Breaking Down Barriers to Rural Access
People who need help with transportation in order to meet their daily needs have a number of options available to them, but as we’ve seen, there are still unmet needs and barriers to be overcome.
This section spells out five rural mobility objectives and supportive implementation strategies for each. Strategies work to make special needs transportation more efficient, more accessible, and more available to those who need it while improving overall rural mobility for all. The overarching aim is to preserve and enhance the network of coordinated services people rely on today and make it better with innovative approaches tailored to specific needs and opportunities in this region.
Applicants pursuing Consolidated Grants funding must be able to demonstrate their projects address one or more strategies in this HSTP. If you are unsure whether your project is consistent with one of these strategies, please get in touch!
1. Operate services that provide access and mobility for residents.
These strategies help sustain existing services and where possible, expand those services or establish new kinds of service that meet unmet needs.
Strategies:
a. Sustain operations of existing transportation services and service levels supporting rural mobility in the Peninsula region, including public, tribal, non-profit, and private carrier services
b. Increase service to extend the hours of operation and/or service frequency and/or days of operation and/or expand or create new service for underserved areas
c. Expand opportunities for efficient “single-seat” cross-county or long-distance travel, particularly for people who don’t drive
d. Introduce on-demand “first-miles/last-miles”, “collect and connect”, or other services that get people to and from established fixed-route services efficiently
e. Improve transportation access to behavioral health clinics and substance use disorder treatment centers
f. Improve access to transportation services for patients being discharged from hospitals or other care facilities, regardless of whether they are Medicaid patients
2. Manage mobility to make travel easier and more efficient for all.
These strategies make it easier for people to get the information they need to plan their trips and to travel.
Strategies:
a. Increase awareness and visibility of available transportation services, with information specifically aimed at seniors, people with disabilities, and those with low income, and including engagement of human services providers and community care hubs
b. Develop and deploy travel training programs to help people learn how to use the available services confidently and make connections with other systems, with some training targeted directly at the needs of seniors and people with disabilities
c. Develop and promote coordinated online and print resources to inform and educate about all mobility resources available within the region and connecting services, possibly including a “one-click / one-call” resource for all the region’s transportation services
d. Improve the ability of people to access transit information and make trip reservations for paratransit and door-to-door services
e. Improve coordination of paratransit service transfers between systems for cross-county or long-distance trips
f. Ensure WA 211 service provider information for all four counties in the Peninsula region is current and complete
g. Increase engagement with the two Accountable Communities of Health and community care hubs that serve the region to strengthen cross-sector relationships and coordination between transportation, health, and human services providers, and foster new partnerships and innovative approaches tailored to the unique needs of the Peninsula region
3. Manage assets and keep them in a State of Good Repair.
These strategies support essential asset management and entail purchase of vehicles, equipment, and technology assets.
Strategies:
a. Maintain and replace vehicles to ensure State of Good Repair and transit asset management standards in accordance with Useful Life Benchmarks by vehicle type
b. Incorporate onboard vehicle technologies that enhance safety, system performance, and fleet management
c. Update communications equipment as needed, including the capacity to communicate with other entities to enhance coordination, operational efficiency, and emergency response
d. Integrate advanced technologies and app-based tools where they can improve dispatching, routing, or coordination of services
e. Deploy zero-emissions mobility options that address underserved needs of seniors, people with disabilities, people with low incomes, or tribal communities and which are suitable for the rigors of rural service
f. Install onboard wifi on vehicles as appropriate to improve passenger connectivity and convenience while traveling long distances
4. Make travel more accessible.
These strategies entail small construction and infrastructure projects that make it easier for more people to access available services.
Strategies:
a. Install curbside traveler amenities that make waiting for transit or share-ride service more comfortable and secure, including shelters, benches, lighting, receptacles, signage, and restrooms
b. Improve sidewalk and crosswalk access to and from transit stops to meet ADA standards
c. Establish park-and-ride facilities and supporting amenities where they can support connectivity and improve access
5. Plan how to improve service and address unmet needs.
These strategies involve planning and coordination that promotes strong relationships and which may lead to future measures that help to overcome obstacles to rural mobility.
