APPENDIX C
Interview Guide

Overview:

• We would like to conduct a 45-minute to 1 -hour interview about (1) the partnerships that formed, initiatives implemented, and funding sources, (2) challenges, lessons learned, and scalability, and (3) ongoing or future partnerships. The interview questions are listed below.
• We are conducting this study for the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) to gather information on partnerships and initiatives that formed for COVID-19 response and recovery. The goal of the study is to inform future partnership collaboration and improve emergency response planning. We would like to showcase your organization's partnerships and initiatives as a case study in our report to serve as an example of how transit agencies can form or use partnerships and leverage their resources during an emergency situation, and to share lessons learned that could be helpful to other transit agencies.

Questions:

Intro:

1. Could you please tell us about your agency? What transit services do you provide, which areas do you serve, and who are your riders?

Initiatives. Partnerships, and Funding:

2. Please give us a brief overview of the initiative(s) you implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Type of initiative, brief description, and general outcomes)
3. Did the initiative(s) involve agency partners? Please tell us who they were (and which initiatives they were involved with).
   1. Did you already have a connection with this agency prior to the partnership?
   2. What was their role in implementing the initiative(s)?
   3. Please briefly describe the experience of working with this partner(s).
   4. Were there any strategies, policies, or procedures that you implemented that helped to support and strengthen these partnerships?

4. How did you identify the community's need(s) for your initiative(s)? Did you use any (equity) data to assess the community's needs? If so, can you share any of that information or analysis with us?
5. What funding sources did you use for the initiative(s)? (Federal and non-federal, approximate values and shares)
   1. Did you use any local funding?
   2. Did you use COVID-19 relief funding? Which kind(s)? What impact did relief funding have on the initiative(s)?
   3. Did you have any trouble in accessing or using COVID-19 relief funding? For example, were there any challenges related to navigation of federal regulations or waiver requirements?

Lessons Learned:

6. What would you say were the main challenge(s) your agency faced in implementing the initiative(s)?
   1. How did you navigate and/or overcome this challenge(s)?
7. What are your thoughts on success factors or positive lessons learned from these initiatives that might help other agencies in a similar position in the future?
8. Please tell us about your agency's "readiness" at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to implement an initiative and/or form a partnership. Were there any conditions that already existed (i.e., existing partnerships, experience with emergency response, etc.) that impacted your agency's level of readiness?
9. Have you collected data on the outcomes of your initiative(s)? Do any of these data specifically address equity impacts? If yes to either, would you be willing to share this information with us?
10. Do you think the initiative(s) would be applicable or scalable for transit agencies of different sizes and service areas to adopt?
    1. Do any concerns related to scalability of this initiative come to mind?

Looking Forward. Future Partnerships:

11. What is the current status of the initiative(s)? Is it ongoing, or when did/will it end?
12. How do you think the experience of implementing the initiative(s) and working with partner(s) will affect future endeavors?
    1. Would you work with the same partner(s) in a future endeavor?
    2. How, if at all, has this experience impacted your agency's emergency response preparedness or framework?
    3. Is there anything your agency would do differently in a future endeavor?
13. Is there anything else you'd like to tell us?