Rural Transportation Survey Toolkit for the Coordinated Plan SANDAG's 2010 Rural Transportation Survey Design Toolkit for Determining Unmet Transportation Needs of Hard-to-Reach Rural Communities

摘要

In 2005, the federal government released a funding provision called the Safe,Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act—a Legacy for Users(SAFETEA-LU) that includes funding specifically for rural, transportation-disadvantagedindividuals. In order for these funds to be disbursed to local communities, the legislationrequires that regional planning agencies (Metropolitan Planning Organizations/MPOs)create a locally-developed, Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services TransportationPlan (the Coordinated Plan). Among other purposes, this plan requires MPOs to identifythe unmet transportation needs of transportation-disadvantaged populations includingseniors, persons with limited-incomes, and persons with disabilities in rural areas, aresponsibility previously held by state governments. This year, San Diego’s regionalgoverning body known as the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) issubstantially addressing the transportation needs of limited-income, seniors, and disabledrural populations, independent of urban cities, for the first time since the enactment of thebill. With the intention of learning from and improving SANDAG’s survey tool (the firststep of the Coordinated Plan), this paper reviews the creation and findings of SANDAG’s2010 Rural Transportation Survey, and then refines the survey using the recommendationsof rural transportation providers and mobility managers. Through this process, this studypresents an unmet transportation needs survey design toolkit that MPOs can customize anduse to understand their rural, transportation-disadvantaged communities.