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Connecting Community Transportation: The Transactional Data Specification

20 minutes   Author: Shared-Use Mobility Center   Date Launched/Enacted: Sep 16, 2024   Date Published: September 13, 2024

Connecting community transportation roadmap. A birds-eye view of a roundabout with three sections. The first section, "Planning" includes the text "Map out data standardization and identify opportunities," "Identify technology trade-offs," "understand agency operations and technical capacity," and "Identify customer transportation needs." The orange section, "Implementation" includes the text "Bring to scale," "Evaluate, learn, and adjust," "Implement," "Test with customers," "Validate TDS messages," Build TDS-compliant platform," and "Design platform." The blue "Design" section includes the text "Define scope and budget," "Define project goals," "Define use case(s)," "Secure funding," "engage software vendors," and "set performance metrics." A purple ring around the roundabout has the text "Collaborate with industry peers," "Refine the TDS through governance," and "Engage the community."
Credit: SUMC in collaboration with AARP

Human services transportation typically takes the form of what is called demand-responsive transportation (DRT) — services that do not follow fixed routes or schedules. There are an estimated 1,000 DRT services currently operating in the U.S., many of which are in rural communities.

DRT services are critical for people who cannot drive or access regular public transportation, but they are often fragmented. There may be multiple providers in a given region, but each may operate in a silo, leading to duplicative services and denials of trip requests.

The Shared-Use Mobility Center (SUMC), with support from AARP Public Policy Institute, developed Connecting Community Transportation: Lessons Learned from Transactional Data Specification Demonstration Projects, a research report on the TDS and its role in facilitating coordinated DRT in projects around the country. This report discusses key takeaways from demonstration projects from around the U.S. and outlines additional coordination opportunities, such as with providers of non-emergency medical transportation. The report highlights how the TDS can help DRT providers interoperate their services and enhance customer access to transportation.

In addition to the research report, there is an accompanying Roadmap for TDS Implementation. This roadmap offers key considerations and steps for planning, designing, and implementing the TDS.

 

Tags

Topics:
Accessibility Aging in Place/Older Adults Community Engagement Data Needs Data Standardization/Sharing Demand Response Mobility as a Service Technology Trip Planning
Modes:
Demand-Responsive Transportation Flexible Transit/Microtransit Paratransit
Document Types:
Report/Case Study/White Paper SUMC Publication
Partners:
Local or Regional Government Non-profit organization State Government Transit Agency or Authority
Geographies:
Small Town/Rural State US
The Learning Center is a resource of the Shared-Use Mobility Center, a public-interest organization dedicated to equitable, affordable, and sustainable mobility. Copyright 2022. Licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA. Site by GreenInfo Network.
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