In This Edition 
|
2017 in Review 
2017 was busy year for Mobility Management of SCNY. Additional information, including overall and county-specific details can be found in our 2017 Progress Report, available online. Contact us if you would like a copy. Much work remains, so stay tuned.
The help of our many dedicated community partners has enabled MMSCNY to augment existing services and take on new initiatives. Thank you for being a part of this journey with us; thank you for your support.
|
Down The Road -- 2018
|
|
 |
| image from Transit Workers of Ameica |
|
MMSCNY is looking forward to another exciting year. What can you expect in 2018? We plan to initiate more programming for individuals seeking transportation to employment. We hope to establish a Getthere Call Center Volunteer Driver program to provide more transportation options in underserved rural areas in our 5 counties. We will continue to promote Rideshare with our work with NYSDOT and the NY511 Rideshare program. We will monitor the impact of Lyft and Uber in upstate New York, as well as continue our collaborations with other mobility managers across the state. A new website with a transportation trip-planning feature will debut later this year.
We look forward to continuing collaborations with you. A coordinated approach is key to building effective, consolidated response and action as we pursue more transportation options for rural upstate New York. Your input is critical.
|
Join the Mobility Management Team
Come and join our Mobility Management Team. MMSCNY is hiring a full-time Mobility Management and Transportation Advocate to work in the GetThere Call Center. To apply visit www.rhnscny.org. Application Deadline: March 21, 2018. If you know of someone who might be interested in this opportunity, please let them know we are hiring.
|
Shared Concerns
MMSCNY and Offices For the Aging
Directors from five area OFA agencies met with MMSCNY in January to examine transportation issues in their counties. Each county is different and each OFA agency is interfacing with MMSCNY in a different way on shared concerns.
The meeting convened to review the Connection To Care program and how it is helping individuals in each county. The discussion included an examination of the possibility of collaborative outreach, and applying collectively for funding. Recent clarification received from the FTA on grant funding under Section 5307, 5310, and 5311, which discussed using non-DOT funds for local match, is one potential strategy to be pursued for this collaboration. The announcement, developed by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), publicized the ability of grantees to use Older Americans Act Title IIIB Supportive Services Funds to match to specific FTA programs.
|
|
|
MMSCNY and OFA directors and staff |
|
Calling All Veterans!
Have you ever wanted to offer your assistance to your fellow veterans in the community? Come to the Broome County Public Library and learn how to become a volunteer driver. Clear Path for Veterans and the Getthere Call Center will host an informational meeting there on March 28th at 2 pm to discuss how veterans can assist veterans in Broome and Chenango Counties with transportation to their various health-related appointments. Vets who have a vehicle, current driver's license, car insurance, and an active vehicle registration, We Need Your Help! Veteran volunteers who are ready, willing, and able to assist with transporting their fellow veterans are needed. This is a wonderful opportunity to help veterans who need reliable transportation to get to their appointments. Volunteers will be reimbursed for their mileage, and training will be provided on this great program! Please contact Venecia DeRoose, Clear Path for Veterans, Peer Support Manager 413-464-3407 or the Getthere Call Center at 1-855-373-4040 if you are interested in becoming a driver, and/or if you have questions about the 3/28 meeting on how to get involved.
|
The Best Thing In the Mail
Despite continuing efforts to get the word out, we frequently hear from people who are unaware of MMSCNY and/or Getthere, such as this comment from a 92 year-old woman in Johnson City. She called and stated that she got 'this card' in the mail and wanted to know how the program works. After hearing an
|
|
|
The best thing I ever got in the mail. (postcard design by Riger) |
explanation of MMSCNY's services and a recommendation that she hold onto the card and call when she has an upcoming appointment, she said, "This is the best thing I ever got in the mail," and thanked the staff person she was talking with.
Join in promoting our cause! You can help spread the word about MMSCNY and the services we offer. Please take any available opportunity to help get the message out that we're here and we can help.
|
Transit Awareness Day
(Nick Cecconi, Assistant Dir., MMSCNY)
Public Transit helps tens of millions of people get around their communities every single day in the United States, while contributing $66 billion to the national economy. New York State has long been a leader on transportation-related issues
|
|
|
(from NYPTA's position statement) |
and will hopefully continue to be moving forward. This was the message that transit agencies and mobility professionals from across New York took to their representatives in Albany on Tuesday, January 23rd, New York Transit Awareness Day. The day's proceedings began with New York Public Transit Association (NYPTA) President Bill Carpenter welcoming all in attendance and offering the reminder that there are over 130 transit agencies in New York, each playing a critical role in their local communities, small and large alike. After Deputy Secretary for Transportation Ali Chaudhry commented on the current administration's support for high quality transportation throughout the state, attendees took their message to the members of
New York's Assembly and Senate.
|
|
|
|
January's Transit Awareness Day in
Albany
|
|
Discussions centered on the provision of additional operating funds, continued relief for providers facing the impacts of reduced Medicaid trips brokered to their systems, and ways to expedite the granting and dispersal of crucial transportation dollars.
Transit Awareness Day is a major event in NYPTA's annual advocacy program, when hundreds of supporters from around the state gather at the NYS Capitol to celebrate and promote investment in public transit.
|
Working Together
RHNSCNY intra-agency collaborations
Rural Health Network of South Central NY has a variety of programs dedicated to enriching the health and well-being of our neighbors in South Central New York. Our programs serve a large radius of a predominately rural region. Our staff and our programs frequently work together to meet the needs of the people we are assisting, often with a very positive result. Read two examples involving Mobility Management working with other RHN programs -- in these cases, the Food and Health Network and Community Health Services.
