Regional Performance Incentive Program
Pursuant to Public Act 11-61, Section 5
Form RPI-2
Rev.08/2012
Proposal for Joint Provision of Service(s) or Study to be filed with the
Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management
Submit to: Office of Policy and Management,
450 Capitol Ave. MS #54 SLP
Hartford, CT 06108-1379,
Att: RPI Program
Attach additional pages if necessary; identify project and related proposal element at the top of page.
Applicant Entity (RPOs, Two or more Municipalities, and/or Economic Development Districts):
Name
Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency
Address
225 North Main Street, Suite 304
City/State/Zip
Bristol, CT 06010
Contact Person(s):
Name
Title
Telephone
Fax
E-mail
Timothy Malone
Associate Planner
(860) 589-7820 ext. 154
(860) 589-7820
tim@ccrpa.org
Amount of Regional Performance Incentive Funding Requested: $97,146.76
Short Descriptive Title of Project: Municipal Transportation Services Study
REQUIRED PROPOSAL ELEMENTS Items (1) through (15):
(1.) Proposed Shared Service(s) or related Study: Describe at least one service
currently provided by a participating municipality or municipalities or study of the
provision of such service, which is not currently provided on a regional basis, for
which this proposal is being submitted (attach additional pages as necessary):
The study will examine municipal transportation services such as dial-a-ride and interdistrict school busing to identify efficiencies to be gained through cooperative
arrangements between municipalities in the Central Connecticut Region and
institutions they provide transportation to. Currently dial-a-ride and many interdistrict busing trips are done on a town level basis; these trips may duplicate, or
closely follow, trips taken by other municipalities. The study will analyze current
transportation services and present options for improving service efficiency.
(2.) Describe the need for such service (attach additional pages as necessary):
The provision of municipal transportation services is costly for municipalities, with a
combined dial-a-ride and school transportation budget exceeding one million dollars in
many municipalities. In the coming years, it will be increasingly important to provide
these services more efficiently, because demand is expected to grow while available
funding (due to Federal, State, and local budget cuts) is expected to decline. These
forces will further strain municipal budgets, imperiling their ability to provide
necessary services.
Demand for dial-a-ride services is expected to explode as the region’s population ages.
In 2008 the Connecticut State Data Center (at the University of Connecticut) projected
that Central Connecticut’s 65 and over population would grow by nearly 20% between
2000 and 2020 (an addition of 5,691 senior citizens); the projection for 2030 was 49%
higher than the 2000 count. Total population growth between 2000 and 2030 was only
projected to be 3%.
These demographic shifts, along with the concomitant increase in demand for dial-aride services, will result in greater tax burdens. While there were only 24 people aged
65 and over in the region for every 100 working-age adults in 2000, by 2030, there will
be 38. The growing ratio of elderly people to workers will increase the demand for
services and decrease the ability of government to pay for them. Essentially, dial-aride will become a heavier burden for taxpayers to carry.
Demand for inter-district school busing is also expected to grow. This includes
transportation to technical high schools, vocational agriculture centers, special
education programs, and magnet and charter schools.
Connecticut State law requires school districts to provide out-of-district busing to
students attending state technical high schools and district designated regional
agriculture science and technology centers. There are two technical high schools (E.C.
Goodwin Tech in New Britain and the Bristol Technical Education Center) and one
vocational agriculture center (Southington High School) in the Region. With 16 high
schools and one two year school (grades 11 through 12) comprising the Connecticut
Technical High School System and 19 vocational agriculture schools throughout the
state, there is a high likelihood that students attending these programs must travel
outside their municipality, and even the Region, to reach school.
Transportation per student to out-of-district schools far exceeds the cost of
transportation per student for students attending the local school district. In one
municipality for the 2010-2011 school year, the per-student cost of vocational
education transportation was over 12 times the per-student cost of system-wide
transportation. Costs will further increase as demand increases. According to the 2012
Report Card for the Connecticut Technical High School System released by the
Connecticut Department of Education, enrollment in the Connecticut Technical High
School System is growing. From 2009 to 2011, there was a 2.7% increase in total
enrollment.
