Transportation coordination

Interagency Council on Transportation Coordination

Coordination resources

Coordination model

County plans

Coordination Plan Toolkit

Transportation services are provided in Wisconsin through a number of programs funded by the state and federal governments. Transit agencies, county governments, non-profit organizations, and private businesses deliver services to transportation disadvantaged individuals and the general public. Transportation coordination provides more rides to more consumers through cooperation, communication, and sharing resources.

Definitions

Transportation coordination is a process where human service agencies, transportation providers, consumer groups, and public officials work together to develop and improve services for transportation disadvantaged individuals, by ensuring that transportation resources funded by different programs are coordinated. Coordination demands communication, trust, flexibility, and the willingness to focus on client needs. It will:

Develop and improve transportation options,
Improve access,
Minimize service duplication, and
Facilitate appropriate, cost-effective transportation with available resources.

Transportation disadvantaged individuals are unable to provide their own transportation as a result of disability, age-related condition, or income.

Program requirements

Federal transportation law, as amended by SAFETEA-LU in 2005, requires that projects funded by three federal programs -- Section 5310, Elderly and Disabled Capital Assistance; Section 5316, part of the Wisconsin Employment Transportation Assistance Program; and Section 5317, New Freedom -- be “derived from a locally developed, coordinated public transit-human services transportation plan” and that the plan be “developed through a process that includes representatives of public, private, and nonprofit transportation and human services providers and participation by members of the public.”

A federal initiative, United We Ride, was created to assist states with implementation of this requirement, providing states and communities with an assessment tool to begin the coordination planning process.

WisDOT developed an on-line toolkit to assist cities, counties, and multi-county entities with the development and implementation of coordination plans, and to provide information on applying for transportation funding.

Additional information

The Inter-Agency Council on Transportation Coordination (ICTC), created in 2005, is a group of personnel from five state agencies working to eliminate barriers to transportation coordination and enhance mobility. The ICTC Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) is a body of transportation consumers, advocates, providers, and partners who advise the ICTC on statewide transportation needs and coordination opportunities. The Stakeholder Advisory Committee also helps educate the public on the benefits of transportation coordination.

WisDOT has collected a set of coordination resources available on the web, from helpful organizations to documents and downloads.

The Wisconsin Model of Coordination is a framework on which to develop policies and strategies that will foster coordination throughout the state.