Modus

PROJECT PURPOSE

Modus removes barriers through innovative transportation solutions, education, and advocacy. It is the only nonprofit in the nation that exists solely to provide transportation access to social services, remove obstacles for people who are transportation vulnerable, and reduce costs of transportation for nonprofit organizations. The transportation model that Modus built is designed to be scalable nationwide. The proposed project will support expansion of services. As Modus continues to scale services in Tulsa and plans for expansion into new communities, Modus? technology and logistics management infrastructure must advance to grow. The Modus Technology Committee has partnered with Asemio to reimagine a technology solution to improve operations. With a reimagined system, there is opportunity to streamline volunteer assignment and ride operation workflow, improve communication between user stakeholder groups, and provide better visibility into the demand for services, potentially attracting new funding partners and clients. A system with better integrated features will also lend to a more intuitive user experience and would provide better reporting insights that could inform strategic organizational growth.

EVIDENCE

Modus relies on partnerships with local agencies to fund their programs. Currently, Modus lacks the technical infrastructure needed to scale and expand services beyond our immediate area to meet the growing demand. Currently, partners cannot see how many rides are available for their clients. The new logistics management platform will allow Modus to streamline the volunteer assignment workflow as well as give partners visibility into the capacity for their services.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

A 2019 survey of low-income patients reported that those who rode the bus to the doctor?s office were twice as likely to miss appointments as patients who drove cars. A review published in the Journal of Community Health found that around 25% of lower-income patients have missed or rescheduled their appointments due to lack of transportation. Members of these communities are less able to access COVID-19 testing, doctor?s appointments, and vaccination sites. Roughly 20% of the Tulsa population (80,000 people) cannot access the health services they need due to inadequate transportation options in the area. Systemic inequalities in employment, wage-earning, health, and well-being have had additional strain due to COVID-19 for low-income Tulsans. According to Tulsa Equality Indicators 2020 report, minority households in Tulsa are considerably less likely to have access to a vehicle, which is a problem exacerbated by the city?s layout and the insufficient coverage of its mass transit system. People need access to high-quality transportation to find and retain better jobs. Indeed, several studies have shown that transit access is one of the most critical factors in determining upward mobility. Modus addresses these issues by increasing social and economic equality.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

To measure the success, Modus uses an online database to track all client demographics and ride services, including the number of rides to vaccination sites, rides provided to healthcare/mental health providers, and rides provided to other essential services (e.g., educational opportunities and employment services). The new technology has been designed to make that data collection more efficient and we will evaluate it accordingly. Modus always measures the quality of services by requesting feedback after each ride and volunteer driver surveys bi-annually. Customer and volunteer feedback specific to this project will be used to inform future technological changes.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma