Archive: Around Town

TCAT continues to seek community feedback in a series of public sessions to create its first‑ever Title VI Service Standards and Policy Plan – a big‑picture document that will guide TCAT in its service planning decisions in the future.

The public will weigh in at the Tompkins County Public Library’s Borg Warner Room (East) 5:30pm Wednesday, Sept. 24.  They will be asked to tell TCAT how many hours a day and how frequently each type of transit service should run.

As required by the Federal Transportation Administration under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, TCAT is required to submit the plan to ensure that it is serving the entire community fairly across all neighborhoods, races, ethnicities, languages and income levels, despite the performance of any given bus route.

“This process is about gauging the community’s definition of the local quality of life as it pertains to public transit,” said TCAT Service Development Manager Doug Swarts. “We will always add service where needed in response to demand, but it is important to define minimum service levels for all routes. Our resources may be limited, but the public is in the best position to tell us how we should allocate them.”

To fully engage the public, TCAT Service Analyst Matt Yarrow and Swarts came up with an entertaining, interactive computer exercise to gather feedback on what times and frequency TCAT’s bus service should be. Groups will be divided into four to five people, given instructions and a laptop; essentially they will become planners making the tough decisions on providing the best possible service without exceeding the budget.

Swarts and Yarrow conducted a public exercise at the library on Sept. 10, which drew valuable feedback from riders. They also involved TCAT’s Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) in the exercise last month. This committee is a group of riders, who meet monthly to provide feedback and suggestions for better TCAT service.

“Participating in the TCAT Service Standards exercise is like playing a video simulation game — potentially with a real impact on our community,” said H. Roger Segelken, a CAC charter member.

Said Kathy Halton,  CAC member and former Danby Town Council members: “I haven't stopped telling people about the exercise. It was a dose of reality amid all of our wishful thinking about TCAT services.  But I think it is absolutely important for us bus riders to really understand the limits of what TCAT can do as far as extending service and frequency of bus rides.  And I learned so much doing it.”

Another TCAT Citizens Advisory Committee member and TCAT bus rider agreed:

“It put me in the driver’s seat in trying to balance a real budget, while always keeping the details of Title VI (The Civil Rights Act) in mind, along with the human impact of changes or eliminating routes,” said Gary Cremeens, who works for Cornell University’s Transportation Services.

Other sessions are still being planned in other parts of the county for the remainder of this month and October.

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