Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan

Current Raleigh UZA/Wake County CPT-HST Plan

 

***Now Available - The latest Coordinated Plan Mobility Coordination Committee's (2019-2022) Short-Term Recommendation's Update and Status Report.

The current Raleigh Urbanized Area (Raleigh UZA) / Wake County Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation (CPT-HST) Plan (2018 Update & Amendment #1) was approved by the Executive Board on February 19, 2020. It sets regional priorities for transportation investments and initiatives for human services and public transit coordination. This plan guides funding and service development for transportation projects supporting older adults, people with disabilities and individuals with low incomes. It also serves as a federally required update to the 2013 Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan. The plan was completed in concert with the Wake Bus Plan, a larger effort designed to guide transit service and capital investments associated with the Wake Transit Plan.

Background - Why Coordinated Planning? 

Senior woman with cane sitting on bench

In Wake County, as in many locales, multiple federal, state and local programs such as the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, etc. fund or support transportation services for their clients. Many of these “human service transportation” funding programs are entirely separate and distinct from transportation funding and service provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Due to a variety of differing rules, regulations, and processes, human service and public transportation programs are not always mutually supportive or coordinated. The lack of coordination means some systems and programs are duplicative, overly complex, expensive, and difficult to understand and use. The goal of coordination planning is to untangle the separate systems and encourage them to complement each other and work towards an accessible, easy to use system.

The Raleigh UZA, which includes a large part of Wake County, and part of Johnston County, has been and continues to be a fast growing region. The region has responded to this growth with a variety of transportation investments, including the Wake Transit Plan. A critical goal of the Raleigh UZA / Wake County LCHSPT Plan Update, therefore, was to inventory and evaluate how the planned investments in public transportation will impact local and regional human service transportation. As part of understanding these changes and their impacts on human service transportation needs, the LCHSPT Plan Update focused on identifying strategies to address remaining gaps. In addition, the FTA requires that urbanized areas develop Coordinated Human Service Transportation Plans (CHSTP) to access certain FTA grant programs. Accordingly, a LCHSPT Plan has been prepared to align with the Wake Bus Plan as part of planning and programming bus service changes.

Goals of the Raleigh UZA/Wake County CHSPT PlanWoman in wheelchair on bus

  • Create a 5-year strategic plan to meet non-Medicaid human service transportation needs.
  • Identify human service transportation needs and service gaps in the context of an expanded regional transit network.
  • Identify transportation options and coordination strategies that will meet rural and human service transportation needs.
  • Develop strategies and recommendations that are coordinated with, and complementary to, the Wake Transit Plan.
  • Meet the federal requirements to access FTA funding programs.

While each goal is important, the ultimate objective of a coordinated plan is to create a seamless system, which maximizes mobility for individuals, eliminates barriers for travelers and achieves operational efficiency.