Jarrod McCarthy River Valley Regional Commission

Mobility Manager

The River Valley Region

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What Are the Available Transportation Programs?Public Transportation: Anyone within the

service area can ride, provided that they pay a fare.

Medicaid: Non-emergency medical trips for people that meet certain criteria.

Department of Human Services (DHS): In our area, DHS is most commonly used to provide job-based trips for job training, interviews, etc. for individuals that meet certain criteria, as well as trips to and from Senior Centers for older adults.

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Benefits of Mobility Management1. Increasing coordination among different

transportation funding sources so that the required local match amount can be reduced

Example of How Coordination Improves Cost Efficiency – Part IHow you can utilize your 5311 (Public Transportation) program to aid your DHS or Medicaid program:You pay 100% of the cost of your vehicles if they are only being used for DHS or Medicaid transit If you coordinate by also using the vehicles for 5311, 5311 pays 80% of the vehicle cost with federal funds, 10% with state funds, and the remaining 10% must be paid for locally.

You save 90% of the vehicle purchase cost by using the vehicles for both programs

Important to note that 5311 trips must take priority over POS service trips, but it is feasible to accommodate this.

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Example of Coordination Improving Cost Efficiency – Part IIHow you can utilize your DHS or Medicaid program to match your 5311 public transportation program:

If we assume you have a $100,000 5311 operating budget:

10% must come from fare box

Remaining $90,000 is 50% federal and 50% local match

Some of your DHS and other programs can supplement the 50% local match

For matching, you can use: TANF, DFCS, Title 3 Social Security, DOL, some Behavioral Healthcare and Disability, and Medicaid

CanNOT use 5310, 5316, 5317

The difference is that you can only use federal non-transit funds to match federal transit funds

Coastal RC managed to lower the local match from 50% to 10% by regionalizing (POS covers 40%)

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Benefits of Mobility Management2. Increasing coordination to maximize the

number of passengers from each funding source that are utilizing a single vehicle in order to reduce the cost per trip.

3. Identifying additional funding sources to increase the diversity of people served and community needs addressed. (See hand out.)

4. Inter-System Cooperation

Benefits of Mobility Management: Cooperation• Tying systems into one another• Exploring cost sharing options between

transit systems to reduce rates• Exploring the opportunities for joint transit

systems and their potential financial and improved service benefits.

Advantages of Joint Transit Systems

Shared Administrative CostsShared Cost of Building and associated bills

(electricity, water, etc.)Residents may be able to ride further distancesEasier for residents to access and navigate.Marketability of a universal name, logo, and

slogan.Easier to achieve coordination and the

resulting cost efficiencies.

Re-Investing Saved FundsCost efficiencies resulting from increased

coordination, cost sharing, and/or joint systems, etc can in turn be used to accomplish transit improvements including, but not limited to:Increase Service Distance and Fill Service

GapsExtend Hours of OperationHire Additional StaffUpgrade Facilities

DeliverablesExisting Conditions Report Regional DirectoryPerformance MeasuresFinancial ModelCoordination and Action PlanFormation of the Regional Transit

Advisory Committee 

Local OutreachThe RVRC Mobility Manager plans to visit each

county to present and discuss transportation enhancement information relevant to that geographic area.

Cities and other pertinent entities and groups are invited/welcome as well

This extra effort will bring critical information to a much larger number of elected officials and staff beyond the Regional Transit Advisory Committee.

Much of the information is organized into maps for ease of use.

Other EndeavorsEstablished the Pataula Regional Transit System and its

governing body, the Lower Chattahoochee Regional Transit Authority to serve Quitman, Randolph, and Stewart counties.

Serve as the administrative arm of the transit authority for the joint system and attend all meetings to advise

Administer a DHS program for 8 western River Valley counties.

Helping with any miscellaneous issues such as: Needs presented by the nursing homes or Ombudsman office If operators in our area had been having any trouble finding

quality drivers, we were prepared to step in to help facilitate uniform hiring practices, if requested.

Presentations to groups such as local chapter of the National Federation of the Blind

Presented to the GDOT/Governor’s Development Council Technical Coordinating Group and Department of Public Health staff.

Want to Know More?

Jarrod McCarthyMobility ManagerRiver Valley Regional Commission 706-660-5371jmccarthy@rivervalleyrc.org