National RTAP eNews - May 28, 2020

eNews - May 28, 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.

Updates to Rural Integrated National Transit Database (iNTD)

The Rural Integrated National Transit Database (iNTD) has been updated with new data and functionality. iNTD includes an Urban Module and a Rural Module and both are part of the Florida Transit Information System, created by Florida International University for Florida DOT. The Rural Module is sponsored by National RTAP.

The module now contains 2018 NTD data and a new peer grouping tool which assist users in finding comparable peer transit agencies for performance measurement and benchmarking.

Featured Resource

National RTAP Launches Rural Transit Heroes Photo Contest

Do you know a someone who has gone above and beyond to make sure their passengers travel safely and comfortably in all situations? An individual who has spurred innovations to help rural and tribal transit agencies overcome challenges and find new solutions? A person who has helped provide essential transportation or delivery of vital resources during the COVID-19 pandemic? Somebody who has played a leadership role in curbing human trafficking, addressing the opioid crisis, or helping other vulnerable populations through transit? All these heroes deserve to be commended and celebrated, so the theme of our 2020 Photo Contest is “Rural Transit Heroes.” The contest ends August 20, 2020.

Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency (HIRTA) Driver Jim Eitel

Enter the Contest

Resources and Events

National RTAP Issues Training Request for Information (RFI)

National RTAP has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit proposals from interested and qualified trainers to provide compliance training and technical assistance through in-person workshops, virtual online training and/or webinars to subrecipients of FTA Section 5311, 5311(c), 5311(f) and 5310 funding. Completed documents are to be submitted no later than June 5, 2020 at 5:00 PM ET. Questions should be sent via email to training@nationalrtap.org. Learn more and download the RFI.

Poll: What Are Your Current COVID-19 Questions?

To help us better assist you as we enter this new "reopening" phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, please fill out this one-question poll . We have added new resources to answer some of the questions that have already been asked, such as:

American Industrial Hygiene Association Back to Work Safely web page
CTAA's State by State COVID-19 NEMT Guidance Tool and COVID-19 Buyer's Guide
U.S. Chamber of Commerce State by State Business Reopening Guidance

Save the Date for the Second Annual Rural Transit Day

The second annual Rural Transit Day will take place on July 16, 2020. We will be holding a #RuralTransitDay Twitter Chat from 2:00-3:00 PM ET, moderated by Julia Castillo, Executive Director, HIRTA Public Transit, Kari Banta, Section 5304 Program Manager, TX DOT, and Angie Jones, District Manager, Grant County Transportation District (People Mover). The chat will focus on what agencies are doing to recognize passengers and staff on #RuralTransitDay and through the year, and shared thoughts about challenges and solutions for rural transit. RSVP to receive an invite. Also, stay tuned for contests on our Twitter and Instagram pages to win a Rural Transit Day t-shirt.

Young Professionals in Transportation/National RTAP Happy Hour Slides Available

Young Professionals in Transportation and National RTAP held a Happy Hour peer discussion on May 22, 2020. Download the presentation slides.

AASHTO, National RTAP, FDOT Vehicle Specifications Webinar Recording Posted

AASHTO’s Multi-State Transit Technical Assistance Program (MTAP) and National RTAP held a webinar on May 13, 2020 with Carlton Allen, Florida DOT’s Transit Research Inspection Procurement Services (TRIPS) Program Manager about the state purchasing process. Robert E. Westbrook, Assistant State Transit Manager at Florida DOT, moderated the webinar and provided a state’s perspective. We posted the webinar recording, slides, and handout.

U.S. DOT and FTA Updates

FTA Comprehensive Review Guide has been renamed the FTA Comprehensive Review Contractor's Manual. It is a name change from prior years to more clearly indicate that these are instructions for contractors on how to execute a review as opposed to guidance to recipients on how to be compliant. The 2020 edition was published in April.

U.S. DOT released a new interactive map highlighting federal investment in major projects located in and around Opportunity Zones in the United States.

