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Implemented 2007 (revised -August 2017)
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 2
Oswego County Coordinated
Public Transit – Human Services Transportation Plan
Submitted by: Oswego County Transportation Coalition
Contact Person:
Agency:
Address:
Phone Number:
Fax Number:
Email Address:
Gary Mashaw
Oswego County Opportunities, Inc.
239 Oneida Street
Fulton, NY 13069
315.598.4713 ext 1910
315.598.1219
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 3
Table of Contents;
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 4
Background of Public Transit Service in Oswego County …………………....…..…………. 5
Demographics of Oswego County ………………………………………………….………… 6
Public Transportation Inventory ………………………………………………………………. 7
Oswego County Public Transit Service …………………………………………………..… 7
Non-Public Transportation Service ……………………………………………………………. 9
Community Needs Assessment ……………………………………………………………….. 10
2009 United Way Needs Assessment …………………………………………………………… 11
Federal, State and Specialized Public Transportation Programs ……………………………… 11
Other specialized transportation funding sources …………………………………….………. 13
Strengths and Opportunities ………………………………………….…………………….. 14
Goals & Accomplishments (revised March 2010) ………………………………….………….. 15
OCTC Members ……………………………………………………………………………….. 19
APPENDIX:
I – Executive Summary
II – Technical Memorandum 1, Current Needs Assessment
III – Technical Memorandum 2, Coordination Strategies
IV - United Way Needs Assessment
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 4
Oswego County Coordinated
Public Transit Human Services Transportation Plan
Oswego County is committed to supporting the use of public transportation throughout Oswego
County. In 1997 Oswego County adopted the Oswego County Comprehensive Plan. There are ten
components of this plan. One of them is the Transportation element. This section includes
information about all modes of transportation. Within this section public transportation is
discussed. The plan identifies the providers and the types of services offered. Oswego County is
aware of the importance of public transportation for residents that do not have access to a personal
vehicle.
Oswego County has supported public transportation through the STOA (New York State Operating
Assistance program) and/or Section 18 capital assistance since 1986. Although Oswego County has
supported the local public transportation system by assisting OCO in securing and overseeing of the
use of NYS transportation funding, the County has relied on the expertise of Oswego County
Opportunities and CENTRO to operate and coordinate public transportation system.
OCO has been a leader in the area of coordination and in 2002 OCO and United Way of Greater
Oswego County assisted Oswego County by taking the lead and establishing the Oswego County
Transportation Coalition. The mission of the coalition is to improve access to community services
for all county residents. The Oswego County Transportation Coalition includes a variety of
members. The following is a list of the organizations represented.
• ACCESS-VR
• ARISE
• Oswego County DSS
• Oswego YMCA
• Catholic Charities
• Centro Oswego (CNYRGTA)
• Colleges : SUNY Oswego (work force) and Cayuga Community College
• Oswego County DSS/Mental Hygiene/Employment and Training
• Oswego County Nursing home(s) Health Services
• Oswego County Opportunities (OCO)
• OCO Literacy Volunteers
• MAS – (Medical Answering Service)
• Oswego Health Behavioral Services
• Oswego County Community Development, Tourism and Planning
• United Way of Greater Oswego County
• Oswego Industries & ARC of Oswego County
• Oswego County Visually Impaired / Vision Network Oswego County
• Oswego County Probation
• Office For the Aging
• Office of Business and Community Relations Work Force Development
• Oswego Health
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 5
• Oswego Health Behavioral Services
• Rural Health Network of Oswego County
• RSVP
• Salvation Army
Additionally OCO has a OCO Community Services Department Advisory Committee established
2012. The OCO Transportation Advisory Committee that was formed in 1993, merged with OCO
Community Services Department Advisory Committee in June 2015. This committee was
established in April 2011 and its focus is to review the daily operations of the OCO Transportation
Services and serve in an advisory capacity to the OCO, Inc. Board of Directors, its Standing
Committees, the Department Director and their staff. The committee will pay particular attention to
General Administration, Planning and Evaluation, Personnel and Grant Application for the
department. The ultimate purpose is to help provide safe, affordable, convenient transportation to
all residents of Oswego County. The Committee actively participates in the decision making
process when route changes are required or capital improvements are needed. Also the committee
provides a sounding board for the consumer. The committee is made up of public and private
agency representatives as well as consumers.
Recently Oswego County has determined that greater internal coordination of county agencies
whose clients rely on public transportation is needed. Therefore, representatives of county agencies
that currently participate on either the Oswego County Public Transportation Coalition or the
Advisory Committee was formed to address coordination issues directly related to Oswego County
programs and public transportation. However in order to fully understand where Oswego County
Public Transportation is headed it is necessary to understand how we got here.
Background of Public Transit Service in Oswego County
At one time Oswego County had three bus companies providing public transit service to our
residents. These bus companies were Centro of Oswego, Oswego County Opportunities Public
Transit and Syracuse & Oswego Inc. In 1990 S&O terminated service in this area. Currently
Oswego County has two bus companies serving Oswego County; they are OCO and CENTRO of
Oswego.
Oswego County Opportunities, Inc. (OCO) was incorporated in March of 1966. OCO is currently
designated as a Community Action Agency. OCO is a social service agency that is staffed with
more than 600 employees dedicated in helping people and changing lives. OCO provides outreach,
health, education, shelter, housing, crisis intervention, food and Transportation services to
approximately 24,500 Oswego County residents.
Oswego County Opportunities (OCO) transportation began in 1976. The initial service for the first
4-5 years was limited. In 1981 OCO signed an agreement with Oswego County to provide public
transportation to all areas of the county.
The Central New York Regional Transportation Authority (CNYRTA) was created by an act of the New
York State Legislature in 1970, for the purpose of preserving and improving transportation services in the
region. Its area of potential jurisdiction includes the counties of Onondaga, Oswego, Cayuga, Madison,
Jefferson, Oneida, and Cortland. Participation as a member county is on an elective basis, by
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 6
determination of the respective county legislatures. Oswego County elected to join the Authority on June
1, 1972. Other member counties are Onondaga (1970), Cayuga (1973), and Oneida (2005).
