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The Agency Council on Coordinated Transportation (ACCT) is a partnership of members from the legislature, state agencies, transportation providers and consumer advocates whose mission is to direct and promote activities that efficiently use all available state and community resources for special needs transportation across the state. The legislature created ACCT in 1998 to facilitate coordination and eliminate cross-jurisdictional and government program barriers to transportation. The ACCT Council concentrates on three critical areas: Identify and Address Barriers, Focus on Results, and Increase Advocacy.
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IDENTIFY AND ADDRESS BARRIERS
Multi-Use Vehicle Work Group Forming
ACCT convened a roundtable discussion at their April meeting about multifunction school activity buses (MFSAB). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration created standards for this new class of school bus. A MFSAB is a school bus used for activities other than transporting students between home and school.
ACCT is interested in the potential of these vehicles to increase coordinated transportation. For example, the buses could be used by social service agencies to transport children from Head Start facilities to school in the morning and to transport senior citizens later in the day. The roundtable discussion highlighted the complexity of federal, state, and local requirements which impact the use of the buses. The Council decided to form a work group to identify and address the barriers that prevent the widespread use of these vehicles. If you are interested in participating on this work group, please contact Robin Phillips at phillir@wsdot.wa.gov or 360-705-7929.
INCREASE ADVOCACY
New ACCT Council Member
Jennifer Ziegler joins ACCT as the representative from the Office of the Governor. Ms. Ziegler is newly appointed as the Governor's Transportation Policy Advisor. Previously, she served as the Legislative Liaison for the Department of Transportation and as the Administrator for the Washington State Transportation Commission. Ms. Zeigler will join the Council at their June meeting
FOCUS ON RESULTS
National Attention on Washington Tribal Transportation Partnership
The Federal Highway Administration released six case studies of innovations in coordination practices between tribes, states, and planning organizations. One of the case studies highlights coordination in Washington between the Nisqually Indian Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, and the Thurston Regional Planning Council. The case study describes the process leading to regional coordination as well as how the process increased the visibility of tribal transportation needs. ACCT provided funds to initiate planning for coordination between these organizations. To read more about the case study, please visit www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/tribaltrans/ttpcs/washington.htm
Statewide Travel Options Update
ACCT continues its efforts to bring traveler information to the public via the Internet through the Statewide Travel Options Project. ACCT staff are currently gathering information from transportation providers and building a database. ACCT is also working with Google Transit to offer an itinerary building option for intercity bus, ferry, and train schedules. For more information about the Statewide Travel Options project, please visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/acct/statewide_travel_options.htm
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