ARISE Planning Grant "POWER"

Many rural communities across the Appalachian region of Southwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Southeast Ohio face persistent transportation challenges that hinder residents’ access to employment, workforce training, and essential services. These limitations restrict the movement of people and goods, ultimately constraining the region’s potential for sustained economic growth and development.

Fixed-route transit options are extremely limited across the tri-state area. Existing demand-responsive services are typically restricted to medical or specialized trips, often requiring days-ahead advanced reservations, lacking flexibility, and proving costly to operate and maintain. These barriers disproportionately affect residents without access to private vehicles (or with unreliable aging private vehicles), exacerbating economic disparities and underlining the need for new, adaptive approaches to rural mobility.

This project initially sought to identify transportation solutions to address gaps for individuals seeking access to jobs, workforce training, and healthcare. Based on data analysis and stakeholder input, the focus was refined to emphasize workforce training and employment—critical drivers of economic viability and long-term stability in the region. 

Recent studies confirm that travelers in rural and suburban areas require more flexible and affordable transportation options—such as responsive pickup/drop-off times and convenient transfers—particularly for those who cannot travel easily or rely on aging vehicles. In response, this research explored the feasibility of integrating hybrid mobility systems with existing fixed-route services in targeted counties across the tri-state area. These solutions include both:

• Fixed-route flagstop transit, which enhances existing bus routes with more dynamic stops; and
• On-demand mobility services, designed to reach areas not currently served by fixed routes, using small vehicles such as eight-seat minivans.
• Riders may choose to use a combination of an on-demand service and fixed-route service to access their respective destination, particularly for long-distance trips.
• All services would be supported by a central command center, utilizing a web-based platform for ride scheduling, available online or via phone for all riders. This system will also help coordinators inform riders of routes and stops to get them to their destination. The suggested routes across state lines and better connect major employment and training areas than existing services.

A simulation based design framework was developed to evaluate different scenarios, each with a different demand level and Mobility on Demand (MOD) vehicle fleet at each major stop (one, two or three MOD vehicles per stop). The simulation results show that increasing the number of MOD vehicles improves trip coverage and responsiveness, especially for local and fixed route trips. In addition to operational performance, the financial analysis shows that at higher levels of adoption (75-95%), configurations with one or two MOD vehicles per stop approach break-even or even generate surplus revenue.

This work was made possible through a strong network of partners, including Ohio University, West Virginia University, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, the Regional Industrial Development Corporation, and Carnegie Mellon University, along with numerous local deployment partners who we collaborated with throughout this planning grant process. Their contributions ensured that our findings and recommendations are grounded, feasible, and sustainable.

We have outlined a clear set of next steps aimed at delivering affordable mobility options that currently do not exist in Appalachia. Future work should continue to refine and expand our simulation framework—incorporating additional on-demand vehicle configurations, cost and pricing models, and job/business access considerations. These models will play a vital role in supporting transit planning and delivering affordable, effective mobility solutions for underserved rural communities.

We strongly recommend that ARC fund our proposed implementation grant to begin deploying these solutions in partnership with our regional collaborators. We have confirmed the interest of transportation providers to ensure we are ready for implementation of this proposed project. This investment will directly support the economic development and well-being of Appalachian communities by connecting residents to training, jobs, and opportunity.