Affordable housing developers are encouraged to locate their developments on or near bus routes or along transit corridors.
In speaking with several affordable housing developments, they do make this a practice.
The Commission requests that Community Partnership of the Ozarks form a Transportation Options Task Force that will research various transportation options (including best practices) for the under-resourced, then provide recommendations within six months of their first meeting.
A Transportation Options Task Force was established and a report of findings and recommendations was completed. A Transportation Collaborate was created to identify projects that could be implemented or piloted. A best practice from San Bernardino, CA entitled, TRIP will be piloted in Zone 1 at the Northwest Project for three months. TRIP is a ride share program with reimbursement per mile. TRIP service offers individuals who don’t drive or don’t have reliable personal transportation a strategy to ask family, friends, or neighbors for transportation. The driver is reimbursed for travel expenses. TRIP is a “rider centered” model that empowers those it serves. From an organizational perspective, TRIP delivers the most transportation assistance at the lowest organizational expense. TRIP differs dramatically from the old “volunteer driver centered” model by shifting responsibility for volunteer recruitment and ride scheduling from the organization to the rider. This innovation frees the sponsoring organization from the need for endless recruitment and results in huge cost savings over the old-style volunteer centered models. The Transportation Collaborative is also finalizing a pilot with the city for a bike program.