FTA's Mobility Performance Metrics (MPM) for Integrated Mobility and Beyond presents traveler-centric mobility performance strategies and metrics to assess how well an integrated public/private mobility system meets the needs of individual travelers, how well the system performs while meeting overall travel demand, and what the system’s impact is locally and nationally.

FTA issued guidance to help transit agencies and vehicle manufacturers understand and comply with prohibitions on FTA-funded rolling stock procurements contained in the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Guidance includes which manufacturers are affected, deadlines, and how state schedules are treated.

U.S. DOT will hold a webinar on June 3, 2020, 2:00-3:00 PM ET, about their Inclusive Design Challenge. The Challenge will make up to $5,000,000 available to designers for solutions to enable individuals with disabilities to use automated vehicles.

FTA announced $1.25 million for the Public Transportation Innovation funding for the Real-Time Transit Infrastructure and Rolling Stock Condition Assessment Research and Demonstration Program to fund projects that demonstrate innovative approaches, practices, partnerships, and technologies to enhance public transportation effectiveness, increase efficiency, expand quality, promote safety, and improve the traveler’s experience. Proposals must be submitted by July 17, 2020.

FTA announced approximately $5 million in funding through the Public Transportation on Indian Reservations Program. The primary purpose of these competitive grants is to support planning, capital, and some operating assistance for tribal public transit. Proposals must be submitted by August 24, 2020.

Opportunities

Cartegraph for COVID-19 Response is available free for transit agencies looking to measure time and resources spent on COVID-19 response. Agencies can track data to request FEMA reimbursement funds.

Nominations are open through July 1, 2020 for FHWA/AASHTO STIC Excellence Awards. Awards will be given to State Transportation Innovation Councils (STICs) that have made significant impacts toward fostering strong cultures for innovation.

Nominations are open for the 2020 Professional Fleet Manager of the Year, held by Wheels Inc. and Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association. The award recognizes an individual with special business acumen in developing and executing key management policies. Nominations are also being accepted for the 2020 Fleet Hall of Fame. Submissions for both will be accepted through June 1, 2020.

The National Center for Mobility Management (NCMM) announced the Community Mobility Design Challenge 2020. Planning Grants, which support innovative ways to address the mobility challenges of low-income individuals. Grants up to $25,000 are available. The deadline is July 6, 2020.

Webinars and Training

The National Center for Applied Transit Technology (N-CATT) will be holding a webinar on GTFS Flex on June 17 at 2:00 PM ET. The webinar will include information on National RTAP's GTFS Builder web app.

The Midwestern Public Health Training Center, Rocky Mountain Public Health Training Center, and Region IV Public Health Training Center have created the course Thriving in an Online Work Environment. It contains tips, practices, and resources for staying productive and connected in an online environment, such as converting in-person training into online training and working remotely.

NCMM is offering a remote training opportunity on how communities can establish and/or expand existing One-Call/One-Click systems, which inform the public about transportation options for populations in a given geographic area. NCMM is inviting those interested in this training to submit an expression of interest through June 30, 2020.

Databases and Tools

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a COVID Tracing Tracker, which shows significant automated contact tracing effort around the world.

AASHTO's Center for Environmental Excellence now has a Transportation and Environmental Research Ideas (TERI) Database, for tracking and sharing new transportation and environmental research ideas. Users can view and submit ideas.

Publications

Victoria Transport Policy Institute published Pandemic-Resilient Community Planning: Practical Ways to Help Communities Prepare for, Respond to, and Recover from Pandemics and Other Economic, Social and Environmental Shocks. The report discusses rural transportation pandemic risks and describes potential benefits derived from policy actions.

CDC published a Decision Tool for Reopening Offices. Factors involved in reopening include consistency with applicable state and local orders and intensified cleaning, disinfection, and ventilation.

National Aging and Disability Transportation Center (NADTC) has published Assisting Passengers with Alzheimer’s and Dementia to provide information, tips and resources for bus operators assisting passengers with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. The publication helps staff identify dementia in passengers and best assist those populations.

