National RTAP eNews - January 9, 2020

eNews - January 9, 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.

Upcoming National RTAP Twitter Chat on #Succession2Transit

How can transit organizations develop an effective succession plan while still meeting the demands of the job? How can organizations prepare leaders for tomorrow’s challenges? What are the essential things to do in succession planning – even if you can’t do everything you’d like to do?

National RTAP will host a Transit Succession Planning Twitter Chat - #Succession2Transit - on January 28, 2:00-3:00 PM with Dr. Mike Mowery of Strategic Government Resources. Join us as we learn together about best practices, pitfalls to avoid, and practical tips to prepare the next generation of transit leaders. RSVP for an email invite.

New National RTAP Technical Brief on Time Management

Rural transit managers are increasingly finding their time stretched due to new regulatory and reporting requirements, technological advancements, adapting operations toward more environmentally sustainable practices, and simply keeping up with the ever-expanding influx of information and communications. Time Management for Rural Transit Managers is a new technical brief to help address this challenge, including ways to increase productivity and reduce stress caused by task and information overload.

Resources and Events

National RTAP Tribal Transit Peer Roundtable Summary Available

National RTAP and fellow Tribal Transit providers met for a Peer Roundtable on November 27, 2019 to talk about the status of your programs and any challenges that you're currently facing. Issues discussed included pre-authorization authority, best disposition practices, and micro-mobility on tribal lands. Access the roundtable summary.

National RTAP RFP for 2021 Technical Assistance Conference Local Host

National RTAP is requesting proposals for a location for our 5th biennial rural and tribal technical assistance conference in fall 2021. Visit the 2021 Conference page and the Local Host RFP for full details. On that page you will also find the Q&A webinar recording and slides, and a Q&A document which answers all questions submitted regarding the RFP and the 2021 conference.

National RTAP Solicits Nominations for Review Board Members

For spring 2020, National RTAP is soliciting nominations for three state transit officials and one rural or tribal transit operator for our Review Board. The nominations from this solicitation will be used to fill vacancies in fall 2020 and into 2021. More information and the nomination form are available here. The deadline is January 31, 2020.

U.S. DOT and FTA Updates

The deadline for the U.S. DOT Rural Opportunities To Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) Council Request for Information has been extended to January 27, 2020. Comments are sought on unmet infrastructure needs in rural transportation, barriers rural communities face, experiences with U.S. DOT discretionary grant and credit programs, and opportunities for U.S. DOT to improve services and technical assistance to rural communities for these programs.

On December 30, 2019, U.S. DOT proposed to rescind SAFETYNET. This system of records facilitates authorized sharing of FMCSA records of companies and drivers of commercial motor vehicles registered with the Motor Carrier Information Management System (MCMIS). Comments should be submitted by January 29, 2020.

FTA developed a Sample Agency Safety Plan Development Timeline for Bus Transit Providers. The document provides a sample set of tasks and a timeline to support bus transit providers in drafting an Agency Safety Plan as required in FTA’s Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) regulation.

U.S. DOT has revised their Administrative Rulemaking, Guidance, and Enforcement Procedures through a final rule posted in the Federal Register on December 26, 2019, effective January 27, 2020. When FTA and other U.S. DOT agencies publish rules in the Federal Register, any adverse comments must be received in writing within a specified time, and if none are received, the rule will become effective on a specified date.

Opportunities

NCMM is soliciting letters of Interest from communities in conducting regional meetings focused on specific transportation challenges. NCMM will choose three communities with whom it will co-design these one-day meetings and will facilitate the meetings, which will take place in February 2020. Letters of interest are due January 9, 2020.

TCRP and FTA fund the Transit Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) program to support innovations to improve the efficiency, safety, security, and ridership of transit systems. The 2020 Program Announcement has been released. Organizations and individuals can submit project proposals for concept explorations demonstrating validity of unproven concepts, and projects that develop and test prototypes of proven concepts. Transit IDEA proposals are due May 1, 2020.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Indian Energy is soliciting applications for funding to deploy energy infrastructure on Tribal lands. Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Village Corporations, Intertribal Organizations, and Tribal Energy Development Organizations are eligible. Applications are due February 6, 2020.

The Indian Community Development Block Grant Program provides eligible grantees with direct grants for use in developing viable Indian and Alaska Native Communities. Projects funded must principally benefit low-and-moderate-income persons. Funds may be used for infrastructure construction and economic development. The 2019-2020 Notice of Funding Availability has been published. The application deadline is February 3, 2020.

Government Fleet is accepting applications for the Leading Fleets award. The program recognizes fleet operations that are leading the industry in the areas of interaction with customers, staff, the fleet community, and the community they serve; competitiveness and efficiency; setting and working toward future goals; and addressing immediate challenges. Applications are due February 14, 2020.

