Job Access and Reverse Commute (jarc) Program fy 2009 Service Profiles Region X alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington October 2010 fta-08-0162 Job Access and Reverse Commute (jarc) fy 2009 Service Profiles: Region X

Kitsap Transit (1746)

Kitsap Transit (526)

VanLink (705)

Location: Kitsap County (WA)
Type: Information-Based Services/Mobility manager
Goal: Improved access/connections
Service description: VanLink is a program run by Kitsap Transit. In 2009 there were 41 vans on the road and eight of them are wheelchair accessible. Kitsap Transit issues vans to social service agencies so that they may transport their participants to and from work and other supportive services. These vans are parked at the social service agency, and they have access to them 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. These agencies transport their clients to jobsites that are both in and out of Kitsap County, which would otherwise not be accessible. These vans give their clients the opportunity to access meaningful employment.
Evaluation: The majority of these passengers are ACCESS eligible. By putting them in VanLink it reduces the cost of their transportation compared to them riding the ACCESS bus. VanLink enables passengers to accept jobs they would not be able to accept if they had to rely on the ACCESS, or the routed bus.
The fully allocated cost if they were to ride ACCESS would have been: $2,816,350.16
The fully allocated cost of VanLink for this time period was: $403,500.24
Total savings due to passengers riding in VanLink: $2,412,849.92 
Accomplishments: During 2008-2009 the VanLink program helped Kitsap Transit realize a significant cost savings of $2,412,849.92.
Lessons learned: Nothing new to report

Spokane Transit Authority (1733)

STA (896)

Improved Service to West Plains and Browne's Addition (1256)

Location: Spokane Transit Public Transportation Benefit Area (WA)
Type: Trip-Based Services/Fixed route
Goal: Improved access/connections
Service description: The West Plains Service project is a result of an extensive community effort focused on plans to preserve and enhance service delivery to the West Plains area, including Browne's Addition. The overarching goal of this project is to improve connectivity between the downtown core of Spokane and the Browne's Addition neighborhood to key employers located in Medical Lake, Airway Heights, Fairchild Air Force Base (FAFB), and Spokane international Airport. The project includes the creation of two new routes (routes 60 and 67) and the enhancement of two existing routes (routes 61 and 62). The population served includes hospital workers in Medical Lake and employees at the Northern Quest Casino in Airway Heights, Spokane International Airport, and Fairchild Air Force Base.
Evaluation: Implementation of service started on the 20th of September 2009. This means that there was only 11 days of service. Evaluation did not occur for this time period however, the measures to be used will come from STA adopted Service Design Guidelines. The three measures to be used are: Ridership -Boardings Per Revenue Hour; Equivalent Energy Consumption - Passenger Miles divided by Platform Miles; and Fare Box recovery. The first evaluation will occur later in the year.
Accomplishments: The accomplishments include extensive public outreach to the neighborhood using surveys, public notices, and open houses; and improved connectivity for passengers to travel to worksites to and from the West Plains area and downtown core.
Lessons learned: As good as our public outreach was, we should have done even more to make sure that impacted areas understood the proposed changes. After the first week of implementation (routing change in Browne's Addition neighborhood) a few residents raised concern about the number of buses going by their house.

LIFTS (1312)