El Monte & South El Monte Community Transportation Needs Assessment
Clean Mobility Options Voucher Pilot Program
Community Transportation Needs Assessment
ActiveSGV | El Monte & South El Monte Community Transportation Needs Assessment
October 2020 – July 2021
Final Report
Project Details
Active San Gabriel Valley (ActiveSGV) used a multi-pronged, multi-lingual approach to engage and empower residents of the project area to meaningfully participate in the needs assessment process. The first phase of the project focused on educating community members about clean mobility options to build their capacity to identify local transportation challenges, needs, and priority solutions. The second phase focused on administering assessment tools and collecting data. Through this approach, ActiveSGV collected 314 surveys and met with 49 community members individually and in groups. Given the challenges with in-person engagement because of COVID-19, the community engagement approach involved digital engagement, online presentations and workshops, text banking, and direct mail.
Project Highlights
- 52% of respondents have never tried any of the following forms of e-mobility: electric bike, electric skateboard, electric scooter, electric car, electric bus
- 73% of respondents stated that they would consider using an electric carshare program post-COVID-19 if readily available and affordable, 68% a shuttle service, 60% public transit, 35% bikeshare, 31% scooter share, 27% dial-a-ride, and 27% microtransit.
- 45% of respondents expressed interest in a monthly rental program for Electric Bikes, 40% Electric Cars, 33% Electric Scooters, and 26% Electric Skateboards.
Lessons Learned
- The length of the survey presented a challenge during the data collection period. The online survey was 4 pages in length, and an average of 18 respondents dropped out of the online survey per page after the first page (out of 56 total respondents). A lesson learned is to reduce the number of survey questions and place the most vital survey questions towards the beginning of the survey.
Funding Details
Voucher Total: $50,000
By the Numbers
Community Engagement Activities
- 4 Community event presentations
- 1 Pop-up event
- 2 Focus groups
- 2 Community input meetings
- 6 Project newsletters
- 9,000 Multilingual program flyers printed and mailed to residents
- 6,000 text messages sent to residents
Estimated Quantifiable Benefits
- Direct Jobs: 1
- Indirect Jobs: 1
- Induced Jobs: 1
Community Details
The project focuses on the disadvantaged community of El Monte and South El Monte. The communities of El Monte and South El Monte have high rates of obesity, poor air quality, low-income levels, polluted water basins, low access to healthy food, high rates of physical inactivity and a scarcity of recreational open space. According to the US Census Bureau, El Monte’s demographic makeup is 66% Hispanic/Latino, 29% Asian-Pacific Islander, 4% White, and 2% two or more races. South El Monte’s demographic makeup is 84% Hispanic/Latino, 13% Asian-Pacific Islander, 3% White alone, and 2% two or more races. Median household income is $38,085 in El Monte and $44,651 in South El Monte (Statewide MHI is $63,000), with Hispanic/Latino residents disproportionately living under the poverty line.
Community Benefits
- The needs assessment was designed to determine how residents are currently using these existing and new transportation services, trips they are currently unable to make, and preferences/requests for future mobility, particularly post-COVID-19. For example, are residents finding the new mobility options convenient, comfortable, and affordable? What types of trips are difficult for local residents? What barriers exist to using different modes of sustainable mobility?
- The assessment identified travelers’ issues getting to destinations like schools and workplaces, business districts, parks and recreational sites, and public transit hubs. There was a focus on evaluating mobility use, needs, and barriers in the community more broadly, particularly in light of COVID-19, recent service changes, shifts in transportation patterns, and public safety.
Outreach & Engagement Strategies
- Press release
- Project webpage
- Focus groups and 1-1 interviews
- Presentations
- Outreach to community and school groups
- Social media
- Email newsletter
- Pop-up booth
- Prize incentives
- Text banking
- Posters
- Direct mail
- Multilingual program flyers
Target Populations
- Spanish and Chinese speaking residents
- Older Adults
- Families
Voucher Recipient
The assessment was led by ActiveSGV, a nonprofit, community-based organization located in the City of El Monte whose mission is to support a more sustainable, equitable, and livable San Gabriel Valley. ActiveSGV was formed in 2010 by a group of San Gabriel Valley residents, public health activists and community leaders to address unmet and critical public health needs in east Los Angeles County. ActiveSGV's history of work within the area, organizational commitment to supporting pollution-burdened communities, and pending opportunities to improve access to zero-emission modes of mobility to local residents prompted ActiveSGV staff to request funding to undertake this project.