The Office on Violence Against Women Training and Technical Assistance Initiative will provide direct technical assistance to existing and potential grantees and sub-grantees to enhance efforts to implement projects supported by grant funds. Applications are due February 26, 2020.

Webinars and Training

Smart Growth America is hosting a webinar on their report - The State of Transportation and Health Equity on January 23, 2020 from 2:30-3:30 PM ET. The training will highlight the most promising strategies from their report to advance health equity through transportation.

The 3rd Annual Seminole Tribe of Florida Renewable Energy and Sustainability Conference will focus on the changing landscape for Tribal energy development and sustainability, including best practices, federal leadership, policy, and regulatory changes, funding, planning, and development. It will take place on February 11-13, 2020 in Hollywood, FL and is free for Native Americans and those working within Indian Country.

TRB is holding a forum on Preparing for Automated Vehicles and Shared Mobility in Washington, DC on February 24-25, 2020. The objective is to is to bring together public, private, and research organizations to share perspectives on the critical issues surrounding the deployment of automated vehicles and shared mobility.

Publications

NORC at the University of Chicago and ITN America conducted an Environmental Scan of Ride Share Services Available for Older Adults. The purpose was to describe U.S. ride share services that include older adults as part of the service population or that are specifically designed to serve older adults. Their literature review included National RTAP resources.

NCHRP's Opportunities for State DOTs (and others) to Encourage Shared-Use Mobility Practices in Rural Areas is a best practices toolkit to inform State DOTs, regional and rural transportation agencies, local governments, and other state and local agencies about various steps and tasks involved for strategically implementing strategies such as ridesourcing, carsharing, bikesharing, and microtransit services.

Transit Center's Winning Transit pulls together the experience of transit advocates into a guide for running successful transit campaigns that advance the long-term goal of achieving broad-based access to fast, frequent, reliable, affordable transit. The toolkit is available in PDF format and in chapters, and contains videos and sections on strategic campaigns, building relationships with government and agency staff, open data, transparency, assessing progress, and celebrating wins.

FHWA's Transportation Management Center Information Technology Security is a guideline for transportation management centers on improving information technology security for facilities, networks, workstations, servers, data storage, peripherals, and operations. The report helps agencies mitigate risks from cyber-attacks on centers, servers, peripherals. and networks.

TCRP's Fast-Tracked: A Tactical Transit Study documents the current state of the practice of Tactical Transit projects, specifically for surface transit. These are both physical and operational strategies that improve the delivery of surface transit projects using this methodology.

The National Academy of Medicine's Transportation Equity, Health, and Aging: A Novel Approach to Healthy Longevity with Benefits Across the Life Span discusses how a partnership between health care and transportation could result in better outcomes for all.

Legislation

FMCSA announced that it is increasing the minimum annual percentage rate for random controlled substances testing for drivers of commercial motor vehicles requiring a commercial driver’s license from the current rate of 25% of the average number of driver positions to 50% of the average number of driver positions, effective January 1, 2020.

New National RTAP Toolkits Overview Web Page

A new National RTAP web page provides an overview of all our online toolkits, such as the Transit Manager's Toolkit and Marketing Toolkit. The page provides the links and brief descriptions for each toolkit.

National RTAP Transit Acronym Dictionary Updated

The National RTAP Transit Acronym Dictionary was updated in December 2019. The resource now includes over 470 industry acronyms, including new additions like ROUTES (Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success) and TTT (Transportation Technology Tournament).

Calendar of Upcoming Events

FHWA

Virtual Public Involvement - Extending Our Reach #4: Emerging Visualization Techniques and Virtual Meetings

January 9, 2020, 2:00-4:00 PM

Webinar

National Complete Streets Coalition

Protecting User Data and Expanding Mobility for All Communities

January 9, 1:00-2:00 PM

Webinar

Transportation for America

TransportationCamp DC 2020

Washington, DC, January 11

Training

National Transit Institute

Management of Transit Construction Projects

Everett, WA, January 12-14

Training

TRB

TRB Annual Meeting

Washington, DC, January 12-16

Conference

American Bus Association

Busworld Academy North America

Omaha, NE, January 13-14

Conference

Universal Service Administrative Company

HCF Program Funding Request Best Practices for FY2020

January 14, 2:00-3:00 PM

Webinar

Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Rural Partnership Development Meeting

