In 2003 TALC launched the TEACH program, Transportation Equity and Community Health, as a follow up to our 2002 report, Roadblocks to Health. The report, which found that Contra Costa County residents by far suffered the worst transportation access to clinics and hospitals of three Bay Area Counties studied, set the stage for communities to mobilize for the improvement of these conditions (see sidebar below for study details). For the past three years, TALC has brought together local residents, health care providers and transit officials to work together towards improving transportation access to health care in the communities of Monument Corridor (Concord), Bay Point and Pittsburg.

Funded by the California Endowment, the multifaceted three-year program spurred numerous improvements in residents’ access to health care and set the stage for many more improvements. Most importantly, through our work, collaborating on the issue of transportation access to health care has become a priority for city, health, and transportation agencies.

In Concord’s Monument Corridor neighborhood and in Pittsburg/Bay Point, specific obstacles to health care facilities by transit and walking were identified through needs assessments with community members and health officials. These obstacles were then prioritized through community forums held in October 2004. Implementing these solutions, which range from more benches and shelters at bus stops to bilingual information, from community shuttles to more frequent bus service, has been the mandate of the TEACH Working Groups, which consist of community, health, and transit representatives.

Having met regularly from 2004-2006, the Working Groups had remarkable success in advocating for the implementation of priority solutions identified in October 2004 and some that emerged through the meetings.

In March 2006 TALC released Priorities for Access To Health, a report on progress toward improving transportation access to healthcare and healthy activities in Contra Costa County. The document provided up-to-date information on the successes and next steps for the TEACH Working Groups in Monument Corridor, Bay Point, and Pittsburg. Its timely release allowed for the TEACH priorities highlighted in the report to play a large role in shaping the Community Based Transportation Plans (CBTP) for the communities of Monument Corridor and Bay Point.

[Read the PATH report]

Each working group, Monument Corridor and Pittsburg/Bay Point, was made up of committed community leaders, health service and transportation agency representatives. The incredible commitment to work with each other and be present at every working group meeting from all three parties was key to the successes of the past three years. These successes include:

Monument Corridor

• November 2003. La Clínica Monument opens, having used data presented in Roadblocks to Health in its efforts to gain funding for the clinic. The opening provides convenient walking and transit access to a health clinic for thousands of neighborhood residents.
• April 2005. Working Group members team up with County Connection to recruit three new stores to sell discount bus passes in the Monument Corridor.
• April 2005. County Connection adds a new neighborhood loop shuttle (Route #115B), effectively doubling the frequency of buses traveling to Concord Health Center, Mt. Diablo Medical Center, and the Concord Senior Center.
• May 2005.The City of Concord is awarded a Community Development Block Grant to install bus stop benches. TEACH Working Group members ride Monument routes and submit a list of priority locations for benches to be placed. Twenty-nine benches are currently being installed throughout the city.
• July 2005. Caltrans awards County Connection with an Environmental Justice grant to improve outreach and materials for Latinos in the Monument Corridor. Most of the improvements are in direct response to the TEACH Working Group’s recommendations.
• December 2005. In response to the Working Group’s recommendations, County Connection modifies Route #111 to serve the food pantry and social services at St. Vincent De Paul.
• August 2006. MTC awards a Lifeline Transportation grant to the City of Concord for a flexible route community shuttle to serve the Monument Corridor. With guidance from the TEACH Working Group and MCP’s Transportation Action Team, the route design links vital community services, such as La Clinica de la Raza, the Monument Crisis Center, Keller House, and many others. The route also provides a convenient transfer point to County Connection’s Express Route #980 to the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center.
• August 2006. With support from the TEACH Working Group, MTC awards County Connection a Lifeline Transportation grant to restore weekend service on the Monument Corridor’s Route #111.

Bay Point

• October 2004. Tri Delta Transit adds a stop to Route #200 at the Pittsburg/Bay Point BART station. Trips to Martinez, including Contra Costa Regional Medical Center, are cut by up to 45 minutes.
• January 2005. Working group members organize a community forum to prioritize locations for three new bus shelters to go in Bay Point. Tri Delta Transit has now installed all three shelters.
• May 2005. A delegation of the TEACH Working Group visits County Supervisor Glover to make a case for continued funding of Route #200, which provides East County access to the regional hospital in Martinez. The route, threatened by budget reductions from the Health Department’s budget, is saved.
• November 2005. Tri Delta Transit representatives visit the Working Group meeting to share their new three-year marketing plan, much of which directly responds to TEACH priority solutions: improved services and outreach to Spanish-speaking riders, a day-pass and re-structured fare system, and increased focus on customer service.
• November 2005. Community members propose a change in Bay Point’s Route #389 during a TEACH Working Group meeting. Tri Delta Transit implements the change in July 2006, improving access for many transit-dependent families in the area.
• March 2006. Responding to community requests, Tri Delta Transit becomes the first transit agency in the United States to create a designated stroller area on buses.
• May 2006. With support from the TEACH Working Group and many other organizations, Tri Delta Transit applies for a Lifeline Transportation grant from MTC to fill the funding gap for Route #200 left by the county’s 2006 budget reductions. The Lifeline Transportation grant is awarded in August and this vital service continues.

Countywide

• Health and transit officials are collaborating more closely. Health agencies staff have started participating in bi-monthly meetings of the Contra Costa Transportation Alliance, which consistently addresses transportation access to health care issues during meetings. Similarly, transportation agencies' staffers in the Transportation Alliance have started participating in meetings of the Health Access Coalition (HAC), a coalition of Contra Costa health service agency representatives working on improving access to health care. In June of 2005, the HAC hosted a transportation-focused meeting to create dialogue between the two agency groups. This meeting, which opened the doors for long-term cooperation among many agencies within these services, will become an annual event for HAC.

The momentum built by TEACH ensures continued improvement in transportation access to health care in these communities. At a September 2006 event to celebrate our successes, representatives from all of the three groups of people we worked with -- community residents, health and transit agencies -- emphasized the need to build on the work that TALC had done in their communities. What’s more, many of the priorities identified by TEACH are included in each, the Monument Corridor and Bay Point Community-Based Transportation Plans, which will guide future funding decisions in the county!

Please contact us with questions or comments at:

Sandra Padilla, TEACH Outreach Coordinator
Tel: (510) 740-3150 x314
Email: sandra@transcoalition.org