The demand (and subsequent cost) for inter-district transportation will increase even
more when students attending special education programs are taken into account. In
one school district for the 2010-2011 school year, 14% of students were enrolled in
special education programs, an increase of approximately 2% over a four year period
(data from the Connecticut State Department of Education). During the same period,
special education transportation expenditures rose 8.5%.
Enrollment in out-of-district charter and magnet schools is also on the rise. For the
2010-2011 school year, more than one thousand students from the Region attended
magnet schools. While some of the transportation cost may be reimbursable, often the
reimbursement does not cover the entire cost of transportation, leaving the school
district to absorb the balance. With the plethora of magnet schools in the surrounding
area, school districts must transport a growing number of students across an increasing
service area. Transportation to out-of-district charter and magnet adds to an already
high cost of inter-district school transportation.
The high cost of inter-district school transportation, coupled with an anticipated
increase in enrollment in out-of-district schools, including technical high schools,
regional vocational agriculture centers, special education programs, and magnet and
charter schools, will result in growing school transportation budgets. To manage
expenses, coordination of inter-district transportation services.
(3.) Describe the method of delivering such service on a regional basis and the
organization responsible for delivering such regional service or study:
The Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency will conduct a study of municipal
transportation services including dial-a-ride and inter-district school busing. The study
will examine how the services are currently provided by each member municipality.
CCRPA will consult with representatives from the seven municipalities and school
districts to gather the data regarding the provision of these services. CCRPA will also
analyze other successful regionalized transportation services throughout the state.
Based on the analysis, CCRPA will determine how the services may be provided more
efficiently. The study will culminate with a set of recommendations.
CCRPA has experience studying transportation services. In the Spring of 2012, CCRPA
worked with the Town of Plainville to examine the optimization of their school bus
routes. Utilizing software, CCRPA analyzed current school bus routes to determine if
any changes could be made to maximize resources and reduce costs. While the study
concluded that the current school bus routes were an efficient use of resources, it was
determined that possible savings could result from the coordination of transportation
services for students traveling out-of-district. From this, it was decided to expand the
study to a regional scale to include inter-district transportation for all school districts
in the Central Connecticut Region.
Coupled with experience conducting transportation studies, CCRPA also administers
the Region’s paratransit service. As such, CCRPA has extensive knowledge of
coordinated transportation services. This knowledge and experience will be applied to
the project.
(4.) Describe the population that will be served (we are not looking for population
numbers, but rather whether a project serves an entire region(s), applicant towns, or
any particular segment of the population such as “disabled residents dependent upon
public transportation” or “residents in need of ‘affordable housing’”, etc.):
The population of Central Connecticut is 235,878 (according to the 2010 Census). In
general, Central Connecticut’s population is both older and poorer than the rest of the
state. In 2010, 14.4% of the region’s population was over the age of 65 (14.2% of the
state was). The region’s per capita income of $32,745 is markedly lower than the state
average of $36,468 (according to the 2005-2009 American Community Survey). Not
only is a greater percentage of the region’s population eligible for dial-a-ride services
than the state as a whole, but they are less able to afford their own vehicles.
The region is also aging at faster rate than it is growing. From 2000 to 2010, the
population increased by 3.5%. During the same period the over-65 population
increased by 7.5%, more than double the rate of general population growth. As
discussed above, the elderly population is projected to continue to grow rapidly. By
2030 the elderly population is projected to be nearly 50% larger than it was in 2000.
This is well above the overall growth rate of 3-4%.
