BRATTLEBORO — The Windham Regional Commission has completed its Windham Regional Mobility Study, recommending several improvements and initiatives for public transit service in the area.
Among the recommendations: putting school buses to work for public transit after they're done dropping kids home from school, improving public transit service for the West River Valley along Route 30, and establishing a central clearinghouse to connect callers with complete public transportation guidance.
The Commission is a collaboration among public transit providers, school supervisory unions, youth service organizations, institutions of higher education, human service agencies, nonprofits, economic development agencies, and others.
This diverse group came together to promote the common goal of increasing mobility in the Windham Region through the coordination and integration of transportation services, including public transit and school buses.
The final report of the study, available at www.windhamregional.org, inventories regional transportation resources and services, summarizes transportation needs, details the results of outreach to and discussions among stakeholders, analyzes related legal and regulatory issues, and describes opportunities for additional coordination, including a list of pilot projects, and teams to implement those projects.
These projects were presented to a committee of project “champions” in September. The champions comprise project teams responsible for transforming the opportunities identified by this study into reality.
The Vermont Agency of Transportation is in the process of rolling out greatly expanded capabilities for its statewide telephone number, working with the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation to make 800-685-RIDE the single number anyone in Vermont would need to call for help with public transportation.
WRC acknowledges the support of the James M. Jeffords Center for Policy Research at the University of Vermont, which funded the study, and the many hours of time contributed by the project stakeholders.
The study was conducted by Steadman Hill Consulting, Inc., assisted by Diana Wahle, Collaboration & Planning Consultant, and TranSystems.
For more information, please call senior planner Matt Mann at 802-257-4547, ext. 120.