The York Adams Transportation Authority (YATA), which does business as rabbittransit, became the Central Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (CPTA) as the secretary of state granted approval on Dec. 15. Cumberland County Commissioners appointed YATA as the Shared Ride Coordinator for July 1. To further strengthen mobility services in the region, Cumberland County joined the Authority, which prompted the new name.
As of Jan. 1, the public transportation provider also added a fifth county to its regional oversight as it became the appointed Shared Ride Coordinator of Columbia County.
The coordination of multiple operations has created a centralized call center and mobility planning office in York, which are fully coordinated to assist paratransit riders from all five counties. This includes assessing viable modes for passengers, offering trip planning assistance and general mobility case management.
“Transportation cannot stop at the county line. This is about connecting the dots on a larger scale to gain greater efficiencies while giving riders access to enhance their quality of life,” comments Executive Director Richard Farr. “Many individuals living near county lines have difficulty accessing medical facilities that are actually closer to their homes, but technically part of another county. Our goal is to remove this barrier.”
The regionalization efforts have shown positive results to the bottom-line. Each operational division has shown revenues over expenses. “The economic benefits will allow the new regional authority to operate for a longer period of time without the need for a fare increase. It will also allow the opportunity to evaluate the possibility of additional shared ride service for the area. These are all great things for the communities we serve,” states Kirk Stoner, Cumberland County director of planning and rabbittransit Board Member.
Another positive aspect of regionalization includes technological enhancement that offers customer benefits. Some items that rabbittransit offers its customers includes a call the evening before the scheduled trip alerting the passenger of the scheduled pick-up time, the ability to cancel trips and imminent call alerts notifying the passenger approximately 15 minutes before the driver arrival. The regional collaboration allows riders in multiple counties to benefit from this shared technology and for the Authority to experience cost efficiencies through one infrastructure.