AASHTO has released their latest free Salary Survey, which provides job classifications and salary information for 82 transportation job titles divided into 5 job categories.

The latest issue of the Maryland Transit Update newsletter focuses entirely on COVID-19 response, particularly among the local transit agencies across Maryland. KFH Group prepared this newsletter pro bono for the Maryland RTAP and the Transportation Association of Maryland.

National RTAP Procurement Topic Guide Updated

The National RTAP Procurement Topic Guide was updated in May 2020. Newly added resources include:

FTA's 2020 Master Agreement
APTA's Transit Board Member Handbook
National RTAP's Cost Allocation Calculator

Legislation

An Executive Order on Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery was signed on May 19, 2020. This order gave federal agencies power to address the economic emergency due to COVID-19 by rescinding, modifying, waiving, or providing exemptions from regulations and requirements that may inhibit economic recovery, consistent with applicable law and with the protection of the public health and safety, national and homeland security, budgetary priorities, and operational feasibility.

Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Program-Nondiscrimination and Additional Eligibility Criteria is an interim final rule from the Small Business Administration (SBA) that supplements previous interim final rules. The rule explains how nonprofits must meet their nondiscrimination obligations. Comments must be received by June 8, 2020. On May 15, 2020, SBA released a PPP Forgiveness Application Form. The maximum payroll cost for an individual employee in the covered period is $15,385 and the expiration date is October 31, 2020.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Proposed Rule on Streamlining and Consolidating of Existing Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Programs on May 14, 2020 in the Federal Register. The rule proposes to update the existing gasoline, diesel, and fuels programs to improve compliance assurance, maintain environmental performance, and reduce compliance costs. Comments must be received by June 29, 2020.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a final rule in the Federal Register on May 26, 2020 on Unlicensed Use of the 6 GHz Band. The rule includes provisions to protect Intelligent Transportation Services. FCC also published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on May 26, 2020 on Establishing a 5G Fund for Rural America. Comments are due by June 25, 2020.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published Revised Enforcement Guidance for Recording Cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on May 19, 2020. The guidance explains that employers are responsible for recording cases of COVID-19 and should take action to determine whether employee COVID-19 illnesses are work-related. Employers with 10 or fewer employees and certain employers in low hazard industries need only report work-related COVID-19 illnesses that result in a fatality, in-patient hospitalization, or certain other results.

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.

BraunAbility

BraunAbility Dual Parallel Arm (DPA) Lift Technical Overview

May 28, 2:00 PM

Webinar

University of Pennsylvania, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics

Rural Health in America During COVID-19

May 29, 12:00-1:00 PM

Virtual Seminar

Government Technology

Interagency Data Sharing in the Time of COVID-19

May 29, 2:00 PM

Webinar

TRB

How Much Will COVID-19 Affect Travel Behavior?

June 1, 2:00-3:00 PM

Webinar

Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)

CV/AV Needs Specific to Emergency Response

June 1, 2:00-3:00 PM

Webinar

SCORE

10 Principles to Running a Virtual Company Extremely Well

June 2, 1:00 PM

Webinar

TRB

Traffic Trends and Safety in a COVID-19 World

June 2, 1:00-2:30 PM

Webinar

Michigan State University/Form Based Code Institute/Smart Growth America

Tools & Techniques for Virtual Community Engagement

June 2, 2:00 PM

Webinar

U.S. DOT

Inclusive Design Challenge Webinar

June 3, 2:00-3:00 PM

Webinar

National Transit Institute

Build it and They Will Lead: 7 Steps for Building a Successful Leadership Development Training Program

June 2, 2:00-3:30 PM

Webinar

Office of National Drug Control Policy

The Federal Response to COVID-19: Supporting Care for Substance Use Disorder in Rural America

