Regional Transportation Coordinating Council

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Vision:

A transportation system in SW MN connecting people to the things they need to live, work and play locally.

Mission:

The Southwest Minnesota Regional Transportation Coordination Council supports transportation providers and the public by seeking innovative solutions to meet needs through education, coordination and collaboration.

Tell Us Your Story

Everyone is a part of understanding the transportation successes and needs in SW Minnesota. The most important part of that is hearing your story. If you’re a passenger, a volunteer driver, a parent, a caretaker, or anyone relies on transportation in some way please help us do our job better! Tell your story. It really matters. Your story may be the key to keeping volunteer drivers or supporting more wheelchair accessible transportation. Submit your story today!

Become an Active Member

The Southwest RTCC needs people committed to advancing transportation in southwest Minnesota to serve on the Council or an advisory group. Since finances are often the thing that prevents projects from getting started, it helps if RTCC members have some understanding of how funding flows to, and through, the entity or group they represent.

RTCC members are the listening ears to the public and the voice of the RTCC. The people who will fill these positions must be dedicated to improving transportation throughout Southwest Minnesota, understanding that the barriers are often big, and progress may be slow. Unconventional thinkers are welcome!

If you know anyone who can help in these efforts, please share this information with them.
If you might be interested in becoming a part of Southwest Minnesota’s transportation future, contact the Southwest RTCC lead staff, Shelly Pflaum: 507-537-3861 or [email protected].

Council Coverage Area

The RTCC planning committee decided the Council should serve nine counties in Southwest Minnesota: Cottonwood, Jackson, Lincoln, Lyon, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone Redwood and Rock.

There are already many partnerships within these counties. So, the stakeholders believe the large service area is appropriate. Stakeholders also noted that establishing the nine-county region is good, but it is also important to include other counties as may be necessary or beneficial for advancing to goals of the Council in the future.

Background of the RTCC

The coordination of transportation services has long been held as the best way to increase available options without increasing resources. In 2018, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) began exploring the creation of Regional Transportation Coordinating Councils (RTCC). Information on the vision for RTCCs can be found on CoordinateMNTransit.org.

United Community Action Partnership (UCAP) is a Community Action agency dedicated to helping people meet their basic needs. It hosts an eight-county public transit program as well as several other transportation programs that are geared toward meeting more of the transportation needs of all people throughout our region. RTCCs are the perfect extension of the long-held value in UCAP’s transportation department that when more transportation needs are met everybody benefits, no matter what transportation service is used.

UCAP responded to a grant opportunity to begin the planning phase of a RTCC in Southwest Minnesota. The application was successful, and planning funds were awarded beginning July 1, 2019 and extending to June 30, 2020. The work continues since the initial grant. The information here outlines the final outcomes of planning and the first steps for moving into implementation (PDF version).

Council Membership

Southwest Minnesota RTCC planning meetings included participation from the following:

Identifying Priorities

Throughout the year of planning, discussions frequently centered around the region’s biggest transportation needs. This helped guide ideas about how the RTCC should function, and what tasks it could take on now and in the future. The top needs that surfaced are: