The Bay Area Transportation Authority's Health Ride program is a great example of what can be done when private dollars are used to leverage public funding.
Now all we have to do is get BATA to actually take advantage of it.
Health Ride is a cooperative program between BATA and the Northwest Michigan Transportation Alliance that provides individuals transportation to medical appointments such as dialysis or cancer treatments.
It's BATA's fastest-growing service, but it's causing financial headaches for the cash-strapped bus service -- in large part because BATA hasn't asked for more funding from its Health Ride partners.
BATA says Health Ride costs about $500,000 a year and that it gets about half of that back from state and federal funds. Participating groups kick in about $50,000, but BATA has to come up with the remaining $200,000. BATA Controller Eric Gray has said the bus service could end up $140,000 in the hole this fiscal year.
Health Ride usage has been rising steadily. Last year BATA provided 10,200 hours of service for the program, up from 2,700 hours in 2004. But funding from Transportation Alliance partners hasn't kept up. Officials at Munson Medical Center, the original Health Ride partner, say they understand the value of Health Ride but haven't been asked to increase funding.
It's BATA's job, of course, to do the asking, something that should have been done a long time ago. No one now at BATA knows why the agency, to keep up with rising demand, didn't seek additional funding from various agencies and programs whose patients benefit from Health Ride.
Gray, BATA's controller, said, "... we never approached anyone else and advised them that we were putting more service on the road and were not being reimbursed for it." That project was overseen by recently retired Executive Director Joseph DeKoning, said Don Scharmen, interim director. Scharmen couldn't provide any answers.
BATA board chairman Rob Bacigalupi said the agency can reduce the burden on Health Ride by improving other services, including dial-a-ride for the disabled.
Ultimately, though, BATA has a responsibility to Grand Traverse and Leelanau county taxpayers -- who have over the years passed a series of property tax millages in support of public transportation and BATA -- to keep Health Ride rolling while seeking other funding. That's an obligation that must be met.
Since DeKoning's retirement BATA's governing board has thankfully become more engaged in day-to-day business and BATA policy issues. The board recently formed committees to deal with a number of needs, including communication, finances, governance, personnel and operations; the board is also considering long-overdue purchasing and conflict of interest policies.
The Health Ride is an excellent public service, but it has to be a true partnership to work.
It's BATA's job to see that happens.
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