DRAFT – DRAFT – DRAFT

12/15/2018

Public Transportation: The Real Social Network

Framework for Communicating what the Social Pillar of Sustainability means to the public transportation industry.

Background:

The concept of sustainable mobility incorporates the three pillars of sustainability: the economy, the environment, and society. Within the public transportation industry community, much work has been done to articulate and implement the environmental and economic pillars of sustainability. The social pillar, described as “social responsibility” or “respect for people”has yet to be well-defined.

In this context, a working group of the APTA Sustainability Committee has been charged with framing the social and community responsibilityfor the public transportation industry.

Introduction:

One way of framing the social pillar of sustainability is to consider external and internal perspectives to social and community responsibility. The external perspective focuses on responsibility to and engagement with the community. The internal perspective focuses on responsibility to and engagement with employees of the transit agency.It is also useful to bear in mind that the social pillar of sustainabilityis affected by and affects the other two pillars, economic and environmental.

External Actions

Social inclusion and improving the quality of life for all members of the community is an important long-term outcome of sustainable mobility. Two keys to social and community responsibility and engagement are: 1) Increasing knowledge of, outreach to and involvement with transit customers, and the broader community of stakeholders.

2) Reducing the physical, financial, and other barriers to public transportation.

E1)Engage the public

E2)Support Community Initiatives

E3)Going beyond: Service Planning/Fare policies

E4)Ensure the health and safety of public transportation customers and the broader community.

E5)Connect to opportunity.

E6)Recognize the social impacts of projects and policies.

E7)Foster socially-responsible procurement.

Internal Actions

I1)Team well-being.

I2)Team success and development.

I3)Team engagement.

I4)Team partnering with the community.

I5)Team sustainability skills.

I6)Team ethical governance.

E1)Engage the public /involve the public.

Stakeholder engagement is an important, if not the most important component of any sustainable development process. Meaningful, widespread stakeholder participation takes time in the beginning but results in a firmer foundation upon which to build. People have a stake in making the solution work. It becomes our solution. Even if the solution/project fails the group is much less likely to point fingers –seeking blame –than if the solution/project simply appears as the product of an inner circle.

Stakeholder engagement is about working with the community to enhance the well being of the community. A mantra in the disability community which is more broadly applicable is, “Do nothing about us, without us.” The work is about good governance: being fair, diverse, ethical, transparent and responsibly managing risks.

Actions:

  • Engage grassroots
  • Identify and engage key influencers -- “grass stalks”
  • Develop focus groups of youth and operators or older adults and operators.
  • Speak with community organizations
  • Use social media and other tools to engage key audiences

E2)Support Community Initiatives

We understand the connection between the availability of public transportation and community success but many do not. Generally, public transportation is a second tier priority. We are necessary in order for people to get first tier priorities such as employment, education and healthcare. Organizations varying from Chambers of Commerce to the Urban League to Government develop community initiatives ranging from education to improving community health. Public transportation needs to be engaged at the outset.

Actions:

  • Fill a bus (Food, Books etc.)
  • Offer unused advertising space to highlight community services such as 211, Income tax preparation, job fairs
  • Assist firefighters with a space to cool down (in the summer) and warm up (in the winter.
  • Provide weekend routes focused on parks linked to an anti-obesity campaign
  • Offer summer youth passes as a part of an education incentive.
  • Participate in community events, sustainability fairs, job fairs etc.
  • Provide space/encourage farmers markets
  • Provide maintenance assistance to non-profit organizations
  • Provide driver training to non-profit organizations

E3)Going beyond: service planning/fare policies

We provide people with the ability to access the resources needed to make them successful. Precious little we do in the course of our day (or night) does not require us to travel. Public transportation has an obligation to connect people to all that the community has to offer.

Actions:

  • Coordinate service with shift times.
  • Work with employers, educators, to make their “ID as good as a transit pass.”
  • Place hot links on destination websites such as parks, museums, malls, hospitals etc.
  • Partner with organizations such as the Coalition for the Homeless, Urban League etc.
  • Provide service to Health Fairs, College Fairs, Job Trainings.

E4)Ensure the health and safety of public transportation customers and the

broader community.

Health and safety issues are not only impacted by day-to-day operations but also by the construction of new projects. People who use public transit tend to be healthier. The environmental pillar of sustainability certainlyintertwines with health issues.

Actions:

  • Improve access to public transportation by partnering with communities for sidewalks and bus stops.
  • Support complete streets.
  • Provide or participate in education programs on health benefits.
  • Partner with public health departments and participate in health fairs and other health related events.
  • Take advantage of social media, other communication tools to let people know their public transportation options for attending community health events.

E5)Connect to opportunity.

We must strive continually to maximize the flexibility and connectivity of our service. Public transportation and mobility choices can be used to create equal access to all our communities have to offer. We must consider mobility a basic need and basic right. We must give our communities transportation choices (including maximizing pedestrian and bicycle access to public transportation), and consider the broader aspect of public transportation access to affordable housing and transit oriented project development.

Actions:

  • Provide bike racks on public transportation vehicles.
  • Partner with housing agencies and advocates to insure access to affordable housing.
  • Partner with education providers to insure access to the array of education programs in the community.
  • Participate in job fairs, provide job-hunter services.
  • Participate in health fairs.
  • Advocate for complete streets.
  • Advocate for transit oriented development.
  • Partner with social and service agencies to insure access to their programs
  • Provide a “safe place” for youth seeking shelter.
  • Provide a “safe haven” for women seeking help or shelter from domestic violence.

E6)Recognize the social impacts of projects and policies.

We need to perform more robust social impact assessments through utilizing requirements such as NEPA, ADA and Title VI as a minimum. We strive to meet not only the letter but the spirit of the laws and regulations.

