CHAPTER 6

Recovery

It could be argued that recovery is something paratransit agencies of all sizes do daily as part of normal operations. Schedulers and dispatchers arrange trips for the coming day, matching up vehicles and drivers. Vehicles come in off the road and are fueled, cleaned, maintained, and prepared to go back on the road again. Recovery depends on the right things happening in the right sequence.

Paratransit providers that experience a disaster event must have a plan for post-event recovery. The recovery phase starts after the immediate threat to human life has subsided. Recovery efforts involve getting paratransit employees back to work; re-establishing a reliable supply chain; inspecting and servicing vehicles; repairing or replacing essential equipment; and restoring power, communications, and computer systems. A significant effort to document damage to facilities, vehicles, or equipment will be needed to pursue cost recovery through insurance or liability settlements. Costs incurred during emergency response operations may be eligible for reimbursement through FEMA or state or county authorities, but only if carefully documented and verified.

6.A Reconstitution

6.A.1 Essential Life-Support Services

Providing life-sustaining medical trips, such as transportation to dialysis centers, is the top paratransit priority before, during, and after emergencies or disasters. Your paratransit agency may generally know which customers need life-sustaining medical transportation services, but you may not be certain where these customers are located at any given moment. Thus, your agency needs to plan as much as possible to provide essential life-sustaining transportation for pre-identified customers. This planning should include a system to track customer locations even though this may become a challenge during community emergencies when evacuees take up temporary residences and basic communications systems such as phones and the Internet are often disrupted.

If local medical facilities are closed due to adverse conditions or damage to their facility, trips may need to be scheduled to medical facilities outside of the area. Conversely, people who have been evacuated out of their areas of residence and into your jurisdiction may add to paratransit demand.

In an emergency, paratransit customers may find shelter at the very care centers, medical facilities, and senior centers with which paratransit normally works. Customers may also end up at emergency shelters established by the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, churches, or other voluntary organizations. Paratransit managers or supervisors may need to coordinate with shelter providers to identify people with critical transportation needs and develop strategies for scheduling non-emergency medical trips more efficiently.

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thumbup iconEffective Practices

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hammer iconTool: Essential Life-Support Services

  • Identify regular paratransit customers that will need ongoing transportation for medical treatment, such as dialysis, during emergencies.
  • Develop an operational plan for providing life-sustaining medical trips after an emergency occurs, and communicate that plan to affected paratransit customers.
  • Contact medical service providers to learn of their strategies to continue essential life-support services during emergencies and provide them with your plans for continuing transportation for paratransit customers dependent upon medical care.
  • Participate with community stakeholders in identifying alternative medical facilities where your agency can transport customers for treatment should regular facilities be shut down due to the impact of an emergency event.
  • Share your emergency operations transportation plan with emergency management and emergency medical services, and discuss the life-sustaining transportation needs of people who are not normal paratransit customers.
  • Coordinate with emergency management regarding shelter residents who require non-emergency medical transportation.

chain iconResource for Urban/Suburban and Rural/Tribal Areas

http://bussafety.fta.dot.gov/show_resource.php?id=4182

This excerpt from "Guidance for Paratransit Emergency Planning" presents examples of the trip-priority procedures of several agencies that were interviewed for a study on paratransit emergency planning.

6.A.2 Restoring Service

Restoration of service involves returning paratransit service delivery systems to their pre-emergency conditions. Elements critical to restoring service include facilities, vehicles, and information and communication systems. Depending on the severity of the emergency, service restoration may have to be addressed in stages, most likely concentrating on life-safety transportation issues first, and then ramping up service as mission-critical resources become available.

thoughts iconConsiderations

thumbup iconEffective Practices

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hammer iconTool: Restoring Service

Essential elements of a service restoration plan include:

  • Establishing thresholds or criteria for service restoration.
  • Determining when it is safe to resume service. For large-scale events, this decision should be made in consultation with emergency management, public safety agencies, and other government officials.
  • Assessing operational capabilities, including considering the availability of staff; the disposition of vehicles and fuel; the operability of communication systems; and damage to dispatch, maintenance, and administrative facilities.
  • Providing support for employees so they can return to work; this may include addressing both physical and psychological needs.
  • Prioritizing how service will be phased in based on resource availability.
  • Communicating with customers, stakeholders, and the general public about service restoration.

