, needs and goals of each region. Three regional commissions – Middle Georgia Regional Commission, River Valley Regional Commission and Three Rivers Regional Commission received Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant funding to initiate regional mobility management pilot projects. The lessons learned from these pilots will be documented and utilized to facilitate the implementation of permanent Mobility Managers in these regions as well as to implement Mobility Managers in other RCs across the state in the future. The regional pilots will work in partnership with the State Mobility Manager.

  A Mobility Manager will be hired, or an existing staff member will take on new responsibilities, in each of the three regions to oversee and manage coordination efforts within the region that will include tasks such as:

  • Creating a Regional Directory of Services,
  • Developing a Regional Funding and Financial Model,
  • Seeking opportunities for added or expanded transportation services,
  • Coordinating within the region and with adjacent regions, and
  • Developing a Regional Mobility Action and Coordination Plan.