Centro of Oswego was established by the Authority as the subsidiary corporation responsible for public
transportation services in Oswego County. Beginning on August 28, 1972, its initial services consisted of
public bus routes in and around the City of Oswego. Thereafter, Oswego State University contracted with
Centro to expand services between the campus and the community.
In 1979, at the request of the City of Fulton, bus service was established within that community.
During the construction of the Nine Mile II facility, Centro operated a system of express buses to bring
workers to the site from points in Oswego and Onondaga counties.
In 1992, at the request of the County Legislature and the County Administrator, a rural transit service was
created to link the Village of Mexico with Oswego and Fulton. At the same time, interline service
connections were developed between several of these trips and those operated in rural areas by Oswego
County Opportunities (OCO).
In 1993, Syracuse and Oswego Coach Lines served notice of its intention to abandon its regular route
service between Oswego, Fulton, Phoenix, and Syracuse, as well as its commuter service from Central
Square to Syracuse. In the public interest, government leaders requested that the CNYRTA assume the
operation of these routes, which it did in June of that year. Since that time, these services have been
modified to become fully integrated with Centro services in Oswego, Fulton, and Syracuse, offering new
options to the traveling public.
Also in 1993, Oswego State University contracted with Centro for additional service within the campus; at
that time, connections between the campus and points within the City of Oswego were further improved as
well.
Demographics of Oswego County Revision 6/2015
Oswego County is home to 122,109 people. Oswego County has two (2) cities, nine (9) villages and
twenty – two (22) towns. Prior to 2011 Oswego County had ten villages; the Village of Altmar
dissolved on December 6, 2011 and is now part of the Town of Albion. The City of Oswego is 7.5
square miles and the City of Fulton is 3.5 Square miles, the remaining 952 square miles are
considered rural. According to the 2010 CENSUS there are 46,400 households in Oswego County.
The average household size is 2.52 persons. Families make up 66.9% of households in Oswego
County and the average family size is 2.98. Married couple families make up 48.9% of the total
number of households designated as families. The other 28% of households designated as families
are identified as male or female headed households with children or unmarried couples with
children. The percentage of married families has increased slightly by 1.4% since the 2000 census.
Nonfamily households have experienced a small decrease of 1.6% since 2000 Census and comprise
of 33% of the total number of households or 15,369 persons. A nonfamily household with
householder living alone has been identified as having 11,645 or 25% of the total household
population in Oswego County. Additionally 33% of the households in Oswego County have
children under the age of 18 and 23.8 % have at least one household member who is 65 or older.
Thus it appears that the percentage of persons living in a family household has increased slightly,
this increase could be a result of older persons moving in with other family members, adult children
returning to the family or nontraditional families are coming together for a variety of reasons.
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 7
The following trend identifying demographics are based on The American Community Survey
(ACS) 2008-2012 5 - year estimates. The ACS produces population, demographic and housing unit
estimates, the ACS bases its information on Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Program that
produces and disseminates the official estimates of the population. Oswego County ‘s diversity is
limited with 96 %of the population identified as white, 2 % as Hispanic or Latino origin (any race) ,
1% African American and 1% other. Ninety- eight (98) percent of the people living in Oswego
County, New York in 2010-2012 were native residents of the United States. Eighty –five (85)
percent of these residents were living in the state in which they were born.
The ACS data (for 2008-2012) indicates that approximately 15% of the population relocated in the
past year and that 85% of the population remained at their same residence. The ACS indicated that
of those, 15% that had relocated within the past year, 9% had moved from another residence in
Oswego County, 4% had moved from another county in New York State and 1% had moved from
another state or country to Oswego County. Thus a total of 610 people have moved to Oswego
from another state or country, based on the average household size this is about 241 new households.
According to ACS data in Oswego County, among the civilian non-institutionalized population in
2010-2012, thirteen percent of the population reported a disability. “The likelihood of having a
disability varied by age – from 6 percent of people under 18 years old, to 12 percent of people 18-64
years old, and 35 percent of those 65 and over. “ The total number of persons reporting a disability
is less than in 2005 when the percentage reporting a disability was at 20% for persons five years of
age and older.
The median income of households in Oswego County in 2010 was $46,961. Approximately seventy
four percent (73.7%) of the households in Oswego County received earnings and about twenty -three
Percent (22.8%) received retirement income other than social security. Thirty- four percent (34%) of
the households received social security income. The ACS in the 2008-2012 survey indicates that
16.8% of persons in Oswego County are living in poverty; additionally 12% of those living in
poverty are families. The balance 4.8% are considered individuals living in households either alone
or with unrelated persons but not in an institutional setting. Of the 12% are considered to be
families living in poverty; 37% are of the families in poverty are considered single female headed
households with children.
According to 2012 ACS data; Oswego County’s labor force is made up of 58,508 this is a decline of
3,125 persons since 2009. There are an additional 3,772 persons not in the work force in 2012. Thus
a total of 39,660 persons or 40% of the labor force are not participating in the work force for one
reason or another.
The following is a comparison from ACS data for similar data for the years 2007 – 2009 and 2010-
2012.
Commuting to Work 2007-2009 2010 -2012
Workers 16 years and older 54,040 51,420
Car, Truck, Van – Drove alone 79.9% 80.6%
Car, Truck, Van – Car pooled 10.02% 10.0%
Public Transportation
(Excluding taxi cab) .04% .09%
Walked 4.1% 5.2%
Other means 1.2% 1.1%
Worked at home 3.7% 2.7%
It is interesting to note that in data collected demonstrates a further decline in the work force and a
slightly greater percentage of people are driving alone, more people are walking, public
transportation ridership is declining and those working at home have declined as well.