Communication strategies for service restoration include:

  • Automated alert notification systems that send phone calls, texts, emails, or other electronic messages to subscribers.
  • Pre-recorded service alert messages and informational updates as a keypad menu option or while waiting on hold.
  • Phone calls to social service agencies and medical care providers.
  • Targeted phone calls to let customers know about service resumption plans.
  • Updates and service alerts on the agency website.
  • Posts to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other identified social media networks.
  • News releases or other notifications to TV, radio, and print media.

chain iconResources for Urban/Suburban and Rural/Tribal Areas

http://bussafety.fta.dot.gov/show_resource.php?id=4158

This excerpt from the USDOT "Recovering from Disasters: The National Transportation Recovery Strategy" resource provides recommendations on preparing for and managing the transportation recovery process.

http://bussafety.fta.dot.gov/show_resource.php?id=4159

This excerpt from FTA's "Disaster Response and Recovery Resource for Transit Agencies," published in 2006, provides answers to some pertinent transportation questions about disaster recovery.

6.B Reentry

Reentry is the returning of people to the residences from which they were evacuated. Estimating the number and types of paratransit vehicles required for reentry service can be challenging. In addition to communication gaps that sometimes occur between shelter managers and paratransit providers, people staying in emergency shelters will often make their own transportation arrangements for reentry, skewing the numbers shelter managers are tracking.

Paratransit providers returning people home after disasters have encountered a variety of difficulties en route, including access hazards caused by disaster debris and a lack of power or other utilities that make homes habitable and safe. This issue is of particular concern for people with access and functional needs and can be largely prevented through better interagency coordination.

Another important consideration when planning for reentry is a method for documenting who has been transported and the location and time of the dropoff, as this information can be essential for emergency managers as well as the families and friends of those utilizing paratransit services.

thoughts iconConsiderations

thumbup iconEffective Practices

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hammer iconTool: Reentry Concerns

  • Confirm with emergency management and other appropriate entities that all utilities are working properly.
  • Confirm with emergency management, first responders, and human service agencies that paths of ingress and egress are clear for people with mobility limitations.
  • Confirm with emergency management, first responders, and other appropriate entities to ensure sanitation and the general livability of residences.
  • Confirm with emergency management and other appropriate entities that food and water is available and spoiled food in the home can be properly disposed of.
  • Identify with key external stakeholders an appropriate process for returning service animals and pets.
  • Empower paratransit drivers to make determinations about whether passenger dropoff locations are safe for their riders.
  • Identify alternative dropoff strategies when paratransit drivers determine that reentry to a residence is unsafe.
  • Ensure a clear understanding between paratransit and law enforcement staffing control points on the need for paratransit vehicles to access neighborhoods.
  • Ensure a clear understanding between paratransit and law enforcement staffing control points on the need for human service and health services personnel to access neighborhoods.

chain iconResource for Urban/Suburban and Rural/Tribal Areas

http://bussafety.fta.dot.gov/show_resource.php?id=4168

Chapter 8 of FHWA's "Evacuating Populations with Special Needs" discusses the issues that need to be addressed before and during reentry, and also post-event.

6.C Post-Disaster Service Assessment

Disasters can radically affect the demand for paratransit services and require your agency to alter hours of service, days of service, and areas served. Long-term recovery can be hampered if your agency is unprepared to adjust to possible new service demands.

Increases in the demand for paratransit services may be temporary as disaster victims recuperate from injuries or identify resident care centers that curtail their travel needs. Changes in demand for services may also be long-term due to migration patterns caused by the disaster. Paratransit agencies must be flexible in their approach to managing increased demand.

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thumbup iconEffective Practices

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hammer iconTool: Post-Disaster Service Assessment

  • Conduct a post-disaster transportation needs assessment.
  • Share the results of this assessment with emergency management and other partner agencies to gather input and support.
  • Meet with essential staff to assess how an increase in paratransit service demand would affect operations and discuss how changes in service delivery models could be accommodated.
  • If you are not a general public demand-response provider, develop an expedited paratransit eligibility certification process or temporarily use presumptive eligibility to better meet post-disaster transportation needs.
  • Initiate post-disaster paratransit operations based on need, available resources, and the temporarily re-engineered service delivery model.
  • If necessary, explore ways to augment the existing fleet and staff, utilizing resources offered through your state DOT, CTAA, and/or APTA.

chain iconResource for Urban/Suburban and Rural/Tribal Areas

http://bussafety.fta.dot.gov/show_resource.php?id=4122

This report from the CalACT website details the disaster response activities of Del Norte County transportation during the tsunami of March 2011 and documents strengths and areas for improvement in the Del Norte County transportation emergency management system.

