Mobility in rural northeastern Utah is limited. Of the few transportation services available, virtually all have limited eligibility, trip purposes, service areas, and/or capacity because of constrained funding.
With the assistance of Nelson\Nygaard, the Bear River Association of Governments identified and prioritized several mobility management strategies to address these limitations. We also gathered detailed cost and service data for organizations that could potentially participate in the coordination efforts.
We then developed business plans for three top priority strategies: central dispatching, coordination of services through an outside brokerage, and travel vouchers. Each business plan consisted of a funding element, an implementation budget and schedule, roles and responsibilities of each partner, an evaluation agreement, and example agreements for partners to use.
After evaluating each business plan for maximum feasibility and its impact on mobility, the new Bear River Regional Coordinating Council (which Nelson\Nygaard helped form) selected travel vouchers as its top mobility management strategy. We then developed a flexible travel voucher program to provide a cost-effective mobility option for seniors and people with disabilities living in rural Utah.