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 8
In summary, Oswego County is a land large community that has two cities and very sparsely
populated rural communities. The median household income is $46,921, which is lower than the
NYS medina income of $58,003. Oswego County has a greater percentage of people living in
poverty (16.8%) than the NYS average of 15.3%. Oswego County has had a significant number of
people leave the labor force between 2008-2012. Those traveling to work are predominately driving
alone; there has been a slight increase in people walking to work and a decline in people that are
working from home. It appears that Oswego County’s population is getting older in nature, less
people are in the work force and slightly greater number of persons in poverty and generally
speaking people had less income in 2010-2012 than when ACS data was collected in 2007-2009.
Public Transportation Inventory
OCO has 30 full time drivers; 8 part time drivers and 11 substitute drivers. Bus maintenance is
performed in house under the direction of, Department of Transportation inspection program. The
fleet consists of 43 vehicles, ranging from 7 to 32 seats all accessible. All public buses are wheel
chair accessible. However, 10 vehicles are currently leased.
CENTRO of Oswego has 19 full time drivers, 19 part time drivers and 6 maintenance and
administrative personnel. Maintenance is performed in house. Centro’s fleet consists of 3 buses
with a seating capacity of 49; 3 buses with a seating capacity of 16; and 11 buses with a seating
capacity of 39. All Centro buses are equipped with wheel chair lifts and wheel chair restraint
systems
Oswego County Public Transit Service
The Oswego County Public Transit service offers four primary kinds of Public Transit service.
These services are Deviated-fixed route, Fixed Route, Demand responsive and Paratransit.
• Deviated – Fixed Route Service is a hybrid of fixed –route and demand-responsive service.
A bus makes scheduled stops and adheres to a timetable, but can alter , deviate up to ¾ mile,
its course between stops to go to a specific location for a pre-scheduled request. This service
is provided by OCO.
• Demand responsive is a curb to curb service where a rider calls OCO to schedule a pick-up
location and destination. Demand response requires a two business day reservation in
advance. This service is provided by OCO that supports transportation needs of various
service providers and individuals.
• Fixed -Route is a service made of scheduled stops and adheres to a timetable. This service is
provided by Centro.
• Para transit – Better known as Call-A-Bus is a curb to curb service available to those who
cannot get to a fixed route due to a disability. This service operates around Centro’s fixed
route time schedule and may deviate up to ¾ of a mile form the fixed route. Reservations
are required and may be made two weeks prior to the trip up to the day before the trip.
OCO Description of Services (American with Disability Act (ADA) compliant
Oswego County Opportunities (OCO) provides transportation via Oswego Public Transit (OPT)
with 12 Deviated (ADA ¾ mile) – fixed routes from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday;
demand services; senior services; medical services, Call-N-Ride. The total number of annual trips
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 9
for the service is approximately 183,000. Deviated-Fixed route maps (pending revision) have been
included in the ((appendix I being revised),go to http://www.oco.org/transportation .
The following services are coordinated by OCO on a Mobility shared ride system
OCO (shared ride) also offers nine door to door demand response routes, which also operate from
6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The demand responsive routes have also been included in the (appendix I
being revised), go to http://www.oco.org/transportation (pending revision).
OCO (shared ride) provides service to sheltered workshops, primarily as a subscription service on
the demand and Deviated-fixed routes. Additionally OCO provides bus service on selected days of
the week by area to senior citizens for meals and shopping.
OCO (shared ride) provides non-emergency medical trips on Mondays through Fridays 3:30 am to
6:00 p.m. However riders of the service have to meet certain DOH eligibility and qualifications in
order to qualify for this service. OCO is provided trip assignments via Regional Manager, Medical
Answering Services (MAS) on a daily bases.
OCO (shared ride) also provides, under contract/agreements with other organization, such as Office
for the Aging, ARISE, AURORA, NYS Catholic Health Plan, Logistic Care, ARC of Oswego
County, Oswego Industries, County of Oswego (Call N Ride), ILS Community Network-NY
Managed Care and services to local nursing homes ( Seneca and ST. Lukes) in Oswego County for
Adult Day Care on a shared transit ride system open to the general public.
Lastly, OCO (shared ride) provides Call-N-Ride service that operates Monday through Friday (days
of service are based on a 5 zone system) from 10:00 am to 2:00 p.m. the curb to curb service is for
elderly or special needs persons; however, exceptions are made when public transportation is not
available and a person needs transportation for medical, social or personal business reasons. A copy
of the 5 zone map has been included in the (Appendix II Technical Memorandum I, page 44 being
revised).
OCO participates in a major component of Oswego County’s emergency evacuation plan for its nuclear
facilities, helping to insure compliance with Federal emergency regulations.
Centro Description of Service
Centro operates throughout the City of Oswego from 6:00 AM until 10:50 PM on weekdays, 8:00 AM to
8:30 PM on Saturdays and 7:42 AM until 8:53 PM on Sundays. During the academic year, SUNY Oswego
Auxiliary Services sponsors service on the campus from 7:00 AM until 11:00 PM Monday through Friday,
and 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM Saturday.
Centro’s service operates within the City of Fulton from 6:30 AM to 5:20 PM on weekdays, and from 8:50
AM to 4:50 PM on Saturdays.
The 246 route operates between Oswego, Fulton, Phoenix and Syracuse 7 days a week.
Centro operates between Oswego, Mexico and Fulton, called the Loop. This service connects at 8:00am,
12:00pm and 4:00pm at Oswego County Department of Social Service in Mexico with OCO’s service to
Pulaski and Central Square.
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 10
Centro of Syracuse provides express commuter that operates from Central Square and Brewerton to
Syracuse Monday through Friday. Connections to and from OCO bus routes are available at Central Square
that go to and from Mexico and Fulton.
A map of each Centro route has been included in the (appendix I being revised), go to
http://www.centro.org (pending revision). The total number of annual trips for the service is
411,177.
In full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), all Centro buses within are equipped
with wheelchair lifts or ramps. Furthermore, for persons unable to use regular route services, Centro
operates special van services called Call-A-Bus which complement its regular route services.
For many years, an express bus shuttle service has been provided from Oswego, Fulton, and Phoenix to the
New York State Fair. This service continues to grow in popularity.