6.D Restitution

6.D.1 Post-Crisis Counseling

A significant post-crisis consideration is whether employees are ready and able to return to work. Emotional stress, physical injury, loss of loved ones, loss of property, and disruption of normal routines may limit the availability and energy of essential paratransit personnel. Restitution plans need to include the availability of therapy or counseling services for employees traumatized by an emergency.

thoughts iconConsiderations

thumbup iconEffective Practices

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hammer iconTool: Post-Crisis Counseling

To mitigate the psychological effect of an emergency on paratransit staff:

  • After an initial crisis period during which overwork may be necessary, develop procedures to ensure that employees take sufficient time off.
  • Set limits on work hours and train managers to monitor their staff for irritability, erratic behavior, inattentiveness, and other signs of exhaustion.
  • Provide adequate staffing for additional disaster relief and recovery responsibilities.
  • Ensure that no one employee is wholly responsible for essential tasks and therefore unable to take time off to rest and recuperate.
  • Since leaders are especially prone to overwork, monitor one another and set a positive example for staff.

Post-crisis counseling considerations:

  • Provide informal opportunities in the workplace for paratransit staff to share their experiences. To recover from severe stress, people need to talk about what they have gone through and compare their reactions with those of others.
  • Provide an opportunity for a group meeting of paratransit staff facilitated by an EAP counselor or other mental health professional.
  • Provide employees with procedures for scheduling post-crisis counseling appointments, as some employees may need more personal assistance in resolving problems arising from a disaster.

chain iconResources for Urban/Suburban and Rural/Tribal Areas

http://bussafety.fta.dot.gov/show_resource.php?id=4143

A disaster creates unusual challenges for management if staff are suffering from its effects. Emotional stress, physical injury, bereavement, loss of property, and disruption of normal routines may limit the availability and energy of employees. The suggestions in this excerpt from Chapter 6 of "Handling Traumatic Events-A Manager's Handbook" are general principles that can help a business structure disaster response.

http://www.trb.org/main/blurbs/162365.aspx

This report provides insight and practical guidance to address the difficult emotional and psychological implications in response and exposure to traumatic events. These traumatic events can be the result of human-made accidents, acts of terrorism, or natural disasters that have occurred at, in the vicinity of, or resulting from the operation of an air carrier at an airport.

6.D.2 Documenting Damage

It is a standard practice to fill out a report following a paratransit vehicle collision with facts carefully documented, statements noted or recorded from witnesses and those involved, and photos taken of the scene and relevant damage. Along these same lines, damage to buildings, facilities, equipment, or vehicles related to an emergency event or disaster response needs to be accurately documented and reported for risk management, insurance, and cost recovery purposes.

Any work-related personal injuries need to be reported and processed through the worker's compensation system, the agency's risk management function, and other internal administrative reporting processes as appropriate.

Insurance may cover costs for buildings, facilities, equipment, and vehicles damaged in a natural disaster event. Local government may provide additional blanket liability coverage if losses were incurred under its authority. Though there are typically additional forms and reporting requirements, state and federal government may provide additional coverage for uninsured and underinsured losses suffered during a state or federally declared emergency.

thoughts iconConsiderations

thumbup iconEffective Practices

lightbulb iconStrategy

hammer iconTool: Documenting Damage

  • Inspect and inventory facilities, equipment and rolling stock.
  • Notify insurance providers of paratransit resource losses that occurred during the emergency.
  • Provide information on the condition of paratransit assets to the state DOT or the FTA and notify them if additional assets are required to resume normal operations.
  • When appropriate, provide emergency response and recovery cost details to emergency management as soon as possible so that all opportunities for local, state, and federal reimbursement can be pursued.