Four of the seven municipalities served by this project are considered “distressed” by
the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. They are, in
order of level of distress: New Britain (3rd), Bristol (19th), Plymouth (23rd), and
Plainville (24th). These same municipalities are also designated “Environmental Justice
Communities” by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Disability data is available for Berlin, Bristol, New Britain, and Southington (from the
2005-2007 American Community Survey). Combined, there are 25,561 people (14.6% of
the population) with at least one disability in those four towns. Statewide, 12.7% of
the population had at least one disability. In many of the region’s municipalities
(especially those that are not served by the public transit system, and thus not served
by the region’s paratransit service, including all of Southington, a town of over 40,000
people), people with disabilities are also eligible for the dial-a-ride service. While the
age distribution of this population is not known, children with disabilities are eligible
for special school transportation accommodations, which are more expensive and
often run inefficiently (with nearly empty vehicles).
While demographic data indicates the population of Central Connecticut is aging, a
large segment of the population, approximately 25%, is under the age of 19.
Furthermore, approximately 17% of the Region’s population under the age of nineteen
lives in a distressed community including New Britain, Bristol, Plymouth, and Plainville
as stated above. These same municipalities also have the highest percentage of
students eligible for free or reduced school meals in the Region. For the 2010-2011
school year, 72.7% of New Britain students were eligible for free or reduced school
meals, 40% of Bristol students, 26.2% in Plymouth, and 22.8% in Plainville (data from
the Connecticut State Department of Education).
(5) Describe the manner in which regional service delivery will achieve economies
of scale:
The study conducted by CCRPA will achieve economies of scale because CCRPA will
administer the grant, gather data, analyze the data, develop options for improved
efficiency, create the report, and release findings. If each municipality were to
conduct the study separately, they would each be responsible for administering the
grant, overseeing the bidding process for the study, and managing the contract once
the RFP was awarded.
The study could lead to further economies of scale if coordination of municipal
transportation services is determined to be more cost-effective than their current
provision and municipalities decide to pursue coordination.
(6.) Provide the amount by which participating municipalities will reduce their mill
rate as a result of the savings realized (Exclude grant funds from calculations.):
Municipality
Savings
Mill Rate Reduction
N/A
(7.) Provide a cost benefit analysis for the provision of the service by each
participating municipality and by the entity submitting the proposal:
The coordination of municipal transportation services has the potential to result in
substantial cost savings for municipalities. Take for example inter-district school
transportation. During the 2010-2011 school year, City of Bristol budget information
shows that $1,944,030 was expended on student transportation for 8,535 students
attending local schools (data from the Connecticut State Department of Education).
The cost per student was approximately $228. Meanwhile, the cost of transportation
per special education student was approximately $2,031, nearly nine times greater
than the cost of transportation per student attending a local school ($2,400,130 was
expended on special education transportation, with 1,182 students enrolled in special
education programs). The cost of transportation per vocational technical student is
even more costly at approximately $2,864 per student, over 12 times the cost of
transportation per student attending a local school (vocational transportation budget
was $303,553, with 106 students attending a technical high school or vocational
agriculture program).
If the City of Bristol were to engage in an agreement with an adjacent municipality to
coordinate inter-district transportation, it may be possible to reduce the number of
school buses and increase the number of students on each bus, thereby reducing the
cost of transportation per student. This would reduce the amount of funding needed
for school transportation. With school transportation costs partially reimbursed by the
State of Connecticut, this could lead to savings on the state level as well.
Similar savings could be achieved through a regional dial-a-ride service. A vehicle
transporting a rider from Plymouth to a facility in New Britain must pass through
Bristol and Plainville. At the same time, a vehicle in Bristol may also be transporting a
patient to a facility in Plainville. Under the current system, two vehicles are
necessary; with a cooperative agreement, those trips could be coordinated, saving
considerable time and money. Separate fleets must also be maintained under the
current system, even if they are idle for large periods of time. A coordinated system
could better utilize vehicles, reducing the overall fleet size.
(8.) Describe a plan of implementation for the delivery of the service on a regional
basis (NOTE: The estimated time line and length of time to implement the proposal):
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CCPRA will meet with representatives from each of the seven local school
districts to discuss current inter-district transportation arrangements and to
gather origin and destination data (2 weeks).
