PennDOT Publishes Phase 1 of Shared-Ride Transportation Study

PennDOT Publishes Phase 1 of Shared-Ride Transportation Study

PennDOT recently published Phase 1 of the Shared-Ride Transportation Study. The shared-ride public transportation system is available in all 67 Pennsylvania counties. As the 40-year-old system is currently designed, service providers rely on passenger fares to pay for their operating costs. By sharing a vehicle, the average fare per passenger is lower than it would be if the passenger rode alone. Passengers are commonly seniors, Persons with Disabilities, and low-income recipients of Medical Assistance (MA, Medicaid). Shared-ride provides Pennsylvanians with more than four million passenger trips annually to life-sustaining community services. The executive summary can be found here, and the complete text of the Phase 1 study can be found here.

This phase of the study concluded that the status quo is unsustainable. The most vulnerable citizens of Pennsylvania rely on shared-ride service, which is often the only form of public transportation in rural counties. A solution that ensures its sustainability must balance the needs and limitations of the customer, service provider, and funding partner.

The Shared-Ride Transportation Study Phase 2 will build on this effort to identify and evaluate a range of funding, service delivery, and customer experience alternatives, their tradeoffs, and the likelihood of remaking shared-ride service into a sustainable model.

PennDOT proposes to reconvene the Shared-Ride Pilot Steering Committee created by Act 89 of 2013 to evaluate alternative shared-ride models considering experiences over the last decade. The Steering Committee has representation from customer advocacy groups, service providers, the state legislature, and executive branch funding agencies. These perspectives will be necessary to find and implement tomorrow’s sustainable shared-ride funding and service delivery model.

If you have any questions, please contact Fady Sahhar.

Fady is responsible for policy and regulatory matters related to Physical Disabilities and Aging, with primary focus on personal assistance, employment services, and service coordination. Emphasis is placed on engaging the Office of Long-Term Living and the Community HealthChoices Managed Care Organizations, coordination of care with Behavioral HealthChoices MCOs, and collaborations with other advocacy and provider associations. Fady is also the President / CEO of ProVantaCare, an RCPA-affiliated company focused on contracting with MCOs, and is the President of XtraGlobex, a consulting firm focused on Value-Based Payment contracting. He brings extensive experience in the advocacy and operations of human services providers in physical disabilities and aging, from his role at Liberty Resources, Inc., and his service with a number of nonprofit services providers. He earned an MBA in Marketing from The University of Tennessee and a PhD in Organizational Leadership from Capella University.