Find more about these and other RHN programs online.
|
Links of Potential Interest
A Spread of Mobility Management, from the National Center for Mobility Management.
Their home page has some interesting quick links and features.
President Trump signed the Republican tax cut bill into law in December.
Among other things, the bill eliminates the Affordable Care Act (ACA) individual mandate. You can see and review a
fact sheet
on the tax bill's impact on health put together by Families USA.
|
COUNTY NEWS and NOTES
County-specific details from MMSCNY's 2017 Progress Report
are now available online.
Broome County:
Broome County Transit (B.C. Transit)
is in the final stages of developing a
Where's My Bus? app; the testing phase is underway. Stay tuned.
Paratransit rates increased by 50 cents on 2/19. (Note: for persons 60+ there is no charge for the OFA Mini Bus.)
See Broome County Transit for information.
During the months of February and March, BMTS will be surveying a random selection of households in Broome and Tioga County, asking people to record all of their travel for one to three days. About 30% of the households in the counties have been selected at random by address. They will receive a post card in the mail telling them they have been selected. This will be followed by a mailing with detailed instructions on how to participate. Participation among invited households is entirely voluntary. The more participants, the better the resulting data will be for planning purposes.
Please refer to the study website for FAQs and the Study privacy policy.
|
Delaware County:
"The Office For the Aging operates a coach-type bus with handicapped accessibility which serves most of Delaware County. Different fixed routes, operating three (3) days a week have been established. They also do non-emergency, health-related transportation. This service is for Delaware County residents 60 years of age and older who are NOT on Medicaid, and are unable to find transportation to health related appointments." (See the webpage.)
Delaware County's OFA has been examining trends in transportation needs for medical appointments for senior and disabled citizens to see if adjusting fixed routes could help address the need. MMSCNY is working to provide data that may help inform that process. Delaware County's OFA is also examining how they might serve clients they don't normally serve. Their reservation/cancellation process is important to this consideration. It requires someone to make a reservation and also to contact them to cancel it. Previous attempts to open up seats have been problematic because their buses are  required to remain at the pickup point 5 minutes after the schedule time, and then report to the main office if the expected rider is a no show. When other populations do not comply with this process it causes delays and confusion that have been a burden for the system.
|
|
Tioga County:
Community Care Network of Nichols (CCNN) is partnering with a local school to address the need for transporting wheelchair bound individuals for certain services. Assistance in many of these unique cases can be delivered in-home: signing up for services, therapy, prescription delivery, etc. Medical appointments stand out the most because they require the individual to travel. The school district's buses would be used for this purpose, and only their trained bus drivers are allowed to drive the buses. However, the drivers have volunteered their time for these particular cases. CCNN will cover the cost of approved trips (gas expended).
Here is how the service has been established:
- Approval is on a case-by-case basis.
- The individual in need of travel is a resident of the district, and has no other affordable form of transportation.
- The bus is not scheduled for use on the day and time needed by the client, and there is a driver available and willing to perform the transport.
There is an approval process with the local school board involving CCNN to complete a School District Use Form requesting the service. The local school board reviews the request and determines the approval. CCNN is currently working with the district superintendent to see if an annual use form can be approved, because medical appointments can often be made, changed or cancelled last minute. Waiting for the next school board meeting for an approval may not be an option in some cases.
Watch for news from MMSNY's other county partners in our next newsletter.
|
|
MMSCNY's Metrics Quick View
2017 Totals
Rural cases made up nearly 60% of 2017 calls.
|
Did You Know?
During 2017, Norwich was
the largest source of calls from across MMSCNY's five-county service area.
|
|
|
zip codes from which most 2017 calls to the
Getthere Call Center originated
|
|
You Can Help
Join in promoting our cause! You can help spread the word and gather feedback. Share this communication with others who may be interested or let us know who to add to the distribution list. Share your ideas and those you hear from others with us. Share mobility related news, events, and images representative of your area.
Partner involvement and support at the local, regional, state, and national level has been critical to MMSCNY. We extend thanks to our numerous partners, stakeholders and funders.
|
|
Upcoming
Events,
Conferences, Workshops, Save-the-Date
Monday, April 9th-- Tioga County Transportation Group's monthly meeting - 11 am, at CCE Tioga, 56 Main Street, Owego.
Thursday, April 19th-- MMSCNY Advisory Committee meeting, 12:00 noon at
STIC. Also
BMTS Coordinated Transportation Committee meeting immediately follows at 1:30 pm.
***********
MMSCNY Quarterly Advisory Committee meetings for 2018 have additionally been scheduled as follows: 6/21, 8/16, 10/18 and 12/13.
Meetings are held at noon immediately prior to BMTS' Coordinated Transportation Committee meetings at 1:30 pm-both at STIC on Frederick Street.
Those interested in attending or learning more about MMSCNY Advisory Committee meetings should email Bill Wagner.
|
|
GetThere Call Center Hours
now 7:00 am to 7:00 pm weekdays
|
|
|
|
Important--please note that the option below to unsubscribe will remove your name from ALL of the RHNSCNY agency's mailing lists.
|
|
|
|
