Comprehensive Operational  Analysis of ADA Complementary Paratransit
City of Greensboro,  North Carolina, Greensboro Transit Authority (2010) 

AMMA Transit Planning was responsible for a comprehensive operational analysis of this 35-vehicle citywide complementary paratransit program. For this city of 230,000, the public transit authority has experienced increasing ridership and growing service costs, coupled with continuing customer complaints about service quality.

Characterizing existing conditions involved public outreach through an extensive interview process, a randomized telephone survey and an Internet-based survey of riders, as well as telephone interviews with human service agencies whose clients use this service.  A detailed analysis of Trapeze trip data developed pictures of demand versus vehicle deployment practices for each thirty-minute period through the day. Careful review of performance statistics, of Board-dictated service policies and of operational procedures identified areas where going “beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act” suggests changes to current practice and opportunity for more cost-effective service delivery.  Recommendations focused on all functional areas of the paratransit operation, provided tools to the agency for implementing a program of growth management and increased service quality.

        
                                                  


Placer County Regional Dial-a-Ride Evaluation
Placer County Transportation Planning Agency (PCTPA), Auburn, CA (2007)

For this urbanized and rural northern California county of 300,000 persons and 1,500 square miles, AMMA Transit Planning undertook a year-long planning effort for the South County on behalf of Placer County Transportation Planning Agency (PCTPA).   This study involved an assessment of five paratransit programs and one deviated fixed-route service, including the consolidated transportation services agency (CTSA) operator, to identify strategies for regional coordination and consolidation.  Study elements included various data collection activities (surveying, interviewing, ride-alongs, trend analysis, and GIS trip analysis) from which recommendations were developed.  A ridership demand estimate for South County, developed using an alternative methodology, served to validate other PCTPA demand estimates. 

As a consequence of the study findings, the consolidated transportation services agency (CTSA) resigned its long-standing operation.  Placer County Transportation Planning Agency (PCTPA) contracted with AMMA Transit Planning to provide technical assistance in transitioning new joint powers of authority.  PCTPA became the new CTSA, initiating a range of new programs and services.  Among those were the implementation of various AMMA recommendations for coordinating key functions of the dial-a-ride programs and for establishing a countywide information service.