Section 3: Program Management

Rider Orientation and Enrollment

The rider orientation process involves a consumer meeting with a transportation coordinator from the CIL. First, the coordinator should describe how the voucher program works, the rider’s responsibilities, and program policies. Next, the coordinator works with the rider to develop an initial voucher budget and enroll them in the program.

We developed two forms to facilitate the rider orientation and enrollment process. Like the rest of the tools in this toolkit, these forms may be accessed via our shared Google Suite of tools.

First, the “Rider Enrollment Form” collects basic contact information, demographic information, and details about the rider’s current transportation resources. This form also includes liability waivers that designate the rider as the party responsible for participating in the program and the assumption of potential risks.

The second form is the “Individual Transportation Plan” (ITP). The ITP is designed to help the rider identify their current transportation needs and key travel priorities, as well as potential providers. These forms help the transportation coordinator identify appropriate transportation options for the consumer and develop a voucher budget. The enrollment forms can be modified and tailored to suit your specific needs, or you may choose to create your own.

See “Section 6: The Tools” for more information about how to access and use our enrollment forms.

Explain Program Operation

It’s important that the rider fully understands how your voucher program works and recognizes their responsibilities for participating in the program. The policies, transportation options, and other details of each voucher program should be tailored for each community. As such, each CIL will have its own rules and procedures for how its program works.

Here are some general guidelines on what should be explained to the rider:

• How and when to get additional miles added to their account. 

• Information about transportation providers. This might include a flier or handout with the names, phone numbers, and any limitations imposed by the providers. 

• Negotiated rates and how they may vary by provider. 

• How to wisely use the checks to maximize the amount of transportation available to them, and to other riders in the program. 

• How to pay volunteer drivers with a voucher. 

• How to act with good judgment and common sense in establishing relationships with volunteer drivers and how to ensure that the driver and vehicle are safe, that the driver is not intoxicated, that the vehicle is not dangerous or in disrepair, and that the driver is licensed and insured. 

• The agency administering the voucher program is not responsible for evaluating the safety and reliability of volunteer drivers selected by the rider.

Voucher Budget

The key elements that should inform a consumer’s voucher budget include: 

1. The consumer’s current transportation resources, needs, and priorities

2. The resources, needs, and priorities of other consumers

3. CIL and voucher program capacity

The balance of these factors allows the coordinator to allocate a voucher budget to the rider during the enrollment process. The coordinator will also want to consider the timeframe for when the mileage can be spent. Initially, a one-month allocation may be most appropriate. As the rider progresses and gains more experience using vouchers, quarterly allocations may be more efficient.

As with most programs that provide a limited service, a voucher program with far more demand than available capacity must choose between adequate budgets for a smaller number of riders or more frugal budgets for a larger number of riders. We recommend that CILs trial different approaches to managing voucher budgets (within reason) early in their programs. During this period of trial and error, the CIL can iteratively develop a system that assigns budgets to riders based on specific thresholds of available resources relative to need. Ideally, a rider’s voucher budget should be a supplementary resource rather than their entire access to transportation. Vouchers may ease the cost of attending important appointments or allow them to see friends more often than they typically would be able to. However, sometimes vouchers are the only way a consumer can get anywhere at all. Every CIL will approach this differently and may face additional challenges not mentioned here, but these are some of the common issues that should be taken into consideration when allocating voucher budgets.

“We try to keep each one of our consumers within a 500-mile budget. We try to customize as much as possible for people who have significant needs… Of course, things change; it doesn’t always go to plan. We make adjustments as needed.” – CIL staff member

Accommodations and Accessible Vehicles

Another important consideration in the orientation and enrollment process is learning about any accommodations your consumer may need. Some of these might be relatively simple, such as providing alternative ways for submitting mileage receipts or the consumer providing their own accommodations. Either way, the transportation coordinator should be aware of these needs so they can help identify appropriate solutions.

Not all consumers will need a vehicle with accessibility modifications, but some might. Finding accessible vehicles can be difficult. You may be able to find accessible vehicles through a local non-profit, a human service agency, or a church. Alternatively, one of your consumers or someone else in the community with an accessible vehicle may be willing to participate as a volunteer driver.