Include the following topics in staff debriefings:

  • Effective and ineffective elements of leadership and decision making
  • Tasks that were carried out successfully during the response
  • Tasks that were not handled correctly in the response and actions that were performed needlessly
  • Communication challenges and breakdowns
  • Problems encountered and possible solutions for future events
  • Innovations and strategies that should be employed in the future

Include the following topics in after-action reports:

  • A brief overview of the incident
  • A synopsis of your incident goals and objectives
  • Documentation of vehicle, facility, and equipment use, and activities performed by all departments during response and recovery
  • Documentation of losses and any necessary repairs or maintenance
  • An assessment of what went right and what went wrong
  • Strategies to improve response and speed recovery in the future

chain iconResource for Urban/Suburban and Rural/Tribal Areas

http://bussafety.fta.dot.gov/show_resource.php?id=3749

This excerpt from the "Guidebook for Emergency Management Planning for Texas Transit Agencies" discusses what should be included in AARs and the topics for debriefings. It also provides a form to record information on vehicles/equipment used during an emergency.

6.D.3 Reimbursement

Following large-scale emergencies or natural disasters, state officials will make a formal disaster declaration and request federal aid if recovery costs exceed the combined resources of local and state governments. If a presidential declaration is made, the way is cleared for federal resources and funding to support recovery efforts.

To be eligible for reimbursement, paratransit providers should be NIMS compliant and have accurate records of emergency response mission assignments that were formally directed by the EOC. There should also be an MOU in place with emergency management regarding the provider's disaster roles and responsibilities, particularly if the service provider is a quasi-governmental or non-governmental agency. If the above standards are not met, the paratransit provider may not be eligible for reimbursement it might otherwise have been entitled to for vehicles, fuel, staff, and other resources used during emergency response activities.

Reimbursement challenges are often greater when contracted paratransit services are involved in emergency response. The contractor normally will comply with service requests from the controlling agency, and such requests are usually billed at prevailing rates. However, if the controlling agency is not reimbursed for monies it has paid out to a contractor, this can negatively affect its budget and possibly hinder its ability to support normal operations in the future.

thoughts iconConsiderations

thumbup iconEffective Practices

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hammer iconTool: Reimbursement

FTA, in its "Disaster Response and Recovery Resource for Transit Agencies," provides the following information on paratransit post-disaster reimbursement.

  • There is broad flexibility under FTA planning and capital funding programs for states, metropolitan planning agencies, and transit authorities to spend FTA funds for emergency preparedness and response planning and capital security projects, including security training for personnel and conducting emergency response drills under their discretionary planning and research programs and their program management oversight program. FTA is also able to hire contractors to provide assistance to transit grantees in disaster areas for some support activities such as transit planning, transit operations support and technical assistance, and engineering and project management support.
  • The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act) supports state and local governments and their citizens when disasters overwhelm local resources. This law establishes a process for requesting and obtaining a Presidential disaster declaration, defines the types and scope of assistance available under the Stafford Act, and sets the conditions for obtaining that assistance. Under the Stafford Act, states can request assistance from FEMA to provide emergency transit services that are necessary to help an area respond to and recover from the damaging effects of a disaster. In addition, FEMA assistance is available to transit authorities to help replace or build transit buses, equipment, and the facilities that have been damaged or destroyed during a disaster.
  • Most states have an emergency management plan that establishes a framework through which local governments prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the impacts of a wide variety of disasters that could adversely affect the health, safety, and/or general welfare of the residents of their jurisdictions. State emergency plans provide guidance to state and local officials on procedures, organization, and their responsibilities in providing an integrated and coordinated response. State emergency plans often provide procedures for the reimbursement of services provided during disaster response and recovery.

chain iconResources for Urban/Suburban and Rural/Tribal Areas

http://bussafety.fta.dot.gov/show_resource.php?id=4157

This diagram, excerpted from the USDOT document "Recovering from Disasters: The National Transportation Recovery Strategy," presents a brief overview of the federal disaster declaration process, incident management, and financial assistance.

http://bussafety.fta.dot.gov/show_resource.php?id=4160

This excerpt from Chapter 3 of FTA's "Disaster Response and Recovery Resource for Transit Agencies," published in 2006, provides information on funding that FEMA and FTA can provide toward disaster response activities.

http://bussafety.fta.dot.gov/show_resource.php?id=4223

This resource outlines possible funding sources for transit agencies to enhance their operational capabilities in reference to safety, security, and emergency preparedness concerns.

http://bussafety.fta.dot.gov/show_resource.php?id=4224

This resource outlines protocols for disaster declaration at the federal, state, and local levels.