Angela Anderson (00:02)
Today I have my colleague Thomas Zimmermann joining me. Thomas, welcome to the Deep Dive podcast! Could you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit more about your role here?
Thomas Zimmermann (00:11)
Thanks for having me on. I am current mobility manager for Region Five Development Commission. I organize and run the Regional Transportation Coordinating Council in our region.
Angela Anderson (00:21)
Awesome. Thank you so much. Today, we're going to talk a little bit more about that. So, can you tell us a little bit more about the Regional Transportation Coordinating Council specifically?
Thomas Zimmermann (00:30)
Absolutely. It's your awesome mouthful. So, we call it RTCC and it is a collaborative effort that brings together transportation providers, human service agencies, local governments, and community members to improve mobility options. Our main goal is to break down barriers so people, especially older adults and individuals with disabilities, veterans and low income residents can get where they need to go reliably. Whether that's getting to medical appointments, work, social plans, activities, visiting people.
We want to make sure transportation is not a limiting factor.
Angela Anderson (01:01)
Awesome, that's great. Thank you so much for that information. I think that helps explain it very well. Can you help us also understand what our role is at Region Five Development Commission, why we are doing this work?
Thomas Zimmermann (01:13)
Yeah, so Region 5 Development Commission or R5DC serves as the backbone for the RTCC in our area. We are uniquely positioned because of our history and regional planning and our ability to bring diverse stakeholders to the table. So we are the grant recipient through MnDOT for this program and we don't run buses or provide rides ourselves, but we convene, coordinate and strategize with those that do.
Our role is to connect the dots between existing services, identify gaps, and support solutions that are community-driven.
Angela Anderson (01:44)
How about if you can share a little bit about the challenges and why this work is so important?
Thomas Zimmermann (01:49)
So one big challenge is that rural transportation isn't one size fits all. It varies across the state in our rural areas. We have long distances and limited public transit options. Most public transit is staying within city limits or close to city. So funding that often comes with strings attached. Another challenge is simply awareness. Many people don't know what services exist in their area. A lot of those services don't have marketing teams, so they don't really have much of a marketing budget to work with. But this work is critical because mobility is connected to everything, to healthcare, education, employment, quality of life. When people can't get where they need to go, it impacts communities at every level.
Angela Anderson (02:32)
How does local decision-making drive the work?
Thomas Zimmermann (02:36)
Local decision-making is at the heart of the RTCC. That's kind of why they were formed is to put these groups in the areas that they're going to be addressing issues in. The priorities and strategies we pursue come directly from our community conversations, from input from partners, from the stakeholders on the committee and from the public in general. Every county and community in our region has unique needs. So we build our work around that local knowledge instead of the traditional top-down approach in a lot of places.
Angela Anderson (03:07)
Can you tell a little bit more too about who funds this program and who the partners are that we work with?
Thomas Zimmermann (03:13)
So the RTCC is primarily funded by MnDOT, which recognize the importance of regional coordination and transportation as dollars from the Federal Transit Authority or the FTA. So we rely on time, insight and collaboration of a broad range of partners, nonprofits, transit providers, county human services, tribal nations, healthcare systems and more. So it's a public-private mix. Everyone brings something valuable to the table.
Angela Anderson (03:41)
And I bet that makes it a little bit also complex because you're between the sites, you have state and federal agencies and county agencies and private agencies and all the people. So I'm guessing that is partially why we need this council to coordinate everybody together.
Thomas Zimmermann (03:55)
Of course,with lots of different people, have lots of different opinions and lots of different ideas on what's needed as well as the way to address those needs.
Angela Anderson (04:06)
Could you tell us a little bit more about the collaborations or the partnerships that you're seeing that are occurring because of these programs that are taking place?
Thomas Zimmermann (04:15)
Sure, one example is our RTCC program is working with the Blue Ox leadership group or the local Chamber of Commerce in Brainerd-Baxter area and the Crow Wing and Brainerd Transit system to address some of their transportation gaps, help residents interact more or increase the awareness and accessibility with their local transit systems, as well as working with others on grant programs and helping them with.grant applications.
Angela Anderson (04:44)
Awesome, thank you. Can you share a little bit more too with us about some of the successes that you've seen in the region with RTCC so far?
Thomas Zimmermann (04:53)
Of course, thanks. We've created a transportation resource guides, we've launched mobility training services, we've assisted with recruiting volunteer drivers in the region and supported the development of a transportation provider directory, which helps people find and book rides, just increasing the awareness of what services are available in the area. And these background tasks help people find transportation they need, which makes a big difference in people's lives.
Angela Anderson (05:19)
Great. Thank you so much for sharing all of that with us. think that helps people understand more about the Regional Transportation Coordinating Council and what it does and what it means for our region. If you could share with us, if there's someone who's interested in getting involved or learning more about the RTCC, what should they do or how should they do that? Who should they contact?
Thomas Zimmermann (05:40)
If you're interested or want to connect someone to resources, the best starting point is to reach out to me at the Region 5 Villain Commission. My email is tzimmermann at region5.org, which is R-E-G-I-O-N-F-I-V-E.org. Or you can call the office at 218-894-3233. I'm always happy to have a conversation to point people in right direction.
Angela Anderson (06:18)
Awesome. Thank you so much, Thomas, for your time today and sharing more about the RTCC with our listeners.
Thomas Zimmermann (06:24)
Of course, thanks for having me on.
