HOW MOBILITY PLANNING SERVICES FITS INTO AN OVERALL DEMAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

Paratransit services were originally thought to be an answer to providing general public transit service for persons located in areas of low-density land use and transit demand. More recently, technology, demand, and the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) have reshaped the concept. Transit systems are reporting record numbers of requests for paratransit trips and increases in the costs associated with providing these services. The needs of disabled users have also changed and they require more dependable service. As a result of these changes in both user and provider perspectives, Easter Seals Project ACTION developed the Mobility Planning Services (MPS) concept. This paper provides an overview of the MPS concept, which was designed to create local working relationships between transit systems and disability/human service organizations with the aim of making ADA-specific services available locally. MPS also assists consumers in making modal choice decisions that are consistent with the highest and best use of public resources and their level of ability.