April-May_2022 - 22

The Heart of Iowa
" I think this project will appeal
to people who have never
used public transportation before,
and that's because we're looking
at this with a wide lens and recognizing
we live in a multimodal
society, " said Ramsey.
To make this a complete trip
solution, the project will also
include a wayfinding function,
something that will be helpful
for those navigating large medical
campuses that have multiple
buildings and entrances. The goal
is to give the user more freedom
by making the trip experience
less overwhelming and to create
a product that is inclusive to everyone,
despite their abilities or
preferred languages.
" If you have a visual impairment,
this gives you greater independence.
It'll give you the tools
to find an elevator, an escalator or
a specific office within the building, "
said Ramsey. " My favorite
part is the translation because
it will make people realize that
public transportation really can
be used by everybody. "
Another way HIRTA gives
riders more freedom is through
its automated fare collection system.
With HIRTA serving many
school kids and elderly people, ensuring
they had the proper funds
to ride the system was sometimes a
challenge. Instead of needing exact
change, caregivers, parents or riders
can upload funds to an online
account. People can also board the
vehicles and give the driver cash,
regardless of having exact change.
The driver can accept the cash and
enter the information into a tablet,
which then goes to the person's
account, allowing them to use the
remaining balance later.
" Catering to caregivers has
been a huge priority for me because
we want to try to give people
as much independence as they
can have for as long as they can
have it, " said Castillo.
Ramsey agrees, adding that
they evaluate solutions with a multitude
of demographics in mind.
PASSENGERS CAN pay for their
trip by uploading funds to an
online account.
" We really tried to make sure
that the solutions we put in place
can be used by all different types
of populations. We're working on
things that help make folks with
limited English proficiency more
accessible, we focus on helping
veterans and people with disabilities;
really every different type of
demographic that we have within
our service area, " said Ramsey.
No One Left Behind
In addition to its limited English
proficiency options with its fare
collection system, HIRTA is expanding
upon these efforts thanks
to funds recently awarded by the
Iowa Department of Transpor22
| Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | APRIL/MAY 2022
tation (DOT). The
project is called Flex
Connect and involves
hiring a bilingual
mobility coordinator
who will specifically
focus on the
Latino community
to better help them
understand how to
ride HIRTA.
" One of our communities is
32 percent Latino, and in doing
our analysis, we realized that
only about one to two percent
[of Latino people] ride HIRTA, "
said Castillo. " Looking at why, it
comes down to the unfamiliarity
of having to call ahead for demand
response, and then having
to give personal information or to
be picked up at your door. So, we
HIRTA'S RSVP
recruits people
55 years
and older to
voluntarily drive
other community
members to the
grocery store,
pharmacy and
more.
http://www.MassTransitmag.com
April-May_2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April-May_2022
