In FY 2016, the Minnesota Council on Transportation Access (MCOTA) requested a study of Volunteer Programs in Minnesota, with the objectives of documenting the organizations that use volunteer drivers to help meet the transportation needs of their clients, how they organize and fund their volunteer driver programs, and the challenges these organizations face in continuing to provide these services with volunteer drivers, including issues with insurance coverage. Once these were documented, MCOTA requested recommendations regarding which of the identified barriers would be most productively addressed, and what methods would help providers address these barriers. Researchers from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs sought to meet these objectives through a survey of providers that use volunteer drivers in Minnesota and review of current regulations, including insurance. This report covers the background and need for this study in more detail, the survey method followed, a discussion of the results and conclusions from the survey data, and recommendations for how the identified barriers might be addressed. To conduct this research, the research team examined the relevant laws and regulations covering volunteer drivers in Minnesota, and also conducted a survey of 230 providers, from which they were able to identify 188 valid e-mail addresses. This survey yielded 45 responses, for a response rate of about 24%. Of these 45 responses, 10 were from the Twin Cities metropolitan area, and the rest coming from Greater Minnesota The research revealed the following findings: 1. The flexibility and lower cost of volunteer drivers create a valuable and useful service that could not be replicated, if at all, except at higher rates, which could create significant hardships for providers to meet their core mission; 2. Demographic and regulatory changes are combining to threaten the continued viability of these services; and 3. While the demographic issues are not easily addressed, it appears the regulatory issues, especially related to insurance, could be improved to promote rather than discourage volunteers from driving. To address these issues, the researchers recommend that Minnesota’s laws and regulations be amended such that they improve the clarification between volunteer drivers and transportation network subcontractors / employees, and that additional incentives, such as reimbursement for “no-load” miles be offered to attract more volunteer drivers. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting