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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
ACCT Publishes Report to the Legislature
ACCT has published its 2007 Report to the Washington State Legislature on its website. The report:
- Provides an overview of ACCT's mission, goals, membership, and budget
- Presents a new section highlighting performance measures of community transportation providers
- Summarizes the progress made in promoting coordination and improving transportation access for people with special needs
- Describes demonstration projects, and the successes and lessons learned
- Recommends that the legislature renew ACCT and support regional coordination
INCREASE ADVOCACY
February 8 House Transportation Meeting
The House Transportation Committee is holding a workshop and hearing on special needs transportation on Thursday, Feb. 8, starting at 3:30 pm, in the John Cherberg Building, Hearing Room B. ACCT will present on its current plan for coordinated transportation for people with special needs.
The workshop will also include a presentation from ACCESS Transportation Systems, a coordinated transportation system used in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The workshop will be followed by a public hearing on several bills, including HB 1694 (which would continue the ACCT program beyond June 2007).
FOCUS ON RESULTS
ACCT Publishes Homeless Student Transportation Study
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act of 2001 requires school districts to provide transportation to homeless students who want to remain in their school of origin. This has proven to be a great expense to schools. Utilizing a federal earmark, ACCT funded eight demonstration projects in Washington during the period 2004-2006. A study prepared by the University of Washington, provides an initial evaluation of these efforts. See the ACCT website for an electronic copy of the study.
ACCT Analyzes Access to Treatment for Recovering Addicts
ACCT has recently completed a legislatively requested analysis on the number of people in the state's Drug and Alcohol Program that have access to public transportation. The analysis includes:
- Patient distribution
- Public transportation service areas
- Percent of patients using transit by county
- Patient access to transit by zip code
- Facilities within transit systems by zip code
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