Transportation planners, social service agencies, and other stakeholders must identify and address the unique needs of their service area. Information that can help identify these needs includes:
- Employers' need for job readiness and job skills.
- The target population's work history and job qualifications.
- The proximity of the target population to employment locations and childcare facilities.
- Travel time to jobs and childcare using existing transportation services.
- The relationship between wage levels, job stability, opportunities for advancement and the needs and expectations of the target population.
Knowing the spatial relationships between job seekers, employment, and job-related services enables planning committees to identify ways to improve mobility. Program planners must make decisions about the target population's access to automobiles, job qualifications, income needed to move out of poverty, and the impact of these transitions on transportation needs. Planners should also incorporate monitoring and evaluation methods into transportation programs to measure program effectiveness.
