National RTAP eNews - July 25, 2019

eNews - July 25, 2019

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.

National RTAP Technical Assistance Conference Agenda Posted

We have posted the basic agenda for the 4th National RTAP Technical Assistance Conference: Charting New Trails for Rural & Tribal Transit, held in Portland, OR on September 15-18, 2019. Now you can get a preview of all the sessions, labs, and special events to start planning your conference experience.

Important Dates:

July 26 - Last Day for Early-Bird Rates. Register today!
July 31 - Student Poster Submission Deadline
August 2 - National RTAP Tribal Transit Champions and Systems Awards Nomination Deadline
August 14 - Last Day to Book a Hotel Room at the Group Rate

National RTAP Performance Report Worksheet

National RTAP's Performance Report Worksheet provides rural transit agency managers a way to determine the performance of their transit system while also establishing benchmarks. The worksheet helps agencies to track metrics like service days and revenue miles, and includes an interactive graph to measure ridership. The tool was recently developed for us by RLS & Associates, Inc.

Featured Resource

Resources and Events

National RTAP 2019 Photo Contest: Transit Through the Seasons

Submit photos of your vehicle, staff, and/or riders against a rural backdrop that depicts the beauty of your area throughout the seasons to National RTAP's 2019 Transit Through the Seasons Photo Contest. We’re looking for examples of photos that show how stunning riding on transit can be. For rules, prize info, and how to submit, click here. The deadline is August 15.

Upcoming State RTAP Manager's Peer Roundtable

The roundtable is an open and informal peer discussion of issues affecting state RTAP programs. No registration required, simply join at GoToMeeting on July 31 at 2:00 PM ET. Discussion topics include FTA reviews, grant management, training certifications, and low-no emission vehicles. For a calendar invite, contact info@nationalrtap.org.

Rural Transit Day Twitter Chat Transcript and Summary Available

National RTAP's #RuralTransitDay Twitter Chat was held on July 16. The chat was moderated by Kari Banta of Texas DOT, Julia Castillo of HIRTA, and Juanita Risch of Idaho Transportation Department. Read about best practices in making connections, conducting staff training, promoting services, and many other topics, in the chat transcript , summary , and article .

U.S. DOT and FTA Updates

FTA is accepting applications for Innovative Mobility Projects in Public Transportation through August 6. The program brings together three areas of high interest: Mobility on Demand, Strategic Transit Automation Research, and Mobility Payment Integration. Applicants can propose projects that involve one or multiple areas.

FTA published a Dear Colleague letter to alert the transit industry of an important, upcoming safety deadline. July 19, 2019 marks one year from the compliance deadline for the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) regulation.

Webinars and Training

Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida (CUTR) is hosting a webinar on How Transit Agencies Implement Best Practice Strategies in Complementary ADA Paratransit Eligibility on August 1 at 12:00 PM ET. This session will summarize the findings and recommendations that stemmed from an article published in the Journal of Public Transportation.

TRB has a number of upcoming webinars on topics that include measuring public involvement effectiveness, social and economic sustainability metrics, and rural transit ridership and investment.

Opportunities

Government Fleet is conducting a benchmarking survey for fleet managers. Results will be published in an aggregated format that will allow fleets to see how they compare with others across the nation. The deadline is July 25.

Bobit Business Media announced their new professional association for the transportation and fleet industries: the Global Ground Transportation Institute (GGTI). GGTI will offer benchmarking, training, and connecting with other industry professionals. The board of directors for GGTI is being established. To learn more, contact Sarah Gazi.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for FY 2019 Tribal Opioid Response Grants. The program aims to address the opioid crisis in tribal communities by increasing access to culturally appropriate treatment. The application due date is August 6.

Earth Networks is collecting lessons learned from those working in emergency management about natural disasters like tornadoes, wild fires, hurricanes, and other severe weather. Participants will receive a copy of a guide of severe weather stories collected from emergency managers. Submissions are accepted through August 15.

Publications

AASHTO's Connecting Transportation & Health: A Guide to Communication & Collaboration provides resources that help agencies achieve successful policy, planning, and project outcomes through effective collaboration with health stakeholders. It includes tools, resources, process steps, integration opportunities, and case examples.

TCRP's Comprehensive Bus Network Redesigns examines practices among agencies of different sizes, geographic locations, and modes where transit agencies fundamentally alter the structure and organization of their bus networks. The report covers bus network redesign rationales, outcomes, best practices, and challenges.

FHWA's Guidebook for Measuring Multimodal Network Connectivity includes an analysis process, methods, and measures to support planning decisions for connecting multimodal planning, such as transit, bicycles and pedestrian modes of transportation. Current practices and case studies are provided.

The National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD), published by BTS, was recently updated with several new datasets, including alternative fueling stations.

The newest addition to our circulating collection is Safety & Securement: Equipment Operation for Passengers with Disabilities, a training DVD from Easter Seals Project Action and American Bus Association. If you would like to borrow this or any of our other partner training DVDs, email us at info@nationalrtap.org.

Updated National RTAP Wheelchair Securement Topic Guide

We updated our Wheelchair Securement in July 2019. New resources include University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute's Wheelchair Securement System Videos and University of Louisville's Wheelchair Tiedown and Occupant Restraint Practices in Paratransit Vehicles.

Legislation

Vehicles using an automatic onboard recording device (AOBRD) must switch to an electronic logging device (ELD) by December 16 to comply with the ELD Mandate. That is when the grandfathering provision ends.

A Lifetime Disqualification for Human Trafficking final rule was issued by FMCSA on July 16 that permanently bans drivers convicted of human trafficking from operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV). This rule reflects a change to the No Human Trafficking on Our Roads Act which prohibits an individual from operating a CMV for life if that individual uses a CMV in committing a felony involving a severe form of human trafficking.

