National RTAP eNews - October 1, 2020

eNews - October 1, 2020

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.

Rural Transit Manager Peer Roundtable Next Week

Please join National RTAP staff and Review Board members for a Transit Manager Peer Roundtable on October 8, 2020, from 2:00-3:00 PM ET for an opportunity to convene with your peers and discuss issues affecting your job, your agency, and your community. Topics may include transportation to voting, farebox revenue, and remote work. Register for the Peer Roundtable.

Upcoming National RTAP #RuralTransitHeroes Twitter Chat

We hope you will join us for our second #RuralTransitHeroes Twitter Chat. We all need heroes and there’s no better place to look than among our own. National RTAP will host a Twitter chat on October 20, 2020, from 2:00-3:00 PM ET, to talk about people in transit who have responded in a time of need. The chat will be moderated by Julia Castillo, Executive Director, HIRTA Public Transit, and Kari Banta, Section 5304 Program Manager, TX DOT. RSVP for an email invite.

Resources and Events

ITE Talks Transportation's Tracks Podcast Features National RTAP

Robin Phillips, National RTAP Executive Director, discussed the challenges of delivering safe and effective public transportation in rural and tribal areas and highlighted challenges faced by these communities, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Promoting Quality of Life Through Rural and Tribal Transit ITE Talks Transportation's tracks podcast on September 22, 2020.

U.S. DOT and FTA Updates

The FTA Fiscal Year 2021 Transit Training Schedule is now available from the Transportation Safety Institute. Courses include a Transit Supervisor Certification Course, SMS Principles for Transit, and more.

U.S. DOT awarded $1 billion in 2020 Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grants to 70 projects. View their interactive map to view project award details. Rural projects funded include new transit centers, park-and-ride facilities, and regional transit hubs.

A Final Rule was published in the Federal Register on September 23, 2020 to amend FTA regulations regarding project management oversight. The rule addresses major capital projects, project management oversight contractors, and project management plans.

FTA published a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning. Pilot programs must examine ways to improve economic development and ridership, foster multimodal connectivity and accessibility, improve transit access for pedestrian and bicycle traffic, engage the private sector, identify infrastructure needs, and enable mixed-use development near transit stations. Proposals are due October 26, 2020.

FTA's September 2020 Transit Safety and Oversight Spotlight newsletter is available. The issue provides presentation slides and recording from FTA's COVID-19 Listening Session on Supporting the Health, Safety and Confidence of Transit Riders and training for bus drivers on Humped or blocked highway-rail crossings.

FTA’s Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) Technical Assistance Center (TAC) offers voluntary reviews of draft Agency Safety Plans (ASPs). Agencies may submit ASPs by email to PTASP-TAC@dot.gov by November 13, 2020 for review.

Webinars and Training

National RTAP staff and ambassadors will be participating in a number of in-person and virtual state conferences this month, providing exhibits and presentations:

Florida - FPTA Virtual Annual Conference
Idaho - ITD 2020 Public Transportation Summit
Iowa - IPTA Mid-Year Meeting
Minnesota - MPTA 2020 Minnesota Public Transit Conference
Oklahoma - OTA 2020 Oklahoma State Driving Championships & Training Conference

MMWR Weekly COVID-19 Briefing is a weekly podcast on the latest scientific information about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 response. Each episode provides an overview of the latest scientific information published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). New episodes are posted every Monday.

National Aging and Disability Transportation Center (NADTC) is holding an online course on Cost Allocation Meets Coordination: A Mini-Course for Human Services Transportation Providers on 3 consecutive Wednesdays: October 14, 21, and 28, 2020. Participants will leave with a better sense of how your fully allocated costs can be an important tool for transit agency coordination efforts.

Publications

TCRP's Data Sharing Guidance for Public Transit Agencies – Now and in the Future is designed to help agencies make decisions about sharing their data, including how to evaluate benefits, costs, and risks.

NCMM's Open-Source Software: What Can It Do for Mobility Management? Part 1 and Part 2 provide an introduction to open-source software, share examples, and describe considerations for transit agency use.

Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization's Operating a Successful Community Shuttle Program: A Guidebook is a resource for agencies and organizations that are interested in learning more about developing and operating shuttle programs. Topics covered include developing goals, service design, performance measurement, funding, branding and marketing, and coordination.

The latest National Transportation Knowledge Network (NTKN) blog post, written by National RTAP and Montana DOT staff, features Oregon DOT's Traffic Exploring Individual Travel Modeling to Account for Road Network Disruption LibGuide.

NCHRP's A Guide to Emergency Management at State Transportation Agencies provides an approach to all‐hazards emergency management, which involves multi-agency, multi‐jurisdictional cooperation in emergency planning and operations.

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes the health benefits of public transportation. The Public Transportation Action Guide synthesizes lessons learned from a project examining the role of public health in addressing social determinants of health through community-wide interventions, including the introduction or expansion of public transportation systems.

National RTAP Roadeos Topic Guide Updated

The National RTAP Roadeos Topic Guide provides resources about how to run a bus roadeo. The guide was updated in October 2020. Newly added resources include:

Bus Roadeo Handbooks from Pennsylvania Public Transit Association and Tennessee Public Transit Association
National RTAP's Best Practices Spotlight Article on Bus Roadeos

Databases and Tools

Google Maps now provides COVID-19 info, displaying a seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people per area, and a label that indicates whether the cases are trending up or down.

National RTAP RFP to Develop a Small Transit Agency Management Application

National RTAP is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit proposals from interested and qualified technology vendors to provide a transit management application to be hosted on a third-party server, develop training materials, and provide on-going technical support.

The web-based application will assist small rural/tribal transit agencies with managing their day-to-day operations including scheduling, dispatching, compliance reporting, billing, and/or payroll. Proposals must be received by October 13, 2020.

Opportunities

The Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program provides funding for the construction, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of nationally-significant projects within, adjacent to, or accessing Federal and tribal lands. Tribes may apply for funding through November 2, 2020.

The USDA Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program provides funding for rural projects through local utility organizations. Eligible projects include facilities and equipment to educate and train rural residents to facilitate economic development and business expansion.

Nominations are open for the Fleet Safety Experience's 2020 Fleet Safety Award. Individuals who have shown leadership, innovation, and measurable results in enhancing the safety of their employees, those traveling with them, as well as everyone else who shares the road with them may be nominated. Nominations close October 9, 2020.

National Center for Mobility Management (NCMM) is looking for bloggers for their Mobility Lines blog. Applicants can include those working in mobility management or writing about transportation.

Welcome New State RTAP Manager

National RTAP extends a warm welcome to our community to our newest State RTAP Manager, Leanna Humble of Wyoming. To contact Leanna or any RTAP Manager, visit our Directory of State RTAP Managers.

RTAPgo Launch Party Postponed

National RTAP is postponing the #RTAPgo launch. Our interviews with Transit Managers are chock full of great information and we want to make sure that you enjoy listening and learning.We decided to take the time to split up some of the interviews and make them into more bite-sized stories. We will notify you soon with the new launch date. Thank you for your patience and stay tuned!

Legislation

On October 1, 2020, the President signed signed H.R. 8337, Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act, to extend federal government funding through December 11, 2020. The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) is extended by 1 year.

Calendar of Upcoming Events

All event times listed in Eastern Time. Subtract 1 hour for Central Time, 2 for Mountain Time, 3 for Pacific Time, 4 for Alaska, and 6 for Hawaii.

NHTSA

Recent Trends in Risky Driving

October 1, 1:00-2:00 PM