Actions:

  • Listen.
  • Go to them – attend community gathering events.
  • Utilize resources for bus stop or streetscape improvements and seek partners to contribute the local share or more.
  • Engage with a broad range of partners such as the park system and the health department.
  • Sign on to support allied grant requests such as the local housing authority HUD applications.
  • Seek solutions with groups such as the homeless and youth – turn problems into opportunities.

E7)Foster socially-responsible procurement.

Procurement related to public transportation must be beyond reproach. Procurement must be done in conformance with all relevant laws and regulations. Yet, through emphasizing programs such as Disadvantaged Business Enterprise the inclusion of socially responsible goals can be achieved within the legal and ethical procurement framework.

Actions:

  • Develop “green” specifications
  • Provide a legal synthesis of permitted actions focused on inclusion
  • Emphasize Disadvantage Business Enterprise programs
  • Provide opportunities to bid on smaller than the whole pieces of the work (i.e. construction or service provision) to enable smaller contractors or providers the opportunity to bid.
  • Provide updated training for procurement team members.

I1)Team Well Being

The health and safety of the public transportation work force, particularly the operations staff, is a tough proposition. The work schedule for operators, necessitated by service needs, is hardly family friendly, with split shifts and non conventional weekends. Access to nutritional meals and rest rooms generally leaves a lot to be desired. The need to provide high quality accessible healthcare is often at odds with budget considerations. Operating vehicles at all hours with doors open to everyone makes security and safety a serious proposition. Maintaining service and vehicles in all kinds of weather is a Herculean task. Dealing with problem passengers is just that – a problem. We have a responsibility to mitigate the tough aspects of the job.

Actions:

  • Provide access to exercise facilities
  • Practice transparency and inclusion of the workforce in schedule development and safety and security provisions.
  • Develop a listing of available restroom facilities.
  • Provide wellness counseling.
  • Provide a robust Employee Assistance Program complete with periodic visits from the EAP provider to such places as the operator lounge.
  • Provide non-judgmental peer support when accidents occurs particularly those involving injuries and fatalities.
  • Offer periodic health fairs.
  • Provide self defense training geared to operational needs (i.e. from a seated position.)

I2)Team Success and Development

We make a significant investment in our workforce. State of good repairis being stressed as it applies to our equipment, facilities and infrastructure. Why not apply these same concepts to our workforce? We have a vested interest in ensuring that our team members thrive and grow in the job. We turn over the care and operation of our capital investments to them. We expect them to keep our customers happy, satisfied and coming back. We need to have our workforce operating at optimum levels being creative, happy and looking to the future.

Actions:

  • Conduct a tuition reimbursement program
  • Offer career counseling/career pathing
  • Provide a robust Employee Activity Program
  • Conduct frequent listening sessions and do something with the results
  • Add incentives for mechanics who obtain their certifications in various repair categories
  • Provide training for vehicle service personnel to become mechanics
  • Add incentives for operators to reduce accidents

I3)Team Engagement

Operators, in particular, have enormous responsibility and act independently much of the time. The achievement of public transportation’s mission is facilitated when the workforce is interested, involved and engaged in what happens. The jobs are too complex, too critical to be performed by automatons. We need to maximize constructive dialogue and interaction on all aspects of a public transportation agency function and operation. Transparency in the decision making process is necessary and facilitates buy-in even when a team member may not agree with the outcome.

Actions:

  • Involve mechanics, operators and other team members in the development of vehicle and facility specifications.
  • Utilize team members as on-line inspectors when purchasing new equipment.
  • Involve team members on safety committees and give the safety committees teeth.
  • Involve employees on an Employee Activity Committee. (i.e. bowling leagues, holiday parties etc.)
  • Push decision making down to the lowest practicable level in the organization.
  • Conduct periodic listening sessions.
  • Provide a customer service emphasis in driver training – basic manners, polite courteous communications with customers.

I4)Team Engagement/Partnering with the Community

Public transportation is the thread which weaves together the fabric of our communities. We provide access to all the community has to offer. We know this but do we communicate this to the rest of the community? Certainly through organizational levels (See E-4) but do we succeed on the personal level? And at the personal level, we have the dual benefit of reinforcing to our workforce the value of their individual contributions and how those collectively contribute to the quality of life in our communities.

Actions:

  • Conduct well founded, well supported campaigns for organizations such as United Way, Fund for the Arts etc.
  • Support and encourage teams in various community walks, runs. etc.
  • Support such activities as team members contributing as mentors in reading and teenage parenting programs.
  • Be open to employees volunteering and engaging in clothing drives, heater/air conditioner distributions etc.

I5)Team Sustainability Skills

As we embark down the path of sustainability, we should be transparent and proactively communicate our goals and objectives. In fact, our workforce should have opportunities to contribute to the development of our goals and objectives. Training should be conducted for all levels of staff on environment protection and social equity. We must continue training and development opportunities to develop team member’s competencies, thereby maintaining and expanding their professional skills.

Actions:

  • Integrate sustainability responsibilities into formal job descriptions.
  • Provide roundtables and focus groups, possibly including not only team members but community members.
  • Include people with disabilities in providing disability sensitivity training.
  • Provide opportunities to interact with representatives of what are commonly thought of as problem groups in a non confrontational setting (i.e. youth, homeless.)

I6)Team Ethical Governance

People have to believe in what they support. The objectives need to be clear and the pathways to reaching those objectives need to be well developed, thoroughly well discussed and transparent. People need to be treated with dignity and respect. For people to meaningfully contribute, each individual needs to feel important and engaged.

Actions:

  • Develop an organizational values statement.
  • Live the values statement.
  • Celebrate organizational achievements.
  • Celebrate individual achievements.
  • Be transparent.

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