National RTAP Instagram Feed Added to Marketing Toolkit

To provide ideas of how transit is marketed through creative and attractive bus wraps and signage, we're now posting recent images from each week's National RTAP Instagram Page to the bottom of the Resources Page of our Marketing Toolkit.

Calendar of Upcoming Events

National Safety Council

Injury Facts: Data You Can Count On

July 26, 2:00-3:00 PM

Webinar

APTA

Sustainability & Multimodal Planning Workshop

Boston, MA, July 28-31

Training

Volpe Center

The Rapid Expansion of Micromobility, Data-Sharing, and Dynamic Streets

July 30, 12:00-12:45 PM

Webinar

Great Lakes ADA Center

How to Create and Test Accessible PDFs

July 30, 1:00 PM

Webinar

FHWA

Shared Mobility in Regional Transportation Planning Case Studies

July 30, 2:00-4:00 PM

Seminar

TRB

Toolkit for Measuring Public Involvement Effectiveness in Transportation

July 30, 2:00-3:30 PM

Webinar

Idaho Transportation Department

Idaho 2019 Public Transportation Summit

Boise, ID, July 30-Aug 1

Conference

National Transit Institute

Public Involvement in Transportation Decisionmaking

Anchorage, AK, July 30 - August 1

Training

National Center for Rural Road Safety

Safe Systems for Rural Areas

July 31, 1:00-2:30 PM

Webinar

National RTAP

State RTAP Manager Peer Roundtable

July 31, 2:00-3:00 PM

Peer Roundtable

CUTR

How Transit Agencies Implement Best Practice Strategies in Complementary ADA Paratransit Eligibility

August 1, 12:00 PM

Webinar

Routematch

Next-Generation Scheduling: Why Real-Time Isn’t Good Enough For Future Transit

Aug 1, 2:00-3:00 PM

Webinar

TRB

Social and Economic Sustainability Metrics for Public Transportation

August 6, 1:00-3:30 PM

Webinar

FTA

Public Transit Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) Workshop for Transit Operators

Chicago, IL, August 7

Training

Association of Travel Instruction

Annual Conference

Atlanta, GA, August 7-8

Conference

FHWA

National Tribal Transportation Safety Peer Exchange

Lakewood, CO, August 7-8

Peer Exchange

CUTR

How to Perform a Bus Collision Investigation – A Short Course

Mariana, FL, August 8-9

Training

KPTA/KYTC

Kentucky Public Transit Conference & Expo

Lexington, KY, August

Conference

NLTAPA/NTTD

2019 National LTAP/TTAP and NTTD Conference

Stowe, VT, August 12-15

Conference

Earth Networks

Tools for Coordinating Your Severe Weather Response Plan

August 13, 1:00 PM

Webinar

APTA/AASHTO/CTAA

18th Biennial State Programs Meeting and State Public Transportation Partnerships Conference

Washington, DC, August 14-16, 2019

Conference

WSTA

Washington State Public Transportation Conference, Vendor Expo and State Roadeo

Seattle, WA, August 16-20

Conference

FTA

Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) Workshop for Transit Operators

San Francisco, CA, August 20

Training

FTA

Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) Workshop for Transit Operators

San Francisco, CA, August 21

Training

TRB

Practices and Marketing to Increase Rural Transit Ridership and Investment

August 27, 2:00-3:30 PM

Webinar

Q'Straint

Wheelchair Securement Training

September 5, 12:00-1:15 PM

Webinar

URSTA

Fall 2019 Conference & Roadeo

Provo, UT, September 6-7

Conference

National Safety Council

NSC 2019 Congress and Expo

San Diego, CA, September 6-12

Conference

TRB

International Conference on Women’s Issues in Transportation

Irvine, CA, September 10-13

Conference

Latinos in Transit

2019 Inaugural Leadership Summit

Newport Beach, CA, September 14

Summit

National RTAP

4th Biennial Technical Assistance Conference: Charting New Trails for Rural & Tribal Transit

Portland, OR, September 15-18

Conference

APTA

APTAtech - Transportation Technology Conference

Columbus, OH, September 15-18

Conference

Center for Tribal Transportation

National Transportation in Indian Country Conference

Big Sky, MT, September 16-19

Conference

National Transit Institute

Introduction to Transit Asset Management- (Tier I Agencies)

Washington, DC, September 17-19

Training

NTI

Procurement for Small and Medium Transit Systems

Portland, OR, September 18-19

Training

National Transit Institute

Transit-Oriented Development

St. Louis, MO, September 19-20

Training

For a list ing of all National RTAP and other national events, view our Calendar . To submit an event, email info@nationalrtap.org .

All event times listed in Eastern Time.

Look for Us at these Upcoming Conferences

Idaho 2019 Public Transportation Summit, Boise, ID, July 30-August 1
Kentucky Public Transit Conference & Expo, Lexington, KY, August 11-16
FTA State Programs Meeting and State Public Transportation Partnerships Conference, Washington, DC, August 14-16
Rocky Mountain Region TTP Program Tribal Transportation Meeting, Billings, MT, August 14-16
Washington State Public Transportation Conference, Vendor Expo and State Roadeo, Seattle, WA, August 16-20
URSTA, Provo, UT, September 6-7
National Transportation in Indian Country Conference, Big Sky, MT, September 16-19
National RTAP Technical Assistance Conference, Portland, OR, September 15-18
BusCon, Indianapolis, IN, September 23-25
Arizona Rural Transportation Summit, Tuscon, AZ, October 16-18
Oklahoma State Driving Championships & Training Conference, Tulsa, OK, October 22-25
Oregon Public Transportation Conference, Seaside, OR, October 29-30
Georgia Transit Association Conference, Jekyll Island, GA, December 5-7

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