- As part of a national effort, a meeting was convened
in November 1995 by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to bring together State
transportation and human services specialists. As a result of this
meeting, participants from the State formed the Maryland Ad Hoc Committee
for Human Services Transportation. Its mission was to examine existing
human services transportation needs in the State with a view towards
development of a cooperative, coordinated transportation delivery system.
The Committee surveyed 500 transportation providers in the State of
Maryland, and analyzed more than 200 survey results to determine the
barriers to the coordination of human service transportation.
- The Ad Hoc Committee recommended that Governor
Glendening appoint a State Coordinating Committee to help break barriers,
solve problems, and bring expertise to enable the coordination of human
services transportation. In October 1997, an Executive Order from the
Governor created the Maryland Coordinating Committee for Human Services
Transportation (MCCHST). The committee’s charge included examining the
transportation needs of older adults, people with disabilities and people
with low incomes in Maryland, coordinating the State’s efforts to provide
high quality human service transportation, developing a five year human
services transportation plan, and serving as a clearinghouse for
transportation coordination issues throughout the State.
- In 1998 the Maryland Department of Transportation’s
Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and the MCCHST developed a
comprehensive Maryland Transportation Coordination Manual that
offers human service organizations that provide transportation with
guidance and recommendations to enhance coordination efforts for the
delivery of more effective and efficient services. Introduced through a
series of one-day forums held throughout the State, the manual heightened
interest in coordination issues and sparked several local and regional
coordination efforts around Maryland.
- A May 2000 report prepared for the MTA and the MCCHST,
Inventory of Maryland Human Services Transportation Programs and Services,
indicated that human service agencies and locally operated transit systems
in Maryland spent an estimated $74 million on human service client
transportation and specialized transportation in FY99 while utilizing over
1,900 vehicles.
- In 2002, the MCCHST developed a Five Year Human
Services Transportation Plan as a guide to better coordinate public
transit and human service transportation in Maryland. The plan offered a
review of the variety of programs that fund human service transportation
in Maryland, noted current efforts around the State to improve
coordination, provided a vision for coordinated community transportation
in Maryland and recommended strategies for attaining this vision.
- The State’s activities to improve the coordination
of human service transportation was recognized by the Federal Government
in 2004 when Maryland received a United We Ride State Leadership
Award. Specific efforts noted included the coordination of different
federal funding programs through Maryland’s Job Access and Reverse Commute
Program, development of the Maryland Transportation Coordination Manual
and the Five Year Human Services Transportation Plan, the statewide
inventory of human service transportation programs, and an increased
emphasis on coordination for evaluation of applications through the
Section 5310 Program.
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In 2004,
Maryland received a State Coordination Grant from the Federal Government
to implement elements of the State’s plans to improve the coordination of
public transit and human service transportation. The grant supports
efforts to determine true transportation costs for services provided
through multiple funding sources, assists with efforts to implement
consistent reporting methods, and aids efforts to establish the necessary
structure at the community level to ensure the most efficient use of
available transportation services.
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