Centro provides a shopping service once a month for Altmar, Parish and Williamstown. The City of
Oswego has a senior citizen shopping bus that operates every other week.
Centro is a major component of Oswego County’s emergency evacuation plan for its nuclear
facilities, helping to insure compliance with Federal emergency regulations.
Non-Public Transportation Services (revised June 2015)
St Luke Heath Services are located in the City of Oswego is a not-for-profit provider of skilled nursing and
rehabilitation services, caring for two-hundred residents daily.
Their current van service transports elderly residents, many of whom have disabilities, at St. Luke, Bishop's
Commons, St. Francis Commons and Michaud to various outings and events. St. Luke’s transportation
needs extend to seven days a week, and our scheduled transportation services varies greatly depending
upon the needs of our residents at any one of their three locations.
St. Luke’s current transportation needs are such that they may or may not be supported by another existing
transportation provider in Oswego County at this time.
In addition, St. Luke will offer the same resources that are made available through a regional mutual aid
plan developed and implemented by the Long Term Care Council of Central New York.
In the mutual plan St. Luke makes available their entire fleet: 5 vehicles, 20 ambulatory and 1 van, 5
wheelchairs that can be accessed by any plan member when needed under the coordination of a regional
command center.
It is the St. Luke organization's intent that inclusion in the Oswego County Coordinated Public
Transportation Plan will be mutually beneficial. As transportation needs in Oswego County are evaluated
in more detail St. Luke Health Services looks forward to actively assisting this effort.
Community Needs Assessment
2015 Oswego County Transportation Coalition is actively seeking a planning grant to assist with
strengthening and identifying Mobility needs.
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 11
History: In 2005, the Oswego County Transportation Coalition secured funding to hire BMI-SG
(Bellomo-McGee, Inc and SG Associated, Inc) to conduct a study of the existing transportation
needs and services in Oswego County. The following information is from this study. The
consultants contacted 24 human service agencies to complete a survey. The survey had a 50%
return rate and additional some in-person interviews with three of the human service agency
representatives were also conducted.
An analysis of the survey results reveals that the majority of human service agency clients are
children/parents, elderly, persons with physical or mental disabilities or low-income. A few of the
agencies have clients with specialized transportation need, such as a wheelchair or visual
impairment. The majority of the clients are making medical, shopping or work trips on a daily to
monthly basis. The agencies state that approximately 1000 total clients need transportation.
The agencies that responded to the survey did not have access to many agency vehicles to meet their
client’s needs. The following is a brief summary of the survey respondent’s private inventory. One
agency has a van , one agency uses a DOT yellow bus, one agency has two vans operated by OCO
and the remainder of the agencies have clients who use OCO, Centro, or taxis; drive themselves; or
get dropped off by friends or agency volunteers using their own cars.
Further analysis of the survey reveals that many agency clients can not afford to pay for public
transportation. Many of the agencies requested reduced or free fares for clients. One agency asked
for increased Call-N- Ride service. Another agency suggested that the pedestrian environment be
enhanced for current and potential bus riders, for example investing in continuous sidewalks.
Lastly several of the agencies requested transportation materials that were easier to understand.
Specifically transportation routes and a call number, so that figuring out how to get where you need
to go could be simplified.
The study also looked at existing needs among major employers in Oswego County. Basically the
majority of employees use personal automobiles to commute to work. This is consistent with large
employers located in rural areas throughout the country. Therefore it can be concluded that; at this
time there is not a need for public transportation for the working middle and higher income
population. This analysis was based on what is currently being offered as bus transportation,
however if more routes were available and the bus service was extended into the evening, the
demand might increase.
The BMI-SG transportation study also analyzed transit demand. The transit demand methodology
section has been included in the (appendix II - Technical Memorandum I.
The methodology takes into consideration two major categories; 1) Program demand-which is
generated by transit ridership to and from specific social service programs and 2) Non Program
Demand –This is generated by other mobility needs of elderly persons, persons with disabilities and
the general public, including youth. Examples of non-program trips may include shopping,
employment and medical trips. The entire demand analysis has been included in the Appendix II -
Technical Memorandum I.
The demand analysis identified the following transportation needs in Oswego County. These needs
include but are not limited to the following issues;
Demand response or Call-N-Ride service to meet the needs of human service agencies, particularity
for elderly disabled, and rural populations
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 12
• Funding to support Call-N-Ride service, additional transit vehicles, and expanded facility
• Improved marketing of current transit services
• Improved efficiency of current transit services
2010 United Way Needs Assessment (version for 2015)
The United Way of Greater Oswego County Needs Assessment ( 2010 most current version) Appendix IV of
Oswego County has identified multiple of Human Service needs to include transportation. Working in
collaboration with Oswego County’s human service agencies and other organizations, they have assembled
a comprehensive assessment of the broad human service needs that exist in our county. Data from dozens
of sources; the opinions of stakeholders, community leaders, those who fund and deliver human services,
agency consumers, and concerned community members who attended focus groups; the results from nearly
1,000 opinion surveys and a youth development survey were all carefully scrutinized to compile a thorough
assessment that we feel you will find very useful and enlightening.
The goal of this project was to assess the human service needs that exist in Oswego County and provide a
tool that will assist the United Way as well as the Oswego County Transportation Coalition in ensuring that
funds are addressing these needs and seeing the challenges in a bigger picture
Federal, State and Specialized Public Transportation Programs Supports
The Role of Federal, State, Local and Specialized Public Transportation Programs
The following is a brief description of the federal, state and local public transportation programs
that impact how public transportation can be delivered in Oswego County.
