Sobre la conciliación (Título VI del Anteproyecto)

Our recommended action for Will County incorporates the concept of single, unified call center serving all of Will County, combined with the current decentralized operation of existing Dial-A- Ride operation. This recommendation affords county citizens the opportunity to adopt the “one- stop” concept by establishment of a single point of contact for transit information and service access. The recommendation embraces the timeliness of Pace’s contract cycle for the Western Will County ADA/DAR contract and for an expansion of the scope of duties in that contract to include the additional coordination responsibilities defined above. Finally, we recognize the potential advantages of separating the call-center and service delivery functions, leaving the procurement open so that prospective vendors may bid on service, service and call center management, or just call center management.

In summary, our recommendations include:

1. The new Pace contract for Will County, starting in 2011, should provide for (a) call center functions; and (b) mobility management functions. Both functions would be countywide in scope. It is imperative that this call center be large enough and staffed appropriately to handle the larger volume of calls.

2. Under this contract, operations would be de-centralized. We envision a consolidated Western Will County ADA/DAR operation, similar to what is in place now, as well as the current set of operators in Eastern Will County. All operators would become Pace contractors and come under the direction of the Pace contractor.

3. Municipal and organizational sponsors of DAR service would contract directly with Pace, noting that many of them do so already.

4. Pace’s RFP should cover Call Center/Mobility Manager functions as well as the Western Will County consolidated (ADA/DAR) operation. Proposers should have the option of submitting proposals for (a) the Call Center/Mobility Manager only; (b) the operational component only; or (c) both.

5. Mobility management efforts in the interim (2010) should be implemented by Will County. This ensures that any momentum built for enhancing services through coordination builds from study completion through to the call center implementation process. This should include the maintenance and update of the directory of community transportation services (Appendix C), providing staff for information and referral services, and the implementation of a multi-sponsor taxi subsidy program. Starting in 2011, these and other new mobility management services (such as a centralized volunteer driver/escort program) would become the responsibility of the Pace contractor.

6. For 2010 only, Will County should bear financial responsibility to publish, maintain, and disseminate the directory for 2010. This would include (a) printing charges; (b) the cost of distribution; (c) staff to maintain the directory and make it available on its website, and (d) staff to provide information and referral services. As these actions all constitute mobility management actions, it may be possible to seek funding for these activities through the RTA.

7. We also recommend that Will County co-sponsor the taxi subsidy program. This could take the form of matching municipal/organizational subsidies. This co-sponsorship would result in either lengthening the “base” trip length and/or enabling more

subsidized trips. This sponsorship should continue once the management of this program shifts to the Pace contractor (at the beginning of 2011). For 2010, though, the County would provide staff time to manage the program or oversee a contract. As is the case with the central directory upkeep/dissemination (see #6 above), there may be some federal funding available through the RTA to cover these costs.

8. Once the Will County call center/mobility manager is established and providing services, Pace should look to the results of the upcoming Pace Call Center study to determine whether future consolidation with other (suburban) call centers is in the collective best interest. However, because mobility management functions must be locally tailored, we strongly suggest that the Will County call center/mobility manager be located, at least initially, within the county.

9. We suggest that Rich Township and Pace discuss combining Rich Township’s call center functions with the Will County call center at the outset of this contract (2011). Because Rich Township operates service in Will County, and because there are a significant number of trips traveling between Eastern Will and Southern Cook, this would seem to make sense. That said, Rich Township’s call center function could be woven into the Will County call center initially in part or in full, as well as initially or later, or not at all, as discussed below:

a. Rich Township could agree to transfer call center functions for only Will County trips (only) to the Pace call center contractor. If this is done, however, Rich Township would have to continue to maintain an in-house call center for its

operations in South Cook, therein circumventing an opportunity to avert duplication of effort (and costs).

b. Rich Township could hold onto its call center functions in total and delay looking at whether or not it would transfer some or all of its call center functions to a later date. On one hand, this delay would give Rich Township a sense of how well the county-wide call center is working before having to make such a decision. On the other hand, holding onto these functions would result in continued fragmentation of call center functions in Will County, albeit not as decentralized as it is now.

In either case, Rich Township would serve as a provider under the Pace Call Center contractor.

Hypothetically, Rich Township could also propose to be Pace’s Call Center contractor for Will County. If it were to win the contract, all call center functions for Will County and southern Cook County would be under one roof. However, because it is difficult to predict any outcome of such a procurement, Rich Township’s agreeing to transfer its call taking functions for its entire operation (for Will County and Cook County trips) to the Pace Call Center contractor, whoever that winds up being, would solve the fragmentation issue, beginning in 2011.

Chapter 9. Implementation Framework

Introduction

This chapter describes different methods for increasing mobility in Will County. Potential strategies for achieving this objective include (1) better utilizing funding that currently supports community transportation services in the county and (2) leveraging additional funding to expand current services or introduce new mobility options for the county’s transit-dependent populations. The chapter reviews unmet needs in the county, as described in Chapter 7, and discusses the role of a leadership body (a Will County “Paratransit Coordinating Council” or “Coordinating Council for Community Transportation”) to advise and guide coordination efforts, as well as a Mobility Manager who can champion those coordination efforts and support the leadership body. The second part of the chapter addresses the phasing structure of strategy implementation.