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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-11-2022 Commuters Trust_Intro_SB_CouncilLynn Wetzel, Director Jamison Edwards, Project Manager Raphael Adeyemi, enFocus Fellow Program Overview 2022 2 Agenda Transportation is a common obstacle to keeping a job and accessing critical services. Today we'll overview: •Program Origins &History •Program Overview: Partners, Benefits •Impact •Questions Program History Program Overview 2022 4 The Challenge: Transportation Insecurity Transportation is a common obstacle to keeping a job and accessing critical services. The City of South Bend engaged with residents to understand barriers to employment. Two barriers continued to resurface: affordable/accessible childcare and reliable transportation. With this insight in mind, the City of South Bend crafted an application for Bloomberg Mayor's Challenge and won $1 Million to test innovative programs to help hourly wage workers in our city. Program Overview 2022 5 Bloomberg Mayor's Challenge Early Days Program Overview 2022 6 Our Solution: Commuters Trust Commuters Trust takes the stress out of your commute. Our team: •Is comprised of staff from the City of South Bend and enFocus •Partners with local employers to test transportation-as-a-benefit packages to hourly wage workers •Tests new solutions to address transportation insecurity in midsize cities like South Bend, Indiana In September 2021, we hit a new 10,000+ rides milestone. That’s 6,000+ free bus rides and 4,000+ free or discounted Lyft and Uber rides for members of our community. Program Overview 2022 7 Commuters Trust Timeline 2018 •City of South Bend tests the idea of transportation program with two local employers •City is selected as Mayor’s Challenge winner, receives $1M to create transportation-as-a-benefit program 2019 •Commuters Trust launches Phase 1 of Ride Guarantee program in September, offering discounted Lyft rides and Transpo bus pass 2020 •In March, Ride Guarantee Phase 1 ends and Phase 2 launches; program adds digital bus pass and carpool reimbursement options to Lyft discounts •2 new employers join Ride Guarantee Phase 2 during summer 2020 •Commuters Trust tests Uber with new workforce development partners WorkOne and Goodwill, providing rides to their clients Program Overview 2022 8 Commuters Trust Timeline (cont.) 2021 •Launch CNPP program offering fully subsidized rides to over 150 individuals through partnership with 13 different community organizations •18 local employers participated in a trial -resulted in six additional employer partners •Piloted gas card program with Goodwill, employer providing monthly subsidies to 20 of their employees and clients •Hosted launch event for On the Road Lending’s Indiana expansion, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) providing affordable loans for qualifying individuals Program Overview Our Programs, Partners, and Benefits 2021 Q2 Goodwill Update Program Overview 2022 10 Commuters Trust Programs The Goals of our Employer Sponsored Program: •Make it easy. We automate the enrollment across for multiple employers through our text-and web- based systems. •Increase productivity, decrease absences and stress. We track an individual’s participation, usage, and their feedback to accurately report costs and impacts. The Goal of our Workforce Development Program: •Boost new hires and trainee numbers for partnered workforce development agencies before those individuals are able to pay for transportation on their own. The Goal of the Community Nonprofit Partner Program: •Increase self-sufficiency by easing access to critical services for vulnerable populations. Program Overview 2022 11 Ride Guarantee Enrollment Program Overview 2022 12 Employer & Workforce Development Partners: •Crossroads Solar •DoubleTree •Four Winds Casino South Bend •Goodwill Industries of Michiana, Inc. •Navarre Hospitality Group •Senior1Care •ServiceMaster Clean •South Bend Community School Corporation •University of Notre Dame Community Nonprofit Partner Program Community Nonprofit Partner Program Partners (CNPP): •Catholic Charities •Center for Positive Change •Center for the Homeless •Green Bridge Growers •Hope Ministries •La Casa de Amistad •REAL Services, Inc. •RiverBend Cancer Services •South Bend Heritage Foundation •St. Margaret's House •United Health Services •United Religious Communities •YWCA North Central Indiana Program Overview 2022 13 Community Nonprofit Partner Program (13) 1-year expansion pilot program with selected local nonprofits. No fee to partner agencies. Workforce Development Program (1) Customized transportation benefits for workforce development agency. 