Transportation, in the simplest of terms, is about getting from point A to point B. If your point A and point B are within Dakota County, you may assume that there is a plethora of options available to you. Personal automobiles, buses, rideshare services and taxis, motorcycles, and bikes are a common occurrence in the county, taking both residents and visitors from their point A to point B. For those who are incarcerated in the county jail in Hastings, the options to get from the corrections facility to their point B were limited.
While some inmates were able to get rides from friends and families once they were released, many were stuck trying to get a rideshare service to pick them up from the County correctional facility in Hastings. Long wait times, cost, and lack of drivers available resulted in some resorting to walking west along Highway 55, according to Dakota County TCAP Transportation Coordinator Robyn Bernardy. Inmates would walk or hitchhike along the highway, with solicitations and break-ins unfortunately occurring along this route.
Hastings, located at the confluence of the Mississippi, St Croix, and Vermillion rivers, has served as the county seat of Dakota County since 1857. Over the years, the north and west portions of the county have seen rapid population growth. This has resulted in the county jail being a long distance from the rest of the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
“There’s not a lot of transportation options in Hastings. The nearest bus stop to the County Jail is located approximately fifteen miles away in Inver Grove Heights.” The County partnered with a transit link program with the Metropolitan Council, though their situation did not work with their model. The County tried a regular shuttle service that ran from the jail to two bus stop locations, though that partnership ended during the pandemic.
To get released inmates from point A to point B, the County turned to a popular rideshare company – Lyft – to provide a concierge ride service starting in 2021. “We found this option flexible enough to meet our needs. It also gets people to where they need to go for much less money than previous programs.”
“We want people, once they are released from jail, to get back to their homes, loved ones, and back their regular lives. We know jail is a huge disruption, and the sooner people can get back, and the safer they can get back the better.” said Bernardy. “If people can get back quicker, the rate of recidivism is lower.”
During the release process, inmates are informed of the service via advertisements in a waiting room. The County has made videos and flyers to get the word out to inmates within the jail. Staff are aware of the program and can inform inmates of the program as well. A call center that inmates can call operates 24/7, and they connect users to drivers. Once a driver is connected to the user, they are picked up from a designated pick-up location and given a ride from the jail to bus transit hubs, or certain locations up to 24 miles away from the jail. The user pays the same standard rate that is charged to usual riders, which means costs for the user can vary based on time of day, weather, destination, and driver availability.
The program sees around 140 riders a month. The call center survey the users, to get a sense of what other transportation options they were considering. “The call center conducts an interview to validate that individuals are intended users…65% said they had no other options. ~17% noted they would’ve walked, 3% would hitchhike.” Inmates often are unaware of the lack of transportation options in Hastings. Bernardy noted that in interviews, many riders were unaware of how far they actually were from other cities. “People are super appreciative of having support to get them where they need to go.”
After overcoming driver shortages in the beginning, the program has been off and running ever since. The service recently transitioned from being a ‘pilot’ to a full County program. A working group meets regularly to discuss how the program is working and further improvements to make. “It’s time-consuming … but it’s very much worth it.”
