$100K grant means new model of transportation on way to Georgina

YorkRegion.com
April 9, 2015
Heidi Riedner

A provincial grant of close to $100,000 awarded to a local collaboration in Georgina will set the wheels in motion of a whole new model of transportation, the project’s co-ordinator says.

“This grant is so much more than just the money; it’s about the promise and opportunity it brings to Georgina,” Cathy Wilkinson, the executive director of Routes Georgina and the lead co-ordinator of the newly formed Intentionally and Collaboratively Connecting our Georgina Communities (ICCGC) project said.

A joint application from the town and Routes Connecting Communities garnered $99,866 from the Transportation Ministry under a pilot program launched in 2014 geared to improving community transportation services for seniors, persons living with disabilities, youth and other members of the community who need transportation.

Georgina is the only municipality in York Region to be one of 11 selected across the province to receive funds to partner with community organizations, such as health and community agencies, transit agencies, school-bus operators and private transit operators to co-ordinate local transportation services so more rides can be provided to more people and destinations.

But the grant is so much more than just a simple equation of how many rides a $100,000 ticket over two years can buy.

“We are, hopefully, changing the face of community transportation,” Wilkinson said, adding the ICCGC is on “day one” of moving forward with ambitious plans that garner nervous excitement in terms of the sheer scope of the opportunity.

First on the docket is researching who needs what, when and where and what key partnerships can help facilitate a more collaborative and streamlined approach to make it happen.

“It is a huge undertaking, but it is exciting,” Wilkinson said.

Anticipating a full-fledged database for the first-time mapping of potential clients, augmenting current resources and expanded destinations, Wilkinson said partnerships are key to creating and co-ordinating a plan that not only gets people to places that access the necessities of life, such as food, medical and social services, but also places such as volunteer and mentoring opportunities and community gardens.

“Increased community engagement not only speaks to quality of life for the residents, but also for the greater community as well,” Wilkinson said, adding the provincial funding will allow for a community transportation model that is Georgina-centric and is a benefit to all residents in myriad ways.

The plan is for ICCGC to provide enhanced transportation services through the sharing and co-ordination of community transportation resources through project partners The Training Centre (Georgina Trades Training Inc.), Georgina Public Libraries, Learning Centre for Georgina, yorkworks Employment Services and United Way York Region.

There are a number of service gaps, including a vast geographic area under-serviced by traditional public transit, socio-economic challenges and a lack of co-ordination among organizations and transportation providers, Wilkinson said.

“There are a number of transportation service providers working in isolation, just keeping the wheels turning to get residents where they need to go. Until now, we’ve never had the resources to stand back, look at the work we’re doing, learn about the work others are doing, find out about community resources — whether it be other vehicles, staffing, volunteers, new partnerships, businesses that may be interested in getting involved — ultimately all of those community champions who we’ve never been able to reach out to before. Now we can.”

The goal is a stronger, better co-ordinated transportation service by fostering a collaborative environment, one of shared information and resources, with a foundation of valuing the needs and objectives of all involved, she added.

The project will result in a service plan that actively co-ordinates appointment and destination scheduling, uses all available resources, groups together as many riders as possible and explores a wider scope of destinations.

“We’ll be working with partner agencies and services to co-ordinate scheduling of programs and appointments to work toward a more cost-effective, efficient and environmentally conscious way of getting places.”

Surveys, focus groups and interviews will help determine stakeholders, track volunteers, staff and new partnerships and identify who needs to get where during the project’s research phase being conducted until August.

A three-month testing and troubleshooting period of a newly co-ordinated initial service plan is being eyed for November to January.

The hope is to be fully mobilized by March 2016.