First Year Highlights
First year learning
Way2Go's first year of development has been shaped by the experiences, feedback and help of many people, including members of our Community Team. We created new materials, piloted a range of educational strategies, and looked at what other communities have discovered. Our findings have shaped What We Do and How We Work & Why.
More specifically, in the first year, Way2Go:
- Collected consumer information on the transportation habits, needs, and experiences of people across Tompkins County, looking for ways to increase access and use of sustainable transportation strategies
- Compiled information on transportation services and options, money-saving and safety tips, assistance with rides, individual planning tools and more
- Began building working relationships with interested citizens, staffs of local human services and community development organizations, and transportation providers, planner and advocates
- Piloted educational outreach strategies, providing workshops to 60 participants including seniors, low-income persons, and people with disabilities; distributing transportation information packets (called the 'Transportfolio') to125 human service professionals; and engaging in other outreach strategies that reached over 200 additional transportation users
- Made presentations on the role of community education in fostering transportation equity and sustainability to the Community and Rural Development Institute and the New York Public Transit Association Conference. Engaged in a range of local professional and community gatherings
- Designed the Way2Go website with information relevant to diverse groups such as newcomers, parents, people with disabilities, rural residents, households with limited economic resources, and those interested in saving money, going 'green,' transportation equity and other priorities
Some positive feedback
Starting something new is not always smooth process; Way2Go is no exception. However, people have been eager to help out, to talk about how they get around, to learn about new services or ways of looking at their transportation, and to share ideas and information. In addition, here are a few comments from people we worked with during the first year:
From Members of the Community Team:
"I really appreciate the work you did to assure that feedback from the advisory committee was used to guide what you did."
"This is revolutionary. People out there need to think about transportation the way we're talking about it in here. Right now they don't."
From Workshop Participants:
"The workshop was surprising. There are a lot more options out there than I thought."
"Transportation for low-income families was interesting. I learned most from bus route info. Very helpful brochures and papers."
From Professional Training Participants:
"It's great to have all this transportation information in one place! My staff has been sharing information from the Transportfolio packet with many of our participants."
"It will be great to have this information to talk over with participants; I'm glad to learn more about Ithaca Carshare and how to communicate and influence the TCAT."
"I can definitely use the Help with Rides sheet. Discussion regarding transportation costs, issues, etc., is helpful and having you as an additional resource is great."