5310 Enhanced (5317 Merge)- This program makes funds available to meet the special
transportation needs of elderly persons and persons with disabilities. These funds are consist of
four project types, Traditional Capital, Other Capital, Mobility Management and Operating
Assistance. These funds are apportioned to the states annually by a formula that is based on the
number of elderly persons and persons with disabilities in each state. The program is administered
in New York State by the New York Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Capital assistance
is provided on a n 80 percent Federal, 20 percent local matching basis. Examples of capital
expenses include, but are not limited to buses and vans. In New York State, private nonprofit
agencies are eligible to receive program funding and must demonstrate that they coordinate services
for elderly persons and persons with disabilities. Section 5317 is a merge with 5310 new federal
transit formula grant program to encourage services and facility improvements to address the
transportation needs of persons with disabilities that go beyond those required by the Americans
with Disabilities Act. Funds can be used for associated capital and operating costs to provide the
new services. Examples of projects and activities that might be funded under the program induce,
but are not limited to: purchasing vehicles and supporting accessible taxi, ride sharing and
vanpooling programs; providing Para transit services beyond minimum requirements (3/4) mile to
either side of a fixed route) including for routes that run seasonally, making accessibility
improvements to transit and intermodal stations; supporting voucher programs for transportation
services offered by human service providers; and supporting mobility management and coordination
programs among public transportation providers and other human service agencies that provide
transportation. The federal share for the next project capital cost of a project may be up to 80
percent, and not more than 50percent of the net operating cost of the project.
2015: Oswego County Opportunities has submitted 5310 Enhanced application for 8 replacement
buses that is focused on continuation of current service levels with potential expansion. No other
agency as brought forth any project(s) of interest in participation of this plan.
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 13
Section 5311 is a federal capital/operating bus program that provides subsidy for buses and
operating to provide fixed route public transportation. These routes must be open to the public.
The federal to local match is 10%.
2015: Oswego County Opportunities has submitted 5311 application for years 2015-2016 for
replacement buses and operating that is focused on continuation of current service levels with
potential expansion. No other agency as brought forth any project(s) of interest in participation
of this plan.
Section 5316 JARC is a formula grant program to provide funding for local authorities and
agencies, and non-profit entities that offer job access and reverse commute services to transport
welfare recipients and low income individuals to and form jobs, training and child care, and to
develop transportation services for residents of urban centers and rural and suburban areas to
suburban employment opportunities.
Job access grants may finance capital projects and operating costs of equipment, facilities and
associated, capital maintenance items related to providing access to job; promoting of transit by
workers with nontraditional work schedules; promoting use by appropriate agencies of transit
vouchers for welfare recipients and eligible low income individuals; and promoting use of employer
– provided transportation including the transit pass benefit program.
For Reverse Commute grants the following activities are eligible- operating costs, capital costs and
other costs associated with reverse commute by bus, train, carpool, vans or other transit service.
Eligible Activities for JACR funding include late night and weekend service, guaranteed ride home
service, shuttle service; expanded fixed-route public transit routes; demand – responsive service;
ridesharing and carpooling activities transit related aspects of bicycling; local car loan programs that
assist individuals in purchasing and maintaining vehicles for shared rides; marketing promotions for
JARC activities; supporting the administration and expenses related to voucher programs; using
Geographic Information System (GIS) tools and/or implementing Intelligent Transportation
Systems (ITS); integrating automated regional public transit and human service transportation
information, scheduling and dispatch functions: deploying vehicle position-monitoring systems and
establishing regional mobility managers or transportation brokerage activities. The Federal/Local
share is 80/20 for capital projects which include mobility operations and 50/50 operating projects.
In New York State, NYSDOT is responsible for the JARC program administration to rural areas
such as Oswego County. NYSDOT will use a competitive selection process to award grantees.
While New York State procedures and guidance for this program are not complete at this time the
creation of this plan, it is anticipated that counties and cities will be eligible to apply for NYSDOT
for JARC funds, and that NYSDOT will select projects to be funded based on the needs identified
in locally developed Coordinated Transportation Plans.
2015: To date Oswego County has not applied for JARC funding. Oswego County will be
reviewing this program to see how the county can better serve the residents of Oswego County.
STOA – State Transportation Operating Assistance
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 14
Other specialized transportation funding sources
COMPLETED - The Re-think the Wheel project was funded by a grant from the NYS
Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC) that awarded to OCO, Inc. on behalf of an
application from the Oswego County Transportation Coalition. The outcome of this project “All
Oswego County individuals with disabilities, particularly developmental disabilities, have access to
transportation services to access employment,” will be achieved by implementing a marketing and
travel training program that provides information and education to individuals with disabilities on
available transit services and how to use them; AND by expanding flexible ride services, including
call-n-ride bus, demand response routes and volunteer driver programs so all areas of Oswego
County have access to transportation services for employment. Project complete and
implemented, the coalitions goal is to revisit the project for revison to keep it current
OCO (shared ride) Funding is also, under contract/agreements with other organization, such as
Office for the Aging, ARISE, AURORA, NYS Catholic Health Plan, Logistic Care, ARC of
Oswego County, Oswego Industries, County of Oswego (Call N Ride), ILS Community Network-
NY Managed Care and services to local nursing homes ( Seneca and ST. Lukes) in Oswego
County for Adult Day Care.
Centro of Oswego because they are part of the Transportation Authority they have access to a
portion of Oswego County mortgage tax filing money. The program works as follows: At that time
a mortgage recording tax for transportation was imposed. Anytime a commercial or residential
mortgage is filed with the Oswego County Clerks office, as part of the closing costs, one quarter of
the one percent of the value of the mortgage is paid by the borrower as a mortgage recording tax.
That money is remitted monthly by the County clerk to the authority.
The Call-N-Ride Service is presently funded by a sum of two grants totaling $21,305. These
funding sources are annual grants that have no future assurance. This service is also subsidized
through donations and fee for service revenue. ARISE has a contract with Oswego County
Opportunities, Inc. (OCO) for a annual fee of $5,357. County of Oswego Office for the Aging has a
contract with Oswego County Opportunities, Inc. (OCO) for a annual fee of $15,948. OCO, Inc.
provides curb-to-curb bus transportation for the elderly, individuals with disabilities including the
visually impaired and those otherwise unable to drive. . Individuals and other general public may
use the service when public transportation is not readily available in their area. A small fee is
charged. Reservations must be made 72 hours in advance. Services (as of 1/14/2014) are provided
every 1st and 3rd Monday (Zone 1) in Sandy Creek, Pulaski and Mexico School districts, Tuesday
and Thursday (Zone 2) in the Fulton School district, Monday and Wednesday (Zone 3) in the
Oswego School district, Tuesday (Zone 4) in phoenix Hannibal and Central Square school districts
and on the 1st and 3rd Friday (Zone 5) in APW (Altmar-Parish-Williamstown school district). The
hours of operation are from 10AM – 2PM. Rider ship as increased from average of 460 passenger
trips provided each month. For the riders the service provides and opportunity to get out of their
homes to go shopping, make hair appointments, receive medical care, visit with friends, and enjoy
special events while remaining independent.
