3.2.2 Region 2 - Minot

Region 2 is a seven-county area in west central North Dakota (Figure 3.9). Counties in the region include Bottineau, Burke, McHenry, Mountrail, Pierce, Renville, and Ward. The region is comprised of 10,712 square miles. With a population of 88,089, the region has 8.2 residents per square mile. A copy of the minutes from Region 2 Focus Group meeting is presented in Appendix G.

Minot, with an estimated 2003 population of 35,424, is the largest community in region and the fourth-largest city in the state. Minot serves as the shopping and medical center for this region and all of northwestern North Dakota. A portion of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation is located in Mountrail County. Minot is also the home of the Minot Air Force Base.

Figure 3.10 illustrates number of people within the region who are potentially transportation disadvantaged. The potentially disadvantaged include three groups of residents: 23,247 disabled residents or 26.4 percent of the population, 13,606 senior residents or 15.4 percent of the population, 10,557 low-income residents or 12 percent of the population. There may be some overlap as these are not three separate and distinct groups.

Region 2 has regionalized its transportation services through Souris Basin Transportation (SBT) based in Minot. SBT serves all of the region's counties and many outlying communities. Minot has a fixed-route bus which focuses on providing school-related transportation services in the early morning and late afternoon hours. Traditional bus services are offered during the mid-day. Paratransit services Minot are provided by the Minot Commission on Aging. Their hours of services are 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday thru Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays. A similar service is also provided in Kenmare by Kenmare Wheels & Meals with fewer hours running from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday thru Friday.

Region 2 is home to New Town Bus Lines, a regional intercity bus line providing seven-day-a-week service between Bismarck and Minot and between Minot and Grand Forks. Service between New Town and Minot is provided on weekdays. Local taxi service is available in Minot. The city also has daily Amtrak service.

The region has 11 nursing homes, five basic care facilities, six assisted living homes, and four facilities for residents with developmental disabilities. As Table 3.3 indicates, several of these facilities operate transit vehicles for their residents.

Six entities in the region provide public transportation services. Excluding vehicles operated by local taxi operators, these entities operate 36 transit vehicles. The Minot Vocational Workshop operates an additional 23 vehicles to meet the transportation needs of Minot's developmentally disabled residents.

Table 3.3 Number of Vehicles by Agency in Region 2

* NH = nursing home, BC = basic care, AL = assisted living, DD = developmental disabilities, and T = transit.
NR = No Response to Survey
† = Coordinates with Kenmare Wheels and Meals
†† = Coordinates with Minot Commission on Aging

While Region 2 has three times the population as Region 1, it has five times more money to support public transit. As Table 3.4 illustrates, the region's largest funding source for transit is Section 5311 dollars. Other major funding sources include state aid and local mill levies. A considerable amount of Medicaid money also comes into the region to reimburse clients for transportation expenses. Spending for public transportation in the region equals approximately $12.51 per capita.

Table 3.4 Region 2 Transportation Dollars

Programs administered by the North Dakota Department of Human Services and Job Service North Dakota also reimburse eligible clients in the region for transportation-related expenses, including repair and insurance premiums for personal vehicles. These reimbursements for vehicle repair and other transportation costs amount to:

• Vocational Rehabilitation (DHS) - $7,513
• TANF and JOBS (DHS) - $85,574
• Workforce Investment Act (JSND) - $4,426

There is a degree of coordination among some of the transit providers in the region. Souris Basin Transportation does provide local service in rural areas and to Minot. Some nursing homes satisfy their residents' transportation needs with services provided by entities such as Kenmare Wheels and Meals and the Minot Commission on Aging. Conversely, there appears to be little coordination between fixed-route and paratransit services in Minot.