Surplus Van Grant Program Denise Marchioro – Paratransit Manager

1. Surplus Van Grant Program Denise Marchioro – Paratransit Manager Lance Durbin – Paratransit Supervisor August 2013

2. Program History • Awareness of Intercity Transit’s program • Challenges associated with a van give-away program • Modify program elements to make it work for our local situation • Grant eligibility • Added element of reporting to make it a grant program • Added requirement of Human Service Organization (HSO)

3. Surplus Van Grant Program Elements • Description Surplus vans are awarded to qualified human service organizations (HSO) that serve residents of Spokane County who are elderly, disabled, or low income

4. Surplus Van Grant Program Elements • The HSO assumes ownership of the vehicle and is responsible for providing: • Evidence of financial and management ability to maintain vehicle • All liability insurance • Quarterly ridership, miles, and hours of service data for the first year • Guarantee that the van will be used to serve qualified passengers and all trips must have an origin or destination within Spokane Transit’s PTBA • A signed agreement relating to the exchange of vehicle for transportation-related services

5. Surplus Van Grant Program Eligibility • Vehicles must be used for transportation-related purposes for residents who live within the PTBA • All organizations that serve residents of the PTBA where elderly, disabled, and/or living on low income are eligible to apply

7. Lessons Learned in Development & Program Implementation • Persistence needed • Value in networking with other transits who have been successful • Saves time and effort • Keep Board of Directors involved at all phases • Importance of community outreach efforts • Allow 4 months from start to end of awarding

8. Lessons Learned in Development & Program Implementation • Needs of agencies vary • Lift • Capacity of van • Involve internal stakeholders early in the process • Keep developing a marketing list of agencies and persons interested. • Importance of lead person taking ownership of program.

10. Immediate Challenges • Make the program viable • Create positive impact and experience for recipient • Create partnerships (internally & externally) • Importance to have a template to work from • Value of making the program your own • Streamline the process

11. Expectations v. Reality • Use of vehicle • Projected, Expected, and Actual • Application can be used for education • Selection committee • Make it easy • Uniformly summarized the applications for committee review

13. Highlights of Implementation Improvements • A pre-application viewing of a representative sample of the surplus vans with maintenance personnel on hand to answer agency questions • The inclusion of prior year’s ridership statistics in the application review process for understanding the model of a successful award

14. Highlights of Implementation Improvements • A facilitated workshop that included education and training about a variety of topics that is important for recipient agencies to know and understand. • Step-by-step guide for title transfer to eliminate confusion and time delays • A system to advance schedule appointments to disperse the vehicles in a smooth and timely manner.

15. Highlights ofImplementation Improvements • A well-orchestrated media event to capture sentiment of goodwill • A professional system to record and capture required usage data • Celebrate recipient success

16. Next Steps • Solicit feedback from recipients to improve all parts of the program • New ways to spotlight and market the program • Continue to strengthen partnerships • Promote community goodwill • Continue to have fun