Strengths and Opportunities
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 15
2015: A general Stakeholder meeting (at a local level) is scheduled for August that will focus on
Transportation challenges, and needs. It will also focus on changes of Medicaid Transportation
resulting from NYS Regionalization.
History
On July 17, 2007 the Oswego County Public Transportation Coalition hosted a public forum to
educate stakeholders about local coordination efforts. Additionally the coalition wanted to solicit
input about the current delivery, challenges, strengths and future needs for public transportation in
Oswego County. The Coalition invited a cross section of the population. In attendance were
representatives from; the New York State Department of Transportation, OCO, Centro, human
service agencies, public officials, elected officials human service agency clients, general public
transportation users and educators.
At the forum an overview of the coordination effort was presented. Members of the Oswego
County transportation Coordination Coalition provided an overview of the current planning
process, Coalition members then facilitated round table discussions to discover what the strengths,
challenges and possible solutions for public transportation issues in Oswego County. The
following information is a summary of the issues that were brought forth. Basically those present at
the forum agreed that the quality of the public transportation services was very good. That all
public and private providers offered very good service to their riders. The curb to curb and door to
door services were achieved with professionalism mixed with a human touch. Generally the group
thought that there were to some extent adequate public transportation services available in the most
populated areas of Oswego Count. There are many rural areas in Oswego County is with out some
kind of public transportation.
Another strength that was highlighted was the condition of the buses, those in attendance felt that
the buses were kept in excellent condition. The passengers felt safe and the vehicles were clean and
comfortable. Additionally transportation for agency clients was affordable.
Forum participants also discussed the constraints or challenges faced by the existing public
transportation services. The challenge that was repeatedly identified by those in attendance was
that there was not a clear understanding of the transportation routes available. One of the first items
brought to light was the perception that bus transportation has in Oswego County. Many people
think that OCO buses are only for disabled or special populations and that CENTRO caters to the
college population. In general the group thought that public transportation had a negative stigma
associated to it and that this perception needed to be changed.
The group agreed that unless you had guidance as to how to access public transportation in Oswego
County, it was difficult to understand how to get to your destination. The group stated that the
schedules were difficult to understand and how to link from Centro to OCO was particularly
unclear. The group thought it would be helpful to be able to insert information into a local
transportation website that could create various options of public transportation, in an effort to get
you to your destination would be helpful (map quest for public transportation).
It was also agreed upon that frequency of the bus was a problem and that the casual rider could not
get from one place to another in a timely fashion. Also the need for coordination, flexibility and
understanding between human service agencies, medical professionals and the criminal justice
community when setting up appointments, available public transportation should be consulted prior
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 16
to creating the appointment. The fact that most of the bus service ends at six at night. Therefore
transportation for entertainment or other social activities is nonexistent at this time.
The group indicated that for the user with special needs understanding the bus service is more
difficult because of the barriers such as language or a disability, such as being seeing impaired. The
issue of identifying bus stops with proper signage was also discussed. Also because Oswego
County is rural in nature there are people that do not understand how to use the bus system and
therefore never will because of this lack of education. Thus public transportation is never an option
for some people because of fear or ignorance.
The group highlighted that funding rules were a problem, one example was the requirement that if
you are within 2 miles of a public fixed route service you are required to walk to the nearest bus
stop. The group mentioned that this rule is not practical for a person with young children or when
weather conditions are less than optimal. It was also mentioned that a taxi to bus link is needed, in
an effort to get to and from rural places in an affordable and efficient manner should be reviewed
and not excluded as a conflict for some public assistance programs. The fact that buses used for
educational purposes are excluded from public coordination activities.
In the Executive Summary of the study by BMI-SG the following transportation needs were
identified see Appendix I – Executive Summary. A demand response or Call-N-Ride service to
meet the needs of human service clients, particularly for elderly, disabled and rural populations.
Secondly funding to support Call-N-Ride service, additional transit vehicles, and expanded facility.
The report also identified the need to improve the marketing of the current transit services and
increased efficiency of current transportation services.
After reviewing all the information the following are a list of Goals and Objectives that the
Oswego County Transportation Coalition has identified. The Goal represents what the Coalition
thought the providers, agencies and riders should be striving to achieve. The objectives are
measures sub categories that further describe the overall goal, making the steps to success more
manageable. The strategies are measures that can be taken that will help Oswego County reach
their transportation goal.
ACHIEVEMENTS: Oswego County Transportation Coalition Goals – April 1, 2010 to June 2015
During the second quarter of 2015, the Oswego County Transportation Coalition reviewed progress
that had been made on the previous 4-year plan. Identified progress on goals and objectives in the
previous 4 years is as follows: Items with * are continuous Project Goals.
o The Travel Training project was completed providing a presentation on how to use Oswego
County Opportunities and Centro bus services, how to travel safely, and discounts available to
those with special needs. A “Happy Travels” pocket reference guide was provided to all
attending, as well as application forms for reduced fares, Call-a-Bus and Call-n-Ride. An
informational video was developed that gives an overview of the ways you can use public
transportation in Oswego County and helps to train people on how to use the bus. *Coalition
will search for resurface funds to enhance this project. More details following the objectives.
o A new theme (OPT with Light House image contact information) was developed and implemented for
OCO buses serving Oswego County to create a recognizable and Marketing image. OCO’s total
bus fleet has been updated with the new theme.