1/3 and 2/3 cost share for actual program costs. Employer Sponsored Program (9) Customized transportation benefits based on employer need. 1/2 and 1/2 cost share for actual program cost Benefit Options: •Discounted Uber & Lyft rides flat fare rides, between $3 and $5 (depending on your employer) o Valid on trips to/from workplace •Free bus rides o Access your digital bus pass through mobile ticketing app Token Transit •Benefits distributed monthly or for duration of program Benefits Options: •20 $3 flat fare Uber rides o Valid on trips to/from training locations •Free bus rides o Access to digital bus pass through mobile ticketing app Token Transit or physical 31-day Transpo bus pass •Benefits distributed monthly/duration of program Benefit Options: •4 free Uber rides per month + unlimited monthly Transpo bus pass (digital or physical card) •10 free Uber rides per month o Rides must start/end in St. Joseph County o Partner agencies refer employees to Ride Guarantee program for enrollment, up to a max number of “seats” available per agency •Monthly automatic renewal (1st day of month) for participants unless agency unenrolls participant Program Overview 2022 14 Program Benefits Offerings Our Impact Program Overview 2022 16 A Big Milestone in 2021 Program Overview 2022 17 Employer-Sponsored Program Impacts Commuters Trust has been partnering with Notre Dame's Pulte Institute to study program impacts. Some high level insights: •During the first 4 months of the program in 2019, employers saw a decrease in absences. •2020 saw mixed results. No significant changes in absenteeism or tardiness, but participants worked 10% more hours after enrollment due to the ability to pick up extra shifts. •COVID had a big impact on the essential workers we serve. See the graph to the right –March 2020 saw an 85% decrease in volume to safety, furloughs, illness, etc. Transportation Security Index (TSI) Questions: 18 In the past 30 days, how often were you not able to leave the house when you wanted to because of a problem with transportation? •Often •Sometimes •Never In the past 30 days, how often did problems with transportation affect your relationships with others? •Often •Sometimes •Never In the past 30 days, how often did you feel bad because you did not have the transportation you needed? •Often •Sometimes •Never In the past 30 days, how often did issues with transportation cause a problem with getting to work? •Often •Sometimes •Never The Transportation Security Index (TSI) was developed by Alexandra K. Murphy, PhD, Jamie Griffin, PhD, and Alix Gould-Werth, PhD, researchers at the University of Michigan.Participant TSI measures are collected upon enrollment in the program and every 60 days thereafter.CNPP participants have higher starting TSI scores, on average, than employer-sponsored participants. For CNPP participants,TSI surveys are distributed every 30 days a participant is enrolled in the program. How the questions are scored 19 0: Never 1: Sometimes 2: Often Add total of questions to get TSI score Total score breakdown: 0-2: Transportation Secure 2-4: Moderately insecure 5-6 Severely insecure Transportation Security Index 4.27 3.31 3.11 3.79 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Baseline (n = 128)Timepoint 2 (n = 32)Timepoint 3 (n = 45)Timepoint 4 (n = 28) Severely Insecure Moderately Insecure Transportation Secure As the graph of CNPP participants illustrates, the Ride Guarantee program has a large impact on people's perceived transportation security, but it does vary over time.The average TSI score of CNPP participants decreased for the first two months of enrollment. However, at the 90-day mark, there was a sharp increase in transportation insecurity. Given the small sample size of responses for the 90-day survey, we are hesitant to draw too many conclusions from the increase. Stories of Impact 20 Jessica is a 45-year-old who is currently unemployed. Shari joined the program in November of 2021 through the South Bend Heritage Foundation. Before enrolling in the program, she walked or took the bus to most places and found this inconvenient, unreliable, and often stressful. However, she credits the program for significantly improving her quality of life as her transportation burdens have been substantially reduced, especially as she recently tested positive for COVID. She also stated that the program has saved her “at least a couple hundred dollars since November.” Stories of Impact 21 Jonathan is a 65-year-old who is an unemployed South Bend resident living with a disability. Jonathan, a 4-year survivor of lung cancer, joined the program two months ago through REAL Services. Before the program, Jonathan did not have a reliable way of getting to his doctor's appointments. His options were to either ask a relative for a ride or to use an insurance company van service that often canceled on him because his home was on the outskirts of town. Commuters Trust has provided Jonathan with a reliable way of getting to and from his doctor's appointments. Questions?