use it. Buffalo can provide that service but the Kathy Wingen's aren't going to be able to use it. If you comply with the law to provide the service, that's great. But what have you done for the handicapped if they can't utilize the system. That is the point these people are trying to make. Mr. MINETA. Has there ever been an occasion on which paratransit service has been denied to anyone because of snow fall at a time when your regular bus service was still operating? Mr. TRIPP. No. In fact, Mr. Chairman, it is almost the counter. There are times when, in icy conditions, the large rear-engine rearwheel drive buses start slipping and sliding on the crowns of the road. We will pull off our fixed-route fleet before the special-service fleet because they are front-wheel drive and the traction is that much better. Mr. MINETA. Very well. Thank you. Mr. Stangeland? Mr. STANGELAND. Mr. Chairman, I don't have any questions. I think both have given excellent testimony, as I knew they would. I have to tell you something just a little bit humorous. I have known Kathy and, as I said, she heightened my sensitivity to the handicapped. I have known her for a long time. I suspected-and I looked through her resume today-that she might be a Democrat. I see on her resume that she is an active Democrat. I would like to ask you one question, Kathy. MS. WINGEN. Sure. Mr. STANGELAND. You, certainly, are in full agreement with the current law and the thrust of this legislation, which is to be certain that the handicapped are provided transportation as well as the non-handicapped. MS. WINGEN. That is correct. Mr. STANGELAND. Thank you. Mr. MINETA. Mr. Laughlin. Mr. LAUGHLIN. Mr. Tripp, I come from a rural district. I appreciate the fact that the population of St. Cloud is around 40,000. If that is the case, I have one community out of a very large area that is about 40,000. All the rest are in the area of 10,000 or small er. Do you have any feeling-I notice you testified that you did not recommend mandated services on all the fixed-routes. Do you have some suggestion what we in rural areas of towns of 2,000 and 5,000 population might do to help those with mobility problems? Mr. TRIPP. Congressman Laughlin, Minnesota has a very extensive rural and small-town transit program. There are about 65 various contracts that the Minnesota Department of Transportation has with a variety of counties and very small cities that then extend five miles or so out from their little 2000 population city. Basically, all of those vehicles are smaller minibus, twenty-onefoot-sized vehicles and are accessible. So some of them have defined routes but with a route deviation ability so that if someone does call in that lives one or three or whatever miles from that normal route, the bus can then leave the route and go pick up that rural resident. I am hoping that is answering your question that again, in Minnesota, when we start getting out into the rural areas, those systems that do have some type of form of public transportation, that those minibus vehicles are lift-equipped. Mr. LAUGHLIN. As I think through my district, I think there are two communities with inter-city transit systems out of 253 communities. I can think of two where there is intracity transportation and very little other inter-city transit systems within this area. I was just wondering what your experience was in the St. Cloud surrounding area for providing transit services to those with mobility problems. Do you rely upon a call-in system out in these small communities outside of St. Cloud? Mr. TRIPP. Again, the small communities around St. Cloud, all three counties that surround St. Cloud, do have established rural transit systems. So there is a call-in opportunity. Those counties or small towns that do not have an organized public transit system usually go through a county social-service program and a volunteer-ride program or something like that. That still doesn't address the question of the intercity, the Greyhound if we want to call it by name, transit service. To my knowledge, it is not a severe problem, but I am not educated enough, really, to give you the best answer on that with regards to Greyhound and Minnesota. Mr. LAUGHLIN. Thank you very much. I appreciate the testimony both of you have given us. It has been very informative to me. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. MINETA. Thank you. Mr. Lipinski? Mr. LIPINSKI. I have no questions. Mr. MINETA. Nothing? All right. Mr. Tripp, Ms. Wingen; thank you, again, very, very much for your eloquent testimony here and suggestions that you have made. I appreciate very much your being here and we will be taking that into very serious consideration. Mr. TRIPP. Thank you. MS. WINGEN. Thank you. [Mr. Tripp's and Ms. Wingen's prepared statements follow:] COMMISSIONERS ALCUINJ RINGSMUTH CHAIRMAN/SECRETARY, ROBERT J. HUSTON - VICE CHAIRMAN, SYBIL M. HOLLERN-TREASURER, THOMAS A. BRAUN MEMBER Good Afternoon Chairman Mineta, Mr. Shuster, my own Congressman Mr. Stangeland, and distinguished members of the sub-committee. My name is David Tripp. I am the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Transit Commission, a political subdivision of the State of Minnesota. I'd like to thank you for the opportunity for me to appear before you today. St. Cloud Metropolitan Transit Commission, or MTC, serves a 3 city service area of approximately 54,000 people with two services: a fixed route fleet of 21 diesel buses with 12 routes, nine of which pulse out of a downtown transfer location every 30 minutes, and a Specialized Service fleet of 4 buses for mobility impaired citizens utilizing driver-assisted, door-to-door service. More specifically, the MTC's Specialized Service system was Minnesota's first door-to-door service. The six service criteria for specialized services as established by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 1986 have all been exceeded by the MTC. Furthermore, the 3% minimum expenditure is far exceeded with 12.8% of its total annual operating budget expanded on Specialized Service. The MTC has further invested into several modern, state of the art accessible mini-buses. For your information, there are approximately 1,100 registered passengers in our program, and the great majority are over the age of 65. There are an average of 190 passenger trips per day for an annual total of 50,000 trips. The average fully allocated, cost per trip in 1988-1989 is $4.10. Total annual budget is $210,000. The fixed route system, for your information, has an annual ridership of 1.4 million, or 28 passengers per hour, at a fully allocated $1.09 cost per trip. Total annual operating budget is $1,430,000. The reason I am before you today is that I'm concerned about the mobility needs of all citizens in the St. Cloud area. I, as a public transit professional, having worked with the disabled and non-disabled citizenry in designing their transportation programs that are requested and utilized, am here to inform you of some facts many believe are being overlooked or overshadowed by discussions to date on mainline transit accessibility, in particular some factors regarding small urban cities in northern states with winter conditions. St. Cloud MTC and its disabled citizenry has continually put its money and efforts into its Specialized Service because in Minnesota, a fixed route accessible transit system would realistically become unaccessible to disabled citizens for 5 months of the year. St. Cloud has very real conditions that laws are not able to change: e.g. 1) health endangering frigid temperatures 2) neighbors who don't shovel their sidewalks within a day or two or three after snowfall 3) snow plow hills/ridges that border every street and intersection in our cities If a disabled citizen depends on public transit for their job, for school or college, or physical therapy or whatever, they need reliable and safe MOBILITYthe type of mobility our Specialized Service provides and 8 fixed route accessible cannot. St. Cloud's disabled citizenry realizes this and since 1980, from the meetings and public hearings on 504, has argued that the limited governmental subsidies and local efforts should be expended on the mobility service needed and requested by the tremendous majority of disabled citizens. Accessible fixed route transit vill cost additional local funds for lift purchase, lift maintenance, driver training and other operational features. There is a very legitimate fear that with this additional fixed route expenditure decisions in the future to not increase Specialized Service may be made. |