6. Conclusion

North Dakota transit officials, managers, and employees are very dedicated. They are prudent about spending and diligent about stretching the tax dollars to the maximum. As a group they strive to improve efficiencies, are willing to discuss the sharing of resources, and understand that turfism and government regulation can create barriers to coordination. They are visionary about the future searching for innovative means to accomplish their goals.

The stakeholders, including departments of Human Services, Job Service, and public Instruction displayed enthusiasm in discussing the possible benefits of improved services through coordination of resources, management, and technologies. They acknowledged the potential benefits of working together at a regional level combining resources to make transportation available to a greater number of North Dakota residents. Additional planning meetings to formulate a coordinated regional plan that would address some of their transportation issues were perceived a necessary.

The transit operators are aware that most of their clientele come from three individual groups within the population, including the elderly, low-income, and disadvantaged. They are working to increase their customer base by promoting transportation services to the general public who pay full fares for the rides.

Benefits from coordination, as a management tool, can most effectively be realized when there are excess resources to be shared or better utilized. In North Dakota, this can most easily be accomplished with regionalization of transit services. Therefore, the proposal to regionalize transit along the line of the economic planning regions in North Dakota is a logical conclusion. This allows each of the state's eight major cities to be a regional transportation hub.

The best approach to encouraging coordination is to take steps at both the state and local levels to increase the likelihood of successful efforts. State approaches to promote coordination often are mandates (legislative or administrative) that require coordination at the local level and/or combine state funding from a number of sources into a single funding stream available only to a coordinated systems. Another state approach is incentive programs that provide special funds to coordinated systems that are not available to uncoordinated ones. At the local level, coordination can be increased in response to the state mandates or incentives or it can be locally generated by programs to increase communication at the local level and by providing training and technical assistance to local providers.

This study recommendation calls for the establishment of a state-level coordinating council and eight regional coordinating councils that include representation of providers and users of all publicly funded transportation programs. All state-managed transportation funds will flow through the regional coordinating councils. The state-level coordinating council will advise state agencies on funding allocations, ease barriers to increased coordination, and will oversee the activities of the regional councils.

Following a review of this report by study participants, the next step in the process should be to take the actions necessary to create the North Dakota Personal Mobility Council and the regional transportation coordination boards and then begin the detailed work of creating coordinated transportation systems in each of the state's eight regions.

Endnotes

1 Hough, Jill, Denver Tolliver and John Bitzan, Performance of Coordinated and Non-Coordinated Rural Transit Systems in the Mountain-Plains Region, MPC Report No. 97-76, Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, Fargo, North Dakota, August 1997.

2 U.S. General Accounting Office, GAO-03-697, Transportation-Disadvantaged Populations: Some Coordination Efforts Among Programs Providing Transportation Services, but Obstacles Persist. June 2003 (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03697.pdf)

3 U.S. General Accounting Office, GAO-03-697, Transportation Disadvantaged Populations: Some Coordination Efforts Among Programs Providing Transportation Services, but Obstacles Persist. Washington, D.C., June 2003, (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03697.pdf)

4 U.S. General Accounting Office, CED-77-119, Hindrances to Coordinating Transportation of People Participating in Federally Funded Grant Programs: Volume II--Case Studies, Washington, D.C., October 17, 1977.

5 U.S. General Accounting Office, GAO/RCED-00-1 Transportation Coordination: Benefits and Barriers Exist, and Planning Efforts Progress Slowly, October 1999. (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/rc00001.pdf)

6 For more information on this program refer to FTA's website: http://www.fta.dot.gov/CCAM/www/

7 White House Executive Order: Human Service Transportation Coordination, February 24, 2004 Available online: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/02/20040224-9.html, Accessed Sept. 10, 2004.

8 Spas, Diana, 5310? 5311? What does this all mean?? http://rtc.ruralinstitute.umt.edu/Trn/RuTrnCT.htm#By September 2004.

9 National Governors Association, Improving Public Transportation Services through Effective Statewide Coordination, NGA Center for Best Practices, Washington, D.C., 2002.

10 Federal Transit Administration United We Ride Program Resources available online at: http://www.fta.dot.gov/CCAM/www/, Burkhardt, Jon E., David Koffman, and Gail Murray, TCRP Report 91. Economic Benefits of Coordinating Human Services Transportation and Transit Services. Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C., 2003. Burkhardt, Jon E., Charles A. Nelson, David Koffman, and Gail Murray, TCRP Report 101. Toolkit for Rural Community Coordinated Transportation Services. Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C., 2004.

11 Burkhardt, Jon E., David Koffman, and Gail Murray, TCRP Report 91. Economic Benefits of Coordinating Human Services Transportation and Transit Services. Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C., 2003.

12 Texas Health and Human service Commission, Office of Community Transportation Services, http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/octs/title9.html September 2004.

