eNews - October 18, 2018
National RTAP is a program of the Federal Transit Administration dedicated to creating rural and tribal transit solutions through free training materials, technical assistance, and partner collaboration.
A Look Back at the Rural and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference
Several individuals and organizations were honored at the 23rd National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference (RIBTC), held recently in Breckenridge, CO. Awardees included National RTAP Review Board Member Tim Geibel (shown in center of photo), General Manager of the Crawford Area Transit Authority, whose agency won an FTA Administrator Award for Outstanding Public Service in Rural Public Transportation, and National RTAP Review Board Member and VTrans Public Transit Coordinator Amy Rast, who accepted the Rural Mobility Champion Award on behalf of Ross MacDonald of Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans).

View photos of these and additional awardees, and many other scenes from this memorable conference in National RTAP's RIBTC Facebook Album .

Presentations for many of the RIBTC sessions are available online . Go to the schedule to find individual sessions, scroll to the bottom, and download available presentations. For presentations not posted, please contact CASTA to request them.
Are you involved in planning a Bus Roadeo? Then you need the National RTAP Bus Roadeo Materials and Supplies List . The list is part of our Bus Roadeo Toolkit and details everything you need for the course, judging, scoring and roadeo management. We even provide recommended heights for items like highway cones. The list is in Word format and can be used as a checklist and customized to your needs.
Bus Roadeo Course
Resources and Events
Save the Date for Upcoming National RTAP Transit Manager Peer Roundtable

Join us and your fellow Transit Managers for the first of our new Peer Roundtables on November 6 at 2:00 PM ET. This will be an informal discussion of issues affecting rural and tribal transit managers and an open information exchange. We will plan some potential discussion topics, but please come with questions. National RTAP staff will facilitate, but there will be no presentation and it will not be recorded. Join the Roundtable via GoToMeeting (no registration required) using your phone or computer. Mark your calendar and let us know if you have any questions!

Everyone on the Bus Twitter Chat Transcript and Summary Available

On October 17, 2018 Kari Banta, National RTAP Review Board member and Texas DOT Program Manager, RTAP and Section 5310 led an #Every1ontheBus Twitter Chat . The chat discussed ways to make transit available to everyone through considering the specific needs of different riders. The chat transcript and summary are now available.

U.S. DOT and FTA Updates

FTA is offering additional training on their Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) Final Rule, including a webinar today, October 18 at 2:00 PM ET on the PTASP Bus Guidance and Template. Information about all their upcoming PTASP webinars is available here .

U.S. DOT invites public comment on the document, Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0 (AV 3.0) . AV 3.0 expands the scope to all surface on-road transportation with goals of improving multi-modal safety and outlining a process for working with U.S. DOT. Comments are due December 3, 2018.

U.S. DOT has posted several new Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) guidance documents on their website , including: Training for DBE Certification Application Review Staff and Procedures for Submitting Good Faith Efforts Information on Design-Bid-Build Contracts.

Webinars and Training

Sign up for an AARP Solutions Forum on the Future of Transportation webcast on October 23, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The webcast will focus on a vision of transportation to manage disruptive forces, leading to a more equitable and sustainable future.

NTI is holding a webinar on TCRP's Battery Electric Buses - State of the Practice on October 23, 2:00-3:30 PM ET. The synthesis focuses on the current benefits, challenges, and considerations associated with deploying a battery electric bus fleet.

Register for TRB's webinar on
Examining the Effects of NEMT Brokerages on Transportation Coordination on October 25, 2:00-3:00 PM ET. Presenters will suggest strategies so transportation programs can achieve common desired outcomes for providing Non-Emergency Medical Transportation as part of Medicaid managed care.

Publications

The National RTAP Resource Center received two sample Transit Asset Management (TAM) spreadsheets from Alaska DOT: an asset inventory spreadsheet and an asset condition measurement spreadsheet. The spreadsheets are available in a downloadable zip file and are also part of our Transit Asset Management Topic Guide .

NCST's Travel Effects and Associated Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Automated Vehicles reviewed evidence on travel and environmental effects of automated vehicles (AVs). Findings about mechanisms by which AVs may change travel demand include transit utilization, roadway capacity and travel time burden.

TCRP's Private Transit: Existing Services and Emerging Directions  provides information about private transit services (including airport shuttles, shared taxis, private commuter buses, dollar vans and jitneys) and ways they are addressing transportation needs in a variety of operating environments. 

Opportunities

America Walks, Every Body Walk! Collaborative, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Juliet Ashby Hillman Foundation, Lyft, WalkBoston, and other sponsors announced the Community Change Grant program . This program awards $1,500 in stipends for projects that create healthy, active, engaged communities. Applications are due November 2, 2018.

FHWA published a Notice of Funding Opportunity in the making $300 million available through its Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program. Funding is available for construction, reconstruction or rehabilitation of transportation facilities within, adjacent to, or providing access to Federal or Tribal lands. The deadline is December 17, 2018.

