History of JARC/NF

In August 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Act, a Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) was enacted to provide guaranteed funding for federal surface transportation programs through FFY 2009. SAFETEA-LU requires the establishment of a locally-developed, coordinated public transit Human Services Transportation Plan (HSTP) in order for the northeastern Illinois region to access two specific funding programs; Section 5316 Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC), and Section 5317 New Freedom (NF).

In response to this requirement, the RTA embarked on a thorough HSTP planning process, called Connecting Communities through Coordination, to identify strategies that encourage more efficient use of available service providers that bring enhanced mobility to the region's older adults, persons with disabilities and individuals with lower incomes.

The completion of the HSTP allows the northeastern Illinois region to access nearly $7 million in federal funding available from the JARC and NF programs. The HSTP's goal is to maximize these two programs' collective coverage by minimizing the duplication of services and ensure the provision of efficient transportation services for the Northeastern Illinois region.

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), as the designated recipient, is responsible for overseeing and administering the JARC/NF Programs in northeastern Illinois including the development of an annual Program of Projects (POP).

The northeastern Illinois region includes the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, and Kendall.

In October 2007, the RTA adopted the Coordinated Public Transit - Human Services Transportation Plan (HSTP ) - PDF Version (.pdf) MS Word Version (.doc) which outlines strategies for providing transportation services in a more coordinated and efficient manner.  Coordinated Paratransit plans analyze existing non-traditional fixed route transit services in a localized area. The types of services that these plans focus on include dial-a-ride services, human service transportation programs, subsidized taxi programs, and other township and municipal sponsored services. The plans provide recommendations to better coordinate and consolidate existing services to better serve the basic mobility needs of residents and workers. Typical tasks in these types of projects include the following:

• Data collection
• Analysis of travel patterns
• Identification of mobility needs
• Public participation
• Development of service plans
• Identification of potential funding programs