13 Office of Community Transportation Services, Health and Human Services Transportation Biennial Report & Transportation Coordination Plan. Texas Health and Human Services Commission, September 2002.

14 Iowa Code Chapter 324 Public Transportation, http://www.legis.state.ia.us/IACODE/2001/324A/ September 2004.

15 Phone conversation with Michelle McEnany, Director, Office of Public Transit for the Iowa Department of Transportation. August 4, 2004.

16 Agency Council on Coordinated Transportation, 2002-2003 Report to the Washington State Legislature, Washington State Department of Transportation, Olympia, Washington, July 2003.

17 RCW47.06B.015, Program for Agency Coordinated Transportation, http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/acct/Library/1999Legislation.htm/ August 2004.

18 Agency Council on Coordinated Transportation. 2002-2003 Report to the Washington State Legislature, Washington Department of Transportation, Olympia, Washington. July 2003.

19 ODOT Coordination Activities http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ptrans/downloads/Coordination_Links/coord_activities.htm/ May 2002.

20 Ballard, Lisa, David Kack, Shaun Kellu, and Xianming, Montana Coordinated Transportation Handbook, Montana Council on Developmental Disabilities, Bozeman, Montana. 2003.

21 Gillett, John W., and Dennis J. Elbert, Report on Intermodal Transportation in North Dakota. University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND. June 1991.

22 Federal Transit Administration.. National Transit Summaries and Trends. Federal Transit Administration, Washington D.C., 2002.

23 Federal Register: February 11, 2004, Volume 69 number 28, page 6727.

24 Office of Program Management. Grant Program Apportionment Summaries by State. Federal Transit Administration, Washington D.C. p. 67, 2004.

25 Federal Transit Administration. National Transit Summaries and Trends. Federal Transit Administration, Washington D.C., 2002.

26 Transportation Services Division. Inventory of Public Transportation in North Dakota. North Dakota State Highway Department, Bismarck, ND 1981.

27 Transportation Services Division. Inventory of Public Transportation in North Dakota. North Dakota State Highway Department, Bismarck, ND, 1981.

28 United States General Accounting Office. Transportation-Disadvantaged Populations. United States General Accounting Office, Washington D.C. 2003

29 United States General Accounting Office. Transportation-Disadvantaged Populations. United States General Accounting Office, Washington D.C., 2003.

30 Barbara Gaardner, North Dakota Department of Human Services - email: from sogaab@state.nd.us, to jon.mielke@ndsu.edu September 9, 2004.

31 School Transportation News. Head Start. School Transportation News, Redondo Beach, CA. 2004.

32 North Dakota Department of Human Services. A Connection for Families & Agencies. North Dakota Department of Human Services, Bismarck, ND. June 2004.

33 North Dakota Head Start Association. http://www.ndheadstart.com/. North Dakota Head Start Association, Bismarck, ND, September 2004.

34 Linda Rorman, Head Start Telephone Interview. North Dakota Department of Human Services. Bismarck ND. August 10, 2004

35 North Dakota Department of Human Services. http://www.state.nd.us/humanservices/services/childfamily/headstart/ Bismarck, ND. October 27, 2004.

36 School Transportation News. Head Start. School Transportation News, Redondo Beach, CA. 2004.

37 Coven, Martha. An Introduction to TANF. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Washington D.C. October 24, 2003.

38 John Hougen, North Dakota Department of Human Services, email from sohouj@state.nd.us, to jon.mielke@ndsu.edu, Sept. 24, 2004

39 Famais, Darlene. Telephone interview. Disabled Veterans . Disabled American Veterans, Fargo, ND. Aug. 10, 2004.

40 Federal Transit Administration. Job Access and Reverse Commute Program. Federal Transit Administration, Washington D.C. 2004.

41 Beth Zander, Job Services North Dakota - email: from betzande@state.nd.us, to jon.mielke@ndsu.edu Aug. 12 ¯ 23, 2004.

42 Gallagher, Greg. No Child Left Behind Interview. North Dakota Department of Public Instruction, Bismarck, ND. Aug. 8, 2004.

43 Cheryl Wescott Wetsch, North Department of Human Services - email: from sowesc@state.nd.us, to jon.mielke@ndsu.edu, Aug. 4, 2004.

44 United States Department of Labor. http://jobcorps.doleta.gov/. Employment and Training Administration, Washington D.C. 2004.

45 Schobinger, Rae. Job Corps Interview. Quentin Burdick Job Corps Center, Minot, ND. Aug 10, 2004.

46 Hendrickson, Robbin. Developmental Disabilities Service Providers Interview. Department of Human Services, Bismarck, ND. Aug. 23, 2004.

47 US Census Bureau, North Dakota Quick Facts, http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/38000.html 2000 census, August 30, 2004