Rockville, MD, January 14-16

Meeting

National Transit Institute

Management of Transit Construction Projects

Anchorage, AK, January 14-16

Training

Native Learning Center

Time Management: Taking Control of Your Calendar

January 16, 2:00-3:00 PM

Webinar

National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health

Preparing to Engage with Legislators and Policymakers 2020

January 16, 3:00-4:00 PM

Webinar

National Transit Institute

Title VI and Public Transit

Sacramento, CA, January 16-17

Training

Association of Travel Instruction

Travel Training Expert Panel: Answers to Your Most Pressing Questions

January 17, 2:00-3:30 PM

Webinar

United Motorcoach Association

UMA Motorcoach EXPO

Nashville, TN, January 19-23

Conference

National Transit Institute

Comprehensive ADA Paratransit Eligibility

Dallas, TX, January 21-22

Training

National Transit Institute

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Sacramento, CA, January 22-23

Training

Smart Growth America

The State of Transportation and Health Equity

January 23, 2:30-3:30 PM

Webinar

American Traffic Safety Services Association

Annual Convention and Traffic Expo

New Orleans, LA, January 24-28

Conference

Rutgers Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation

Community Approach to Resiliency Planning

Piscataway, NJ, January 27-28

Training

FTA

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

Washington, DC, January 28

Training

Eno Center for Transportation

Understanding How Women Travel

January 28, 3:00-3:30 PM

Webinar

FTA

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

Washington, DC, January 29

Training

National RTAP

Transit Succession Planning Twitter Chat

January 28, 2:00-3:00 PM

Twitter Chat

University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute

Why the Census Matters to Health Equity

January 28, 3:00 PM

Webinar

National Transit Institute

Introduction to Transit Asset Management (Tier 1 Agencies)

San Francisco, CA, January 28-30

Training

National Transit Institute

Management of Transit Construction Projects

Atlanta, GA, January 28-30

Training

Active Transportation Resource Center

Active Transportation First/Last Mile to Transit

January 29, 1:00-2:00 PM

Webinar

Metro Magazine

Transit Bus eXchange

Scottsdale, AZ, February 3-5

Conference

National Transit Institute

FTA Real Estate Requirements

San Francisco, CA, February 4-5

Training

National Transit Institute

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Jamaica, NY, February 5-6

Training

National Transit Institute

Advancing Mobility Management

Phoenix, AZ, February 5-6

Training

National RTAP

Transit Manager Peer Roundtable

February 6, 2:00-3:00 PM

Roundtable

Native Learning Center

Conflict Management

February 6, 2:00-3:00 PM

Webinar

Seminole Tribe of Florida

Renewable Energy & Sustainability Conference

Hollywood, FL, February 11-13

Conference

National Transit Institute

Understanding ADA

Atlanta, GA, February 12

Training

Endeavor Business Media

Transit Bus Summit

Horseshoe Bay, TX, February 17-19

Conference

APTA

2020 Marketing & Communications Workshop

Lake Buena Vista, FL, Feb. 23-26

Training

SWTA

Freedom Through Transit Conference and EXPO

Shreveport, LA, February 23-26

Conference

National Transit Institute

Paratransit Management and Operations

Tampa, FL, February 24-25

Training

National Transit Institute

Advancing Mobility Management

Nashville, TN, February 24-25

Training

National Academies/TRB

Forum on Preparing for Automated Vehicles and Shared Mobility

Washington, DC, February 24-25

Forum

National Transit Institute

Comprehensive ADA Paratransit Eligibility

Salt Lake City, UT, February 25-26

Training

National Transit Institute

Title VI and Public Transit

Seattle, WA, February 27-28

Training

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)/American Academy of Family Physicians

Introduction to the UDS Mapper

March 3, 2:00-3:00 PM

Webinar

National Transit Institute

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise

North Little Rock, AR, March 9-11

Training

National Transit Institute

Procurement II - Risk Assessment & Basic Cost or Price Analysis

Kansas City, MO, March 9-13

Training

National Transit Institute

FTA Real Estate Requirements

Washington, DC, March 10-11

Training

FTA

Safety Management Systems (SMS) Principles for State Safety Oversight

Seattle, WA, March 13

Training

National Transit Institute

Title VI and Public Transit

Wilmington, DE, March 17-18

Training

Shared Use Mobility Center

National Shared Mobility Summit

Chicago, IL, March 17-19, 2020

Conference

National Transit Institute

Advancing Mobility Management

Springfield, MA, March 25-26

Training

National Transit Institute

Understanding ADA

Boise ID, March 31

Training

AzTA & ADOT

Arizona's 33rd Annual Statewide Transit Conference

Flagstaff, AZ, Monday, April 13-15

Conference

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. Subtract 1 hour for Central Time, 2 for Mountain Time, 3 for Pacific Time, and 4 for Alaska Time.

Look for Us at these Upcoming Conferences

TRB Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, January 12-16
Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Rural Partnership Development Meeting, Rockville, MD, January 14-16
MassDOT Transportation Innovation Conference, Worcester, MA, April 9-10
Minnesota DOT Annual Spring Workshop, MN, May 5-7
CTAA EXPO, Louisville, KY, May 31-June 4

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