BOARD/COMMISSION:  Minnesota Council on Transportation Access

This group has multiple appointing authorities: Commissioner of Transportation (one representative), Office of Governor (one representative), Council on Disability (one representative), Minnesota Public Transit Association (one representative), Commissioner of Human Services (one representative), Commissioner of Health (one representative), Metropolitan Council (one representative), Commissioner of Education (one representative), Commissioner of Veterans Affairs (one representative), Board on Aging (one representative), Commissioner of Employment and Economic Development (one representative), Commissioner of Commerce (on representative), Commissioner of Management and Budget (one representative).

Membership is restricted to representatives as listed at Minn. Stat. § 174.285: 

1. one representative from the Office of the Governor;
2. one representative from the Council on Disability; 
3. one representative from the Minnesota Public Transit Association;
4. the commissioner of transportation or a designee;
5. the commissioner of human services or a designee;
6. the commissioner of health or a designee;
7. the chair of the Metropolitan Council or a designee;
8. the commissioner of education or a designee;
9. the commissioner of veterans affairs or a designee; 
10. one representative from the Board on Aging;
11. the commissioner of employment and economic development or a designee;
12. the commissioner of commerce or a designee; and
13. the commissioner of management and budget or a designee,
14. the commissioner of children, youth, and families or a designee.

To study, evaluate, oversee, and make recommendations to improve the coordination, availability, accessibility, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and safety of transportation services provided to the transit public. (1) compile information on existing transportation alternatives for the transit public, and serve as a clearinghouse for information on services, funding sources, innovations, and coordination efforts; (2) identify best practices and strategies that have been successful in Minnesota and in other states for coordination of local, regional, state, and federal funding and services; (3) recommend statewide objectives for providing public transportation services for the transit public; (4) identify barriers prohibiting coordination and accessibility of public transportation services and aggressively pursue the elimination of those barriers; (5) recommend policies and procedures for coordinating local, regional, state, and federal funding and services for the transit public; (6) identify stakeholders in providing services for the transit public, and seek input from them concerning barriers and appropriate strategies; (7) recommend guidelines for developing transportation coordination plans throughout the state; (8) encourage all state agencies participating in the council to purchase trips within the coordinated system; (9) facilitate the creation and operation of transportation brokerages to match riders to the appropriate service, promote shared dispatching, compile and disseminate information on transportation options, and promote regional communication; (10) encourage volunteer driver programs and recommend legislation to address liability and insurance issues; (11) recommend minimum performance standards for delivery of services; (12) identify methods to eliminate fraud and abuse in special transportation services; (13) develop a standard method for addressing liability insurance requirements for transportation services purchased, provided, or coordinated; (14) design and develop a contracting template for providing coordinated transportation services; (15) recommend an interagency uniform contracting and billing and accounting system for providing coordinated transportation services; (16) encourage the design and development of training programs for coordinated transportation services; (17) encourage the use of public school transportation vehicles for the transit public; (18) develop an allocation methodology that equitably distributes transportation funds to compensate units of government and all entities that provide coordinated transportation services; (19) identify policies and necessary legislation to facilitate vehicle sharing; and (20) advocate aggressively for eliminating barriers to coordination, implementing coordination strategies, enacting necessary legislation, and appropriating resources to achieve the council's objectives.