What is an Unmet Transit Need?

Every year, as established by the California Transportation Development Act (TDA), StanCOG is required to identify any "unmet transit need" that may exist in the Stanislaus region before TDA funds are distributed to local jurisdictions for non-transit purposes, such as street and road claims. If an "unmet transit need" is identified, a further determination is needed to establish whether or not that need is "reasonable to meet".

The StanCOG Policy Board has adopted the following definitions for both "unmet transit need" and "reasonable to meet":

• Unmet Transit Need - is a need for transportation/transit service(s) for an individual or group of individuals within any part of Stanislaus County, which has not either been programmed to receive TDA funds or implemented under existing programs that currently receive TDA funds (e.g. CDAR, MAX, ROTA, StaRT, BLAST and DART systems). These needs include, but are not necessarily limited to, traditional fixed-route transit, curb-to-curb or door-to-door paratransit, and door-through-door services that are provided for by an entity (professional agency, volunteer person(s), or specialized driver) whose primary purpose is to transport individuals or groups of individuals over public rights of way. Unmet transit needs do not include additional trips that would duplicate existing transit services (i.e. adding more frequent transit stops to a specific location already provided with service), or transportation service needs that require corrective actions involving a time period that exceeds the present fiscal year (e.g. major purchases, planning requirements, etc).
• Reasonable to Meet - requires that an identified unmet transit need must be reviewed and demonstrated to satisfy specific performance and financial criteria established by the StanCOG Policy Board. The fact that an identified transit need cannot be fully met based on available resources shall not be the sole reason for a finding that a transit need is not reasonable to meet. In addition, StanCOG's Policy Board determination of needs that are reasonable to meet shall not be made by comparing unmet transit needs with the need for streets and roads.

Additionally, as part of the unmet transit needs assessment process, public hearings are conducted in order to provide members of the public, local transit agencies, and local jurisdictions with the opportunity to discuss new or previously identified unmet transit needs.

Do you have an Unmet Transit Need?

If you feel like you have an unmet transit need in your area, StanCOG would like to know. The following link will provide you with the "Unmet Transit Needs Form" to fill out:

Please be sure to provide us with either your phone number or e-mail so that we may contact you to follow up after your submittal. You may send this form to us via the following methods:

• Mail     Stanislaus Council of Governments
             1111 I Street, Suite #308
             Modesto, CA 95354
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• Fax      (209) 558-7833
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• E-Mail  publiccomments@stancog.org

Additional Questions?

If you have any questions regarding an unmet transit need or filling out the "Unmet Transit Needs Form", please contact Mike Costa at (209) 525-4600 or e-mail at mcosta@stancog.org

Further Information and Resources

For more information regarding the Unmet Transit Needs assessment process or to view the 2010/2011 Unmet Transit Needs Identification and Analysis Report, please select the following link: http://www.stancog.org/tnas.shtm

• Past Reports
  • FY 09/10
  • FY 10/11
  • FY 11/12