CCRPA will meet with representatives from the seven municipalities to gather
data about their dial-a-ride service. This will include fleet size, number of
clients, service area, hours of operation, trip information, scheduling and
dispatching procedures, and cost (3 weeks).
CCRPA will contact other transportation providers who currently provide
coordinated transportation to discuss their operations and gain insight into
coordinated transportation (2 weeks).
CCRPA will geocode all address information and analyze route optimization (4
weeks).
CCRPA will develop service proposals and options for increasing service
efficiency (4 weeks).
CCRPA will develop a draft of the study detailing findings and recommendations
(3 weeks).
A draft of the study will be circulated internally for review (2 weeks).
The study will be finalized and distributed to municipalities (1 week).
CCRPA staff will meet with municipalities to discuss the findings and steps for
moving forward (as needed).
(9.) Provide a list of potential legal obstacles to the regional provision of the
service and how these obstacles will be resolved:
CCRPA does not anticipate encountering any legal obstacles by conducting the study.
(10.) Describe how the proposed service will be sustained once it is established
and all grant funding has been expended:
It is not anticipated that additional grant funding will be needed at this time.
(11.) Provide a list of other public or private funding potentially leveraged by the
project proposed herein.
Grantor
Amount of Funding
Purpose
N/A
(12.) Percent of municipalities in the applicant organization participating in the
proposed regional service project: 100% (7/7)
(13.) Attach hereto a resolution by the legislative body of each municipality
affected by the proposal, endorsing such proposal.
(14.) Attach the following material:
1. A site location map of the project location, (not the region or EDD), if
applicable
2. A proposed Project Schedule (Outline the Proposed Project timeline)
3. Project cost estimates supporting the request for funding.
4. A list of all necessary local/state/federal permits and approvals required for
the project.
(15.) Has a copy of the proposal been sent to legislators representing the
participating municipalities? Yes X No □
If YES, please attach copies of cover letters.
(16.) Certification by the CEO of the Applicant Organization(s):
I do hereby certify that the information contained herein is true and accurate to
the best of my knowledge.
Signature:
Name: Carl Stephani
Title: Executive Director
Date:
(Please use following certification if more than one RPO is participating.)
(16.) Certification by the CEO of the Applicant Organization(s):
I do hereby certify that the information contained herein is true and accurate to
the best of my knowledge.
Signature:
Name:
Title:
Date:
Appendix A: Outline of Proposed Project Timeline (14.2)
CCRPA is prepared to begin the project as soon as funding becomes available. The
following is a proposed list of activities and timeline:
 Meet with each of the seven school districts (Month 1)
 Meet with municipalities regarding their dial-a-ride program (Month 1)
 Gather data (Month 1)
 Contact coordinated transportation service providers (Month 2)
 Geocode address information (Months 2 through 3)
 Using computer programming, run different scenarios for transportation options
(Month 3)
 Develop service proposals and recommendations (Month 4)
 Create a draft of the report (Month 4)
 Circulate draft internally for review (Month 4)
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Final report of study (Month 5)
Meet with municipalities to discuss findings (Month 5)
Facilitate coordination (as needed)
Appendix B: Cost Estimates (14.3)
The total cost estimate of the project is based on an hourly rate of $62.925 and the
expectation that the project will take 1543.85 hours to complete. The following
shows a breakdown of tasks and the estimated time each task is expected to take.
Task
Meetings
School Districts
Operators
Municipalities
Coordination
Data Collection
Districts
Towns
Processing
Develop Constraints
Sanitize Road Network
Adjust Model
Run Model
GIS
Geocode data
Administration
Writing Study
Mapping
Contingency
Number of Hours
Total Hours
Total Cost
1543.85
$97,146.76
42
42
42
40
80
21
490
21
105
105
90
10.5
60
210
45
140.35