Strategies:
a. Conduct emergency management planning and evacuation coordination preparedness training with a focus on the needs of people who don’t drive or have access to a vehicle and considering the latest technological advancements
b. Explore innovative rural service measures for their value in increasing access to existing services, such as on-demand micro-transit “collect and connect” service with timed connections to fixed-route service, or other measures tailored to meet specific rural mobility needs in the Peninsula region
c. Explore the potential for vehicle sharing and “vehicle maintenance as a service” agreements, with a particular focus on the vehicle maintenance needs of tribal, non-profit, non-traditional, or community-based transportation service providers
d. Enhance the capacity for coordinated scheduling, reservations, and dispatch services among providers
Other Mobility Measures
The strategies above identify measures that transportation providers can take to improve rural access and mobility, provided there is adequate funding and other resources to deliver those programs.
There are additional measures that would improve access and mobility but they are beyond the control of local service providers to address. These measures would enhance the ability of local service providers to deliver existing and future mobility programs.
a. Develop protocols with the Coast Guard and WSDOT regarding Hood Canal Bridge lift operations to reduce the unpredictability for transit providers of bridge closures that are conducted to let large sailboats pass, either through established times when the bridge will open for sailboats, if hailed, or by enabling a call-ahead notification or AVL signal from transit to bridge operators that a passenger-carrying transit vehicle is within 30 minutes of crossing which would delay closures for sailboats until passing, or other such measures to reduce the impact of recreational sailboats on transit travel time reliability at the Hood Canal Bridge.
b. Reduce the need to travel by increasing affordable broadband access to rural households enabling telehealth, remote work, and distance-based learning opportunities
c. Promote location-efficiency and accessibility when siting new facilities that serve seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and those with low income, favoring facilities that are close in town instead of on the periphery or in outlying areas that are not on a transit corridor
d. Preserve the advanced care resources and basic health services located in the Peninsula Region, because if they close and more people are required to travel longer distances for health services, the transportation and access issues will grow in magnitude
e. Require private carriers receiving Travel Washington funding for service like the Dungeness Line to assign a local point of contact liaison for rural transit agencies and also, work to provide one or more timed connections within each transit PTBA to expand regional access to intercity bus service for more people in more places
f. Promote closer coordination between WSDOT Public Transportation Division and the Health Care Authority on efforts pertaining to access to rural health and human services and the role of reliable transportation in health care outcomes, particularly regarding transportation coordination for the Rural Health Transformation Program as well as the regional Accountable Communities of Health and local community care hubs and Recovery Navigator programs
The mobility strategies in this Human Services Transportation Plan address one or more unmet needs or barriers that make rural mobility so challenging in this region. Inclusion in this plan opens doors to some funding opportunities for transportation providers. Grants awarded to projects that advance these strategies will support rural mobility in the Peninsula region with solutions tailored to the unique needs of the region and the people who live here. Find out more about how to use this HSTP to pursue implementation funding.
SECTION CONTENTS
Operate Services that Provide Access & Mobility
Manage Mobility to Make Travel Easier, Efficient
Manage Assets and Maintain State of Good Repair
Make Travel More Accessible
Plan Service Improvements to Address Unmet Needs
Other Mobility Measures
HSTP Site Table of Contents
Introduction
Human Services Transportation
Unmet Needs and Barriers
Mobility Strategies
Implementation Funding Support
Resources
Transportation Service Providers
PRTPO Demographic Profile
PRTPO Equity Factors Data Portal
HSTP Spreadsheet Data
HSTP Density Maps
Get in Touch!
To share your thoughts on the 2026 update of the Human Services Transportation Plan that is underway, correct inaccurate information, or help us identify missing information, please drop us a note. Thanks!
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