TCRP is requesting transit agencies to participate in research on transportation access to health care, which will be used for a report - Guidebook and Research Plan to Help Communities Improve Transportation to Health Care Services. Agencies can access the survey online or contact researcher Ken Hosen to set up an interview. The survey closes October 31, 2018.

Is your agency utilizing collision avoidance technologies (e.g. forward collision avoidance alerts, lane departure warnings, multi-vision sensor systems like Mobileye, or automated braking)? If so, the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) would like to include you as either a survey participant or case study for a TCRP synthesis project. Please email Lisa Staes .

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2020, and is searching of images primarily from 1970 to 2000 that feature transportation research or TRB activities within various institutions. If you have any, please send them to [email protected] .

Technology Tools

NHTSA has developed a SaferRide app that identifies the location of drunk drivers so users can arrange for alternative transportation.

National RTAP Conference Recommendation Contest Winner Announced

Matt Bradley, Nevada DOT Transportation Planner/Analyst was the winner of the future National RTAP Conference Recommendations Contest at RIBTC. Everyone had a lot of great ideas, and Matt’s suggestion about a session on implementing and instituting feeder routes to connect to intercity bus routes won the prize.
Federal Transit Administration
Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) Bus Guidance and Template
October 18, 2:00-3:30 PM

National Safety Council 
National Safety Council Congress and Expo
Houston, TX, October 20-26

National Rural ITS/ITS AZ
National Rural ITS Conference
Fort McDowell, AZ, October 21-24 

Community Connections
Community Connections Innovations Handbook and Case Studies
October 22, 1:00 - 2:30 PM

National Transit Institute
Procurement IV - Contract Administration 
Brooklyn, NY, October 22-26

AARP
Future of Transportation Webcast
October 23, 11:00 AM-12:30 PM

Transportation Safety Institute
Safety for the Rural Aging Road User
October 23, 1:00-2:30 PM

National Transit Institute
TCRP Synthesis 130: Battery Electric Buses - State of the Practice
October 23, 2:00-3:30 PM

Federal Transit Administration
FTA Safety Workshop
Washington, DC, October 23-25

ESPA Consulting
Frequently Asked Questions on Transportation and the ADA
October 24, 2:00-3:30 PM

National Transit Institute
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
Salt Lake City, UT, October 24-25

Q'Straint
Wheelchair Securement Training
October 25, 12:00-1:15 PM

Transportation Research Board
Examining the Effects of NEMT Brokerages on Transportation Coordination
October 25, 2:00-3:00 PM

Oreg on Transit Association
Oregon Public Transportation Annual Conference
Bend, OR, October 28-31

American Automotive Leasing Association
Fleet Safety Conference
Las Vegas, NV, October 29-31

Federal Transit Administration
TAM Webinar Series: Coordination with MPOs on TAM Plans and Activities
October 31, 2:00-3:15 PM

Louisiana Transportation Research Center
Louisiana Transportation Conference
New Orleans, LA, October 31-November 2

Federal Transit Administration
PTASP Bus Guidance and Template
Thursday, November 1, 2-3:30 PM

National Transit Institute
Title VI and Public Transit Course 
New York, NY, November 5-6

National RTAP
Transit Manager Peer Roundtable
November 6, 2:00-3:00 PM

Florida DOT
National RTAP START (Safety Training and Rural Transit) Train-the-Trainer Course
Tallahassee, FL, November 7-8

Transportation Research Board 
Forum on the Impact of Vehicle Technologies and Automation on Users 
Iowa City, IA, November 7-9 

National Transit Institute
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
Washington, DC, November 7-9

CUTR
Social Marketing in Transportation
Online - November 9, 16, 30
Tampa, FL, December 6-7 

National Transit Institute
Transit Trainers' Workshop 2018
Seattle, WA, November 11-13

AARP
AARP Livable Communities National Conference
Charlotte, NC, November 12-14

CALACT 
Transit Technology & Shared Mobility Conference
Napa, CA, November 12-15

Q'Straint 
Wheelchair Securement Training 
November 15, 12:00-1:15 PM

Federal Transit Administration
PTASP Final Rule Frequently Asked Questions
November 15, 2:00-3:30 PM

National Transit Institute
Procurement III - RFPs & Competitive Contract Negotiations 
Orange, CA, November 26-30

National Center for Mobility Management
An Introduction to Human-Centered Design and its Application to Transportation
San Diego, CA, December 3-4 

National Transit Institute
Title VI and Public Transit 
Laredo, TX, December 3-4

CUTR
Transit Supervisor Certification Course 
Tampa, FL, December 3-7

National Transit Institute
Transit Maintenance Leadership Workshop
Jacksonville, FL, December 3-7

Rural Road Safety Center 
Bridging the Gap Summit
Savannah, GA, December 4-6

For a list ing 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
Look for Us at these Upcoming Conferences
  • Oklahoma State Driving Championships & Training Conference, Norman, OK, Oct. 16-19
  • Oregon Public Transportation Conference, Bend, OR, Oct. 28-31
  • Louisiana Transportation Conference, New Orleans, LA, Oct. 31-Nov. 2
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