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National RTAP Webinar: Understanding 
the Updated Drug & Alcohol Testing Regulation

The U.S. DOT drug and alcohol testing regulation, 49 CFR Part 40, has been revised. The new regulation will be effective on January 1, 2018.  During this National RTAP  Webinar  on Tuesday, December 12, 2:00-3:00pm ET, Robbie Sarles of RLS & Associates will provide a summary of the changes and how they will impact transit systems. 

Robbie will describe the context of the revisions, the impact at the employer level, and what actions transit systems should make in advance of the January 1, effective date, including how to update or revise your transit system drug and alcohol testing policy. Register now to join us for the webinar!
Peer Call Today! ADA Riders Guide and Policies and Procedures for Tribal Transit

National RTAP and the National Aging & Disability Transportation Center are hosting a conversation about ADA and Tribal Transit on November 30 at 2:00-3:00 PM ET. Facilitators will include Ken Thompson of NADTC and Easterseals, Jennie Rowland of Big Woods Transit and  the National RTAP Review Board, as well as National RTAP Staff. There's still time to register  and join us!
National RTAP Technical Assistance Conference 2017 Presentations Posted
 
If you want to view presentations from the National RTAP 2017 Technical Assistance Conference in Omaha, NE, you can find them on our  Transportation at the Center website.
Now More Ways than Ever to Provide National RTAP Training

National RTAP provides training in many ways, including eLearning, hard-copy learning modules, CD-ROMs and computer DVDs.  We've had some recent requests to provide DVDs of our videos that display on television DVD players.  When our users talk, we listen!  A number of our training videos are now available to order in a DVD that plays on a television DVD player, including Customer Driven Service and Safety Training and Rural Transit (START).  TV DVDs can be requested by contacting [email protected]. 
FTA and U.S. DOT Updates

FTA is requesting comments on proposed changes and clarifications to the National Transit Database (NTD) reporting requirements. All proposed changes and clarifications are proposed to be effective for report year 2017 beginning in September 2017. Comments can be submitted through regulations.gov by December 26, 2017.  

The new U.S. DOT Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Curriculum Resources webpage is a nationwide curriculum directory for prospective students and educators. It offers coursework in ITS, connected vehicles, automated vehicles, smart cities, or other innovative transportation research. 

The FTA TAM website has a new Performance Management webpage that provides information on performance measuring, target setting, and reporting.

And you won't want to miss the November issue of the FTA Transit Safety and Oversight Spotlight newsletter!
Resources and News

Opportunities

The Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund is accepting applications until December 11, 2017. 

Training

CASTA is holding a free webinar on December 6, 4:00-5:30pm EST - From Plan to Action: Getting Results from Your Regional Plans. Carol Wright Kenderdine of Easterseals will lead the webinar.  The webinar will introduce a model of moving from plan to action, including using an active transportation coalition to implement actions that influence the advancement of independent mobility.

Legislation

FMCSA recently exempted certain operators from the prohibition in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations against persons with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus from operating a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce. 

In 2017 the federal Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 were updated. GSA published a Revised 508 Standards Toolkit to help agencies transition. The deadline for Federal agencies to conform to the new standards for website accessibility is January 18, 2018. 

Publications

TRB's NCHRP Report 861: Best Practices in Rural Regional Mobility addresses the role of state transit programs and regional planning agencies in the development of services that fall between intercity bus service and rural public transportation. The report covers how to address rural regional mobility needs and includes a checklist for developing a route. 

The National RTAP Resource Center has a number of hard-copies on-hand of NTI's recent report Emergency Preparedness for Transit Employees: On the Job, At Home available for shipment.  You can order this through Resource Share or by emailing [email protected].

The Small Urban and Rural Transit Center has released the 2017 edition of their Rural Transit Fact Book, with data Rural National Transit Database (NTD), American Community Survey and the National Household Travel Survey.

TRB's TCRP Report 192: Decision-Making Toolbox to Plan and Manage Park-and-Ride Facilities for Public Transportation provides approaches to managing park-and-ride facilities, including developing the concept design, implementation, operations, charging for parking, state of good repair, asset management, demand model briefs, and maintenance.
National RTAP Solicits Nominations for Review Board Members

For 2018, National RTAP is soliciting nominations for two state transit officials (one in spring and one in fall) and three rural or tribal transit operators (two in spring and one in fall) for our Review Board.  The term is three years. More information, including the nomination form, is  available here .  The deadline for nominations is January 15, 2018. 
Will You Be our 250th Facebook 'Like'?
 
Wow - we only need 1 more like to reach our goal of 250! Like our National RTAP Facebook page and stay up-to-date between editions of eNews.  
Look for us at these upcoming conferences!
  • Georgia Transit Association, Savannah, GA, December 6-7, 2017 (National RTAP Ambassador)
  • Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., January 7-11, 2018
  • South West Transit Association (SWTA), Denver, CO, March 5-7, 2018
November 30, 2017
Events
National RTAP 
Tribal Peer Call: ADA Riders Guide and Policies and Procedures for Tribal Transit
November 30, 2-3pm

FTA
TAM Internal Coordination
November 30, 2-3pm

APTA
Mid-year Safety Seminar
Houston, TX
December 4-7

FTA
Fundamentals of Bus Collision Investigation
Columbus, OH
December 4-8
Q'Straint
Mobility Device Securement
December 5, 12-1:15pm
Training

FTA
Strategic Transit Automation Research (STAR) Plan
December 5, 1-2:30pm

Vision
18 Minutes to Get You Ready for  Jan. 18 (website accessibility)
December 5, 2pm

NTI
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
Fairfax, VA 
December 5-6

CASTA
From Plan to Action: Getting Results from Your Regional Plans
December 6, 4-5:30pm

Sustainable City Network
Converting Organic Waste into Revenue
December 7, 2pm

FTA
Transit Bus System Safety
Landover, MD
December 11-15
 
U.S. DOT
Advances in Modeling Transportation Supply and Demand
December 12, 1-2pm
Webinar

National RTAP
Understanding the Updated USDOT Drug & Alcohol Testing Regulation
December 12, 2-3pm

USDA
Creating Inclusive Transportation Access to Community Services
December 13, 2-3pm
U.S. DOT Volpe Center
Transportation in a World that Is Gray, Delayed, Small, and Female
Cambridge, MA
December 13

FHWA
Integrating Mobile Observations Peer Exchange
December 13-14
Reno, NV

TRB 
Annual Meeting
Washington  D.C
January 7-11, 2018

For a listing of all National RTAP and other national events, view our  Calendar . To submit an event, email 
 [email protected].

All event times listed as Eastern Time
Resource Spotlight
Bike Sharing Programs Best Practices Spotlight

National RTAP has updated our Bike Sharing Programs Best Practices Spotlight  to include a new  List of Bike Share Companies by State .  In addition to best practices guidance and bike sharing resources, visitors to the Spotlight can click on a state in Bikemunk's interactive map to view a list of bike sharing programs with websites and contact information. Another update to this Best Practices Spotlight was the addition of a recent blog post with case studies by the National Center for Mobility Management entitled Bikeshare is for Rural Communities, Too.
National RTAP is a program of the Federal Transit Administration dedicated to creating rural and Tribal transit solutions through technical assistance, partner collaboration and FREE training materials.

Contact us:
Main:  5 Wheeling Avenue, Woburn, MA 01801, 888-589-6821
Washington, D.C.:  718 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001