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 17
o New bus schedules were created to help consumers increase access to transit services.
o Bus services in Oswego County were expanded in the Northern area of the county, where little
transportation is available to consumers.
o Several OCO bus routes were restructured to assure schedule compatibility, easy connections
and route coverage throughout the county.
o April 2008 the Oswego County Legislature passed a resolution appointing a Public
Transportation Liaison so that public transportation issues could be easily coordinated at the
local level. o 2013 OCO install security cameras on it bus fleet.
o 2013 Collaborated with MAS (Medical Answering Service) and State DOH for a smooth transition
implementing Regionalization of Non-Emergency Medicaid Transportation
o 2014 OCO implemented Route Match software to enhance Mobility Coordination and provide a
more efficient service. This software will reduce operating cost, more efficient/timely runs, a robust
of data reports.
o 2015 Implemented next day notification call system to end-users of service. It was
accomplished and continues with the use of Route Match - Scheduling, Dispatching, AVL
robust software.
o 2013 thru 2015 was able to maintain current service levels because of continuous FTA funding
(5310 capital and 5311 capital and operating).
Goals and Objectives:
During the second quarter of 2015, the Oswego County Transportation Coalition renewed, updated
and expanded goals and objections for the next 2 years. Below are the results of these efforts:
Goal: To provide Oswego County Residents with a safe, reliable, affordable, efficient and easy to
access, understand and use coordinated public transportation system for the purpose of getting
riders to work, Dr’s appointments or other health related activities, routine in daily living activities
and entertainment or other social activities
Objective 1: work to provide residents and Providers with information so that anyone can easily
understand and utilize the Oswego County Coordinated Public Transportation system.
Strategy –A: Oswego County Transportation Coalition whose responsibility it is to oversee the
Oswego County coordinated Public Transportation Coordination Plan activity and updates.
Plan needs to be revised every four years per Federal Transit (FTA). Revision will be
approved by Oswego County Legislature prior to submission to NYSDOT and FTA.
Strategy – B: Create a call center and / or a Transportation hub that is a single point of access for
riders.
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 18
Strategy – C: Implement web portals for Medical Providers to have access for scheduling trips and
checking for real-time updates on scheduled trip(s) with the use of Route Match scheduling,
AVL software.( anticipated completion date Summer 2016).
Strategy – D: Maintain the linkages between Oswego County, OCO and Centro web sites so that a
rider can access more than one transportation service to meet their needs. Work to make this
site easier to use. Create a separate transportation interactive link on the official Oswego
County web site.
Strategy – F: Continue to educate human service providers and Dr.’s support staff about how to
utilize the Oswego County Coordinated Transportation System, ITS Software portals
including those who work with persons with disabilities.
Strategy – G: Collaborate with MAS (Medical Answering Service) in assuring Group ride
implementation for Oswego County.
Objective 2: Create and maintain a marketing approach that helps the rider understand the Oswego
County Coordinated Transportation System.
Strategy- A: By the end of 2016, through vehicle attrition and vehicle replacement, complete the
painting of public transportation buses in a manner that creates an image that is recognizable
to all riders. (There are 6 OCO buses scheduled for replace that will have new image)
Strategy - B: Work with public transportation providers to create a standardized method for all bus
schedules. Make these bus schedules and transportation guidebooks available at local
businesses and public places.
Strategy- C: By the end of 2016, through vehicle attrition and marketing efforts, promote marketing
on public transportation buses
Objective 3: Create a true Mobility transportation service that is able to accommodate riders to and
from all areas of Oswego County in a timely fashion with the use of various funding such as 5310,
5311, 5316, 5317 and local support.
Strategy – A: Continue to work to expand public transportation routes via Mobility coordination to
areas of the county that are currently underserved according to available needs assessment
data.
Strategy – B: Expand hours of operation according to consumer needs via Mobility coordination.
Strategy –C: Continue to identify funding sources for capital expenses in an effort to expand
services according to community needs. Maintain existing funding, see and obtain additional
funding.
Strategy – D: Continue to coordinate bus schedules and routes between all public transportation
providers to assure schedule compatibility, easy connections and route coverage throughout
the county.
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 19
Strategy – E: Research the possibility of Federal funds, local funds (Oswego County) or tax income
for use as a set aside for Oswego County public transit in an effort to expand rural public
transportation service to provide additional service in underserved areas of Oswego County.
Strategy – F: Research and include all vehicle resources as part of the mobility fleet and continue to
include and encourage all transportation providers that have received and continue to
receive public, state/federal operating funds to actively participate on the Oswego County
Transportation Coalition Committee.
Stategy –G: Create and implement a mobility service that specializes in meeting the needs of
the most rural residents of Oswego County by focusing on by:
a. Promoting healthy eating by providing transportation to Farmers
Market and local food promotion programs (The healthy living bus
service)
b. Providing transportation options for the persons in poverty who are seeking
employment and/or to improve their job skill through training and education.
(The Workforce bus service)
c. Providing transportation services beyond ADA for rural Oswego Co. this
would provide a direct and timely service to the County Route 31 Corridor in
Onondaga County. Accessible work, Medical, social and shop rural bus
service)
Objective 4: Encourage and support that the coordinated public transportation system is safe and
reliable
Strategy- A: Encourage and assist Oswego County Coordinated Public Transportation Service
providers in maintaining a safe and efficient service.
Strategy – B: Research funding opportunities to support capital investment and maintenance of the
public transportation fleet.
Strategy – C: Annually ensure by to the Oswego County Legislature and the Oswego County
Transportation Coalition that all aspects of public transportation for mobility transport under
FTA requirements meet ADA accessible requirements and training.
Strategy- D: All Public transportation providers should continue to provide their employees with
adequate/required training as well as the access to resources that relates to the safe transport
of riders. (Including but not limited to bus/vehicle operations, customer service as it relates to
safety, etc).
Strategy – E: Educate the rider, provider and human service agency about the needs of specialized
populations as they relate to public transportation.
Strategy – F: Work with County and Human Service agencies on ADA plan to include
Transportation needs of specialized populations as they relate to public transportation.
