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Business First

Fuel Prices Challenge nonprofit bus
Original Article by Tracey Drury Published: May 8, 2008

That's become a reality in recent months for residents of group homes run by Suburban Adult Services Inc., as the agency deals with soaring gas prices.

Such changes are making it difficult for the agency to meet part of its mission of providing physically and mentally challenged individuals with programs and services that enable independence, says Tom Becker, executive director.

"It takes away from the quality of life of people living in our homes," he says. "You wouldn't like to do your shopping with six other people and neither would they. But the reality is, we can't afford seven trips."

Fuel cost increases also have meant curtailed outings and trips for SASI residents. At People Inc., where the cost for outsourced transportation services doubled to $6 million in the past two years, residents aren't the only ones feeling the pinch: Cell phone accounts have been eliminated or scaled back among the 450 employees who have agency-issued phones and meal options are being examined.

Rhonda Frederick, chief operating officer, says all non-essential expenses are being re-evaluated in a bid to cut costs. With a budget of $103 million in fiscal 2007, the agency provides transportation at 115 sites and has 250 vehicles in its own fleet in addition to the transportation services for which it contracts out.

"Our biggest commitment is quality of care so we're taking a look at different avenues where we can save a little here and there," she says. "We're making business decisions that we may not have paid as much attention to in the past."

People from all sectors are feeling the pinch - and more of them are turning to the Center for Transportation Excellence for assistance. The Buffalo center, established a year ago, offers programs, training and collaborative solutions for both private and public sector transportation providers. Increased fuel costs were among the issues discussed at a May 7 conference for providers sponsored by the center.

The center is on the verge of launching its mobility management program, designed to allow providers of transportation and agencies that transport consumers to combine their efforts using a mapping and scheduling software. The program would help avoid situations where three vans are each picking up one person to go to a common destination. Until now, the program has operated in pilot mode.

Paul Snyder III, founder and board member for the center, says while many organizations have expressed interest in the program, the interest has had more of an urgency lately as gas prices continue to rise.

"It's really overwhelmed the system and it has risen so rapidly and in such a great degree that the funding mechanisms for transportation haven't caught up," he says.

The center was successful bidder on the mobility management program, awarded through an RFP through Erie County and approved by the state. Once implemented, it's expected to become a model for other communities throughout the state and potentially across the country.

Several dozen organizations who together coordinate over a million vehicle trips per year will participate in the mobility management program, he says, providing an opportunity for very real savings. Currently, those organizations spend hundreds of millions per year on transportation costs.

"To save even a fraction, a single digit percentage, would save this community and the taxpayers millions of dollars," Snyder says, adding that managing costs is only a part of the issue. "It's a matter of quality of life. We need to do it cost effectively and with compassion. Having a smart system allows us to do both.

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