Published Sunday, September 24, 2006, by the San Mateo County Times

Buses driven to the limit

As San Mateo's population ages, greater need for public
transportation

By Michael Manekin
Staff Writer

Marianne Mannia is a calculating driver.

Every week she determines exactly what she has to do -- shop, visit
with friends, stop at the bank and, of course, go to church -- and
then she squeezes as many activities as possible into the fewest
number of trips.

Mannia, who declined to give her age, but did let slip that
she's "beyond the first blush of youth," is also particular about
where and when she drives.

She won't drive at night and you won't catch her on the freeway,
either.

"Things happen to us as we get older. Our eyes don't function as
well, our range of motion and our reflexes are not what they used
to be," she explained.

"The thing of it is, a lot of us seniors would give up our cars if
we had alternatives to getting around," she added. "A lot of us have
decided that if we had another way of getting around, we would give
our cars up in a minute."

But Mannia won't give up her car for a single reason.

"Really and truly, the transportation alternatives are pitiful,"
she said.

Not that Mannia hates the San Mateo County Transit District. In
fact, lately, she's been working with SamTrans to try to improve
what she believes to be a big problem: Getting around the county as
a senior citizen.

Mannia, who serves in the California Senior Legislature, lately has
devoted her time to something called the San Mateo Senior Mobility
Action Plan <http://www.seniormobilityplan.com> -- a SamTrans-led steering
committee to improve transportation options for county
seniors.

The Baby Boomers are getting older -- and San Mateo County is aging
rapidly.

In 20 years, the 65-plus population will double.

In 10 years, the 85-plus population will jump 50 percent.

And for many seniors, survival in a suburban county has become a
serious impediment, even a health risk.

SamTrans is busy preparing for a slow-motion crisis.

"Anyone in geriatrics will tell you that the people that are really
with it and blend in beautifully are the ones that get out," said
Mannia. "We know that once you lose contact with the outside and
relationships, we stop caring and start to forget.

"It's very important we stay in the community," she said.

Only, more and more seniors are having trouble doing just that.

The county's senior population is not only exploding; it's
dispersing. In 20 years, more seniors will be living scattered
in the hills, miles away from fixed-route bus service.

What's more, many county seniors have a limited grasp of English
which can hinder their ability to use public transit. Ten percent
of seniors don't speak English well or don't at all, according to
a 2000 Census report, and those numbers are expected to rise,
according to SamTrans' Senior Mobility Action Plan.

The plan, made possible last year by a $140,000 Caltrans grant, was
crafted by a steering committee of senior activists like Mannia and
representatives from a host of private organizations and local
government agencies.

After consulting with a panel of experts -- including local transit
agencies and senior advocates such as the AARP, the American Society
on Aging and the Beverly Foundation -- the committee examined a
variety of studies related to senior mobility and a plethora of
senior transit programs from Portland, Ore. to Portland, Maine.

Here's the bad news: The plan has determined that SamTrans' existing
transportation services will not be able to meet the needs of
seniors.

The good news: The committee is determined to do something about
it and SamTrans is receptive to making improvements.

At the district's September board meeting, SamTrans special projects
manager Corinne Goodrich told the board that she wants the district
to be the county leader in tackling this issue.

"We're integrating this senior mobility plan into everything we're
doing," she said.

But SamTrans is merely taking the lead on a countywide issue.

The plan involves sharing the responsibility of senior transit
with a multitude of organizations: City and county governments,
nonprofit agencies and even taxi firms.

The plan has identified a total of seven strategies to get more
seniors on public transit, including alternatives to buses and
trains, publicity campaigns and outreach to seniors. (See related
story below.)

By far, the plan's most important strategies involve providing
alternatives to buses with shuttles, taxis and volunteer ride
services.

Bob Collins, who serves on the county's Commission on Aging and
the district-led Senior Mobility Action Plan, thinks that such
alternatives would provide a welcome relief to seniors' current
frustrations with the transit dilemma.

Collins says one of the biggest problems for seniors in Menlo Park,
where he lives, is the difficulty of traveling east-west on public
transit. While public transit allows for plenty of travel north-
south options, seniors have difficulty traveling shorter, lateral
distances.

"There is something seriously wrong ... when elderly people can't
get proper transportation," Collins said.

And though many seniors resolve the problem of east-west travel
using SamTrans' RediWheels and RediCoast service, Collins charges
that paratransit ridership -- people whose disabilities -- is
severely limited, preventing them from using a bus.

The problem, Collins said, is that many seniors who don't qualify
for paratransit are not physically able to use fixed-route transit
-- which is at best a hassle and at worst an impossibility.

Currently, only six cities provide shuttle buses designed for
seniors, but the plan suggests steering more cities to take the lead
on community transit. Additionally, the plan may explore working
with nonprofit and faith-based organizations to provide volunteer-
ride service for seniors.

As for the taxis, the plan lists a pilot program in one of the
county's cities and is considering regulating taxis county-wide
with an emphasis on helping seniors.