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 20
History
Travel Training project (need for resurfacing)
The Travel Training project was accomplished in partnership with New York State Developmental
Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC) and Oswego County Transportation Coalition
Recognizing that accessible public transportation is essential to quality of life and inclusion for people
with disabilities within their community, Oswego County Opportunities (OCO) partnered with
members of the Oswego County Transportation Coalition in an effort to improve knowledge and
perception of public transportation to persons with disabilities.
The Coalition effort to make access to overcome barriers resulted in the development of a travel
training program that establishes best practice within the field. The training is designed to give people,
and particularly those with developmental and other disabilities, the confidence to use public
transportation independently. OCO has trained 98 individuals as travel trainers using the curriculum
developed in this project. Heavy publicity and advertising has garnered interest from outside parties
who have been requesting the training tools for use in their own agencies. The “Happy Travels”
training materials include a presentation on how to use bus services, the “Happy Travels” reference
guide, an informational video giving an overview of using public transportation, and more.
The project has also established a countywide color coded bus schedule system to facilitate
ridership. A website and training materials have also been developed to help provide greater access
to public transportation. The website, www.forthebus.org, provides details on routes and other
information on using the public transportation system in Oswego County.
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 21
Transportation Coalition Committee ARISE - -Sabine Ingerson Director of the Oswego Satellite Office 9 Fourth Ave Oswego, NY 13126 315-342-4088 ext. 210 Fax 315-342-4107 [email protected] ARISE ---- Darlene Klock Coordinator of Support Services 9 Fourth Ave Oswego, NY 13126 315 -342-4088 ext. 21 Fax 315-342-4107 [email protected] CENTRO Oswego – Kathy Kintz, Manager 512 E. Seneca St. Oswego, NY 13126 315-342-4400 [email protected] Oswego County Community Development Tourism and Planning Donna Scanlon 46 East Bridge St. Oswego, NY 13126 315-349-8292 [email protected] OCO Bridget Dolbear, Sr. Nutrition Program 239 Oneida Street Fulton, NY 13069 598-4712 Fax 598-4764 mailto:[email protected] [email protected] Oswego County Legislature Leg. Roy Reehil 46 East Bridge Street Oswego, NY [email protected]
Oswego County DSS Linda Revette Principal Examiner Medicaid Oswego County DSS 100 Spring St. Mexico, NY 315-963-5486 mailto:[email protected] [email protected] Oswego County DSS/Mental Hygiene Douglas Baldwin Mental Health Services Supervisor 100 Spring St. Mexico, NY 13114 315-963-5036 Fax 315-963-5530 [email protected] Oswego County Opportunities – OCO Diane Cooper – Currier Executive Director 239 Oneida St. Fulton, NY 13069 315-598-4712 [email protected] OCO Literacy Volunteers Meg Henderson, Director 45 E. Schuyler St. Building 31 – Fort Ontario Oswego, NY 13126 315-342-8839 [email protected] OCO Transportation Gary Mashaw Director of Transportation 239 Oneida St. Fulton, NY 13069 315-598-4773 [email protected] St. Luke’s Health Services Sherry Harrison 299 East River road Oswego, NY 13126 343-3166 ext. 116 [email protected]
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 22
Rural Health Network of Oswego County Brian Coleman 110 George St. Oswego, NY 13126 315-342-0888 [email protected] Oswego Industries 7 Morrill Place Fulton, NY 13069 315-598-3108 [email protected] Office For the Aging Sara Sunday , Director 70 Bunner St. Oswego, NY 13126 315-349-3484 Fax 315-349-8413 [email protected] OCO Amy Roland, Director of Senior Services 239 Oneida Street Fulton, NY 13069 598-4712 Fax 598-4764 [email protected] RSVP Mauve Gillen Director SUNY at Oswego 7060 State Route 104 Oswego, NY 13126 316-312-2317 [email protected] Office of Business and community Relations Work Force Development Joe Rotella 103 Rich Hall Oswego,NY 13126 315-312-3080 [email protected] CENTRO – Susanne Connor Admin Coordinator 512 East Seneca St.
Oswego, NY 13126 315-342-4400 [email protected] United Way of Greater Oswego County Patrick Devine 1 South First Street Fulton, NY 13069 315-598-3375 [email protected] Catholic Charities Pam Peeling, Coordinator of Adult Mental Health Services 365 West First St. Fulton, NY 13069 315-598-3980 ext. 231 [email protected] Medical Answering Service Leslie Regan, Field Liaison PO Box 11998 Syracuse, NY 13218 315-412-1340 [email protected] Oswego Health Catherine Bucher Oswego Hospital 110 West Sixth Street Oswego, NY 13126 Oswego County DSS Karryn Anthony Supervisor Employment and Training Oswego Co. DSS 100 Spring Street Mexico, NY 13114 315-963-5050 [email protected] Oswego County DSS Julie Barry Senior Ex. Medicaid/Chronic Care
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 23
Oswego county – DSS 100 Spring St. Mexico, NY 13114 315-963-5273 [email protected] Oswego Health Behavioral Services Outpatient Clinical Services Manager Oswego Health Behavioral Services 74 Bunner St. Oswego, NY 13126 315-326-4136 [email protected] CENTRO – Oswego County Representative Vacant now but waiting appointment Other Transit providers related to Medicaid transportation ABBA Transit Jill Abbatiello 116 Morgan Road Memphis, NY 13112 [email protected] Empire Transport 222 Teall Ave. Suite 106 Syracuse, NY 13210 315-477-1487 Fulton Taxi 69 Somers Dr. Fulton, NY 13069 315-598-4797 Going Places 7662 Haylage Circle Baldwinsville, NY 13027-8450
Revised March 2017
Gentle Outings Peter Maxim 11 Rainbrooke Dr. Pittsford, NY 14534 [email protected] Horizaon Transport Syracuse, NY [email protected] NU Cab Mr. LoCastro 107 West Fourth St. South Fulton, NY 13069
315-400-7889 or 315-532-4883
Revised June 2015 and March 2017 24
