National RTAP eNews - December 13, 2018

eNews - December 13, 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.

F ollow-Up National RTAP Peer Call - TAM for Tribes

National RTAP will facilitate a second peer call about transit asset management (TAM) for tribes on December 19 from 2:00-3:00 PM ET. The purpose of the call is to collect and share information from tribal transit agencies about their approach to the TAM plan and how they are meeting basic requirements of the TAM rule. Callers can discuss challenges and share solutions specific to tribal transit agencies. We will also highlight FTA's TAM Tribal Reporting Tool and Asset Inventory Tool Template.

Neil Rodriguez, National RTAP Project Manager, Walt Diangson, SWTA Lead Trainer/CSO, and Jennie Rowland, Chair of the National RTAP Review Board and Manager of Big Woods Transit (Bois Forte Tribe), will join in the discussion about what is happening nationally with TAM for tribal transit.

Updated Technical Brief on Volunteers in Transportation

National RTAP's Technical Brief, Volunteers in Transportation: Some Issues to Consider, will show you how to evaluate the human and financial resources necessary for a successful program as well as the potential benefits. We combined this with our former Working with Volunteers: Resource Guide brief, and updated the information in November 2018 with new figures on cost benefits and examples of rural transit agencies that utilize volunteers in innovative ways.

Featured Resource

National RTAP Photo Contest photo by Bonnie J. Nielsen

Resources and Events

Transit Employee Health and Wellness Programs Webinar Recording Available

On November 29, Erwin Reitsma of Wyoming Independent Living and Jill Stedem of OATS Transit presented information about common health issues among transit staff, the impact on agencies, and benefits of wellness programs. Interesting information was presented on the impact of exercise, sleep, eating well, drinking water, taking breaks to stretch and get up, managing stress. The webinar also provided best practices for employee wellness programs, like competitions, financial incentives, partnering with local sponsors, and making it fun.

View the recording and slides, or learn more in our Wellness Programs Best Practices Spotlight article.

FTA Rural and Tribal NTD Overview and Updates Webinar Recording Available

Maggie Schilling and Murtaza Naqvi, FTA NTD Program Managers led a webinar on December 12, covering requirements for rural and tribal NTD reporters, how the data are used in the funding formulas, and an overview of updates to asset inventory requirements. View the recording and slides .

U.S. DOT and FTA Updates

FTA produced a helpful video on the Transit Asset Management Final Rule. The video includes case studies of transit agencies using asset management to balance and prioritize improvements.

Publications

TCRP's Tools for a Sustainable Transit Agency explores practical tools for improving sustainability at transit agencies, such as a Sustainability Routemap, S+ROI Calculator, and S+ROI Calculator Solar Panel Example.

USDA's Federal Resources for Rural Communities to Help Address Substance Use Disorder and Opioid Misuse is a resource guide with links to federal programs that assist in funding, treatment and transportation for substance use disorder and opioid misuse. There are sections for rural and tribal transportation resources.

NCHRP's Systemic Pedestrian Safety Analysis provides a safety analysis method that can be used to proactively identify sites for potential safety improvements based on specific risk factors for pedestrians.

NCMM's State of the States Report discusses the results of a survey of twenty-one state mobility managers. Results indicated that statewide mobility management networks have a strong public transit component.

The AARP Public Policy Institute published AARP Well-Being Champions: Building a Culture of Health. The ten change leaders featured, including National RTAP's Executive Director Robin Phillips, share their insights for creating healthier communities.

FHWA published a Transportation Alternatives Annual Report, with an interactive map of funded projects by state.

Webinars and Training

The National Transit Institute will be holding a training on Paratransit Management & Operations in

Denton, TX on March 13-14. This training utilizes the National RTAP Scheduling and Dispatching training module.

Opportunities

The USDA Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program provides funding for rural projects through local utility organizations. USDA provides zero-interest loans to local utilities which they pass to local businesses for projects to create and retain employment in rural areas. The deadline is December 31, 2018.

Ten transit agencies will be chosen to receive ELERTS Transit Agency Security Grants from the ELERTS Corporation. Selected agencies will be awarded a no-cost, two-year license for ELERTS EPICenter incident management console with Text-A-Tip service. Apply by tomorrow, December 14, 2018.

Legislation

FMCSA posted an Extension of Compliance Date for Lease and Interchange of Vehicles, Motor Carriers of Passengers in the Federal Register on December 4, 2018. The new compliance date is January 1, 2021. The rule includes provisions for emergencies and charter transportation.

FHWA posted guidance on its Emergency Relief program website on November 27, 2018 to clarify implementation requirements for the regulation on Periodic Evaluation of Facilities Repeatedly Requiring Repair and Reconstruction Due to Emergency Events, 23 CFR 667. This guidance was developed in response to State DOT questions about how the evaluation should be conducted, maintained, and used for the development of a State’s TAM plan.

National RTAP State RTAP Manager Peer Roundtable

State RTAP Managers are invited to a Peer Roundtable on January 22, 2019 at 2:00 PM ET. This will be an informal discussion of issues affecting state RTAP programs and an open information exchange. Join the Roundtable via GoToMeeting (no pre-registration required).

Save the Date: Transit Marketing Matters Twitter Chat

National RTAP is planning a #TransitMarketingMatters Twitter Chat on January 30 from 2:00-3:00 PM. The chat will moderated by National RTAP Review Board Member and Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Authority (HIRTA) Executive Director Julia Castillo.

Call for Presentations for 2019 National RTAP Conference

The call for presentations is open for our 2019 Technical Assistance Conference in Portland, Oregon, September 15-18. We're looking for presentations, workshops, and trainings on rural and tribal transit topics with a focus on innovation, best practices, and compliance. Submit the Presentation Proposal Form by February 28, 2019.

National RTAP will Present a Research Poster at the 2019 TRB Annual Meeting

At the 2019 TRB Annual Meeting, National RTAP staff will be presenting a research poster on January 15, on our Resources by Roles project (used to create the appendix in our Resource Catalog). For a recap of a poster we presented at CTAA 2018, see NCMM's November 2018 Mobility Management News.

Calendar of Upcoming Events

National Operations Center of Excellence

Leveraging Big Data to Improve Traffic Incident Management

December 13, 1:00-2:30 PM

Webinar

CTAA

PASS Train the Trainer

Denver, CO, December 13-15