However, more public transit options -- including shuttles and
taxis -- won't do much good if seniors don't feel comfortable on
public transit.

The plan has also proposed a publicity campaign to educate seniors
that public transit is neither dirty, unsafe, low-class nor
confusing -- common stereotypes of public transit, Goodrich said.
After all, many Baby Boomers who grew up driving completely lack
experience with transit -- and only a very few can continue driving
indefinitely.

"We're all eventually gonna get there -- having the DMV restrict
your license," said Collins. "And that's a big concern for any
senior who lives in the county."

The plan suggests that public transit will remain a hard sell unless
the poor conditions for pedestrians in the county are improved.

Rounding out the plan's strategies is a push for safe driving. In
the future, there should be programs that help seniors recognize
when the safest strategy will be leaving one's driving days behind.

All these suggestions -- from shuttles to driving education to
pedestrian safety -- are slowly being ushered in by local government
and private organizations.

Redwood City is currently trying to get a shuttle service off the
ground and the Family Service Agency has received a grant from the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission to implement a volunteer-ride
program at the city's Fair Oaks Community Center. Also, Belmont is
undertaking a pedestrian survey in the neighborhood around Ralston
and Alameda de las Pulgas and South San Francisco will be conducting
public transportation workshops for non-English-speaking, lower-
income people.

While the county's government and nonprofits work to improve the
senior transit problem one project at a time, SamTrans' Senior
Mobility Action Plan has committed to develop a "business or
strategic plan" to further its goals and there will be continued
outreach for the county's 20 cities.

Meanwhile, Mannia, the Senior Mobility Action Plan member in
Woodside, will continue commuting to the steering committee meetings
in her car.

All in all, she says, SamTrans has put itself on the right track by
helping to design a future transit plan for seniors. And besides,
working directly with SamTrans has provided Mannia with something of
a civics lesson. For one thing, she's learned to appreciate that the
district, which is running on a structural deficit, does not have
the resources to go this one alone.

The plan, she said, is a good start — "the tip of the iceberg."

Ultimately, Mannia said, the SamTrans-led Senior Mobility Action
Plan will not affect change unless more seniors get involved in the
process.

"The plan needs more input from seniors because alternatives are
not going to happen if we don't get behind it and do something
constructive," she said. "Sacramento's not going to do it; the
federal government's not going to do it. We've got to do it at the
local level. That's where we've got to start."


SamTrans mulls how to serve aging population

By Michael Manekin
Staff Writer

With the county's senior population set to explode in 20 years,
the transit system needs to make some improvements.

A report by the San Mateo County Senior Mobility Action Plan, a
SamTrans-led steering committee charged with analyzing the county's
ability to accommodate seniors' transportation needs, details the
county's challenges.

Below are some of those suggestions and strategies.

Links in the system

This county should establish wider shuttle service for seniors,
using small buses or vans for short-distance trips. The service,
which would link regional bus and rail services, would be similar
to existing programs in Brisbane, Daly City, Millbrae, Foster City,
Menlo Park and East Palo Alto. Funding could be provided by cities
and state transportation grants.

Can you spare a ride?

Community-based transportation could also provide seniors service
for short-distance trips. Only, instead of looking to cities to
provide fixed-route shuttle service, non-profit and faith-based
community groups would provide volunteer ride programs -- such as
the recently-established program by the Family Service Agency in
Redwood City. Funding would be provided by grants and local
foundations and non-profits.

SamTrans spins its image

In an effort to convince seniors to use public transit, the
plan recommends SamTrans make a public relations push involving
promotions such as free monthly passes, marketing, focus groups
and special day trips organized around senior centers and housing
complexes. Funding would be provided by grants, local business
sponsorship and SamTrans marketing funds.

Safe trips

This strategy aims to help seniors drive safely and help them
recognize when it's time to limit or stop driving. The AARP, AAA
and the California Highway Patrol would be recruited to assist in
training while county nonprofits and local government would be
encouraged to help spread the word. Funding needs are expected to
be minimal.

Taxi! Taxi!

A pilot program in one city would test whether cabs might be a
feasible alternative to senior transit. Although details are
sketchy, taxis would be purchased and then subsidized for seniors.
If the pilot went well, the plan recommends county-wide taxi
regulation -- thereby improving taxi service for everyone.
Funding would be sought from state grants.

As easy as ...

This strategy recommends streamlining transit information for
seniors -- making the system more user-friendly. More transit
information would be available on the phone, online and in print.
Meanwhile, improved communication would be supplemented by face-to-
face outreach efforts. Funding sources were not specified.

Let your feet do the work

The plan recommends that cities identify neighborhoods with
significant senior populations and work to improve poor conditions
for pedestrians, such as sidewalks. Lack of curb ramps, short
crossing times for wide streets and other challenges for pedestrians
would also be improved. Funding would be provided by state grants.

To view SamTrans' complete Senior Mobility Action Plan, go to
http://www.seniormobilityplan.com