June 2, 3:00 PM

Conference Call

National Center for Rural Road Safety

The Human Trafficking Tie to Transportation

June 3, 1:00-2:30 PM

Webinar

FHWA

Project Bundling: Local Success Stories

June 4, 1:00-2:30 PM

Webinar

National Transit Institute

Remote Management: Keeping Teams Connected Through Crisis

June 4, 1:30 PM

Webinar

TRB

Evolution of Project Delivery Information Systems

June 4, 2:00-3:30 PM

Webinar

Shared Use Mobility Center (SUMC)

Human Services Transportation: Making Mobility as a Service Universal

June 4, 2:00-4:00 PM

Webinar

APTA

Restoring and Reimagining Transit Service in a Pandemic-Transformed World

June 4, 3:00-4:00 PM

Webinar

Government Technology

Staying Safe While Working from Home: Practical Lessons from Covid for the Workplace of the Future

June 5, 2:00 PM

Webinar

SCORE

Simple Ways to Boost Your Productivity While Working Remotely

June 9, 1:00 PM

Webinar

AASHTO Council on Public Transportation/MTAP

States Discuss Strategies/Guidance for Navigating Transit’s COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis Recovery

June 9, 2:00-3:30 PM

Webinar

Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA)

CTAA Mini-Virtual EXPO

June 9-10

Virtual Expo

Federal Communications Commission Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC)

FCC CSRIC Public Meeting

June 10, 1:00-5:00 PM

Online Public Meeting

Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Center for Transportation Safety

Virtual Traffic Safety Conference

June 10-12

Virtual Conference

National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE)

Advancing Regional Cross-Agency Collaboration during Unforeseen Circumstances

June 10, 2:00-3:00 PM

Webinar

Native Learning Center

Respecting Differences and Remaining Sensitive within Tribal Communities

June 11, 2:00-3:00 PM

Webinar

Forth

Equitable Transportation Electrification

June 15, 12:00-1:00 PM

Webinar

Michigan State University/Form Based Code Institute/Smart Growth America

Equitable Inclusion in Virtual Community Engagement

June 16, 2:00 PM

Webinar

TRB

Transportation Experiences and Next Steps in the COVID-19 Pandemic

June 16, 2:00-3:30 PM

Webinar

N-CATT

GTFS Flex

June 17, 2:00 PM

Webinar

Center for Health and Safety Culture

Three Lessons to Facilitate Transforming Health and Safety Culture

June 17, 2:00-3:00 PM

Webinar

Q'Straint Training Academy

Wheelchair Securement Training

June 18, 12:00-1:30 PM

Webinar

BraunAbility

BraunAbility Dual Parallel Arm (DPA) Lift technical Overview

June 18, 2:00 PM

Webinar

Forth

Electrifying Shared Mobility

June 19, 1:00 PM

Webinar

HRSA/AAFP

Using the UDS Mapper for Service Area Mapping

June 22, 2:00-3:00 PM

Webinar

TRB

Forecasting Zero Emission Vehicles Fleet Scenarios & Emissions Implications

June 30, 1:00-3:00 PM

Webinar

BraunAbility

BraunAbility Dual Parallel Arm (DPA) Lift Technical Overview

July 2, 2:00 PM

Webinar

Oklahoma Transit Association

2020 Oklahoma Transit Association Annual Conference & EXPO

Lawton OK, July 6-9

Conference

Q'Straint Training Academy

Wheelchair Securement Training

July 7, 12:00-1:30 PM

Webinar

AASHTO Council on Public Transportation/MTAP

States Discuss Strategies/Guidance for Navigating Transit’s COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis Recovery

July 14, 2:00-3:30 PM

Webinar

National RTAP

#RuralTransitDay Twitter Chat

July 16, 2:00-3:00 PM

Twitter Chat

Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO)

COMTO National Meeting and Training Conference

Hollywood, FL, July 17-21

Conference

FHWA

Value Capture Strategies: Special Assessment Districts (Community Improvement District, Sales Tax District, etc.)

July 23, 1:00-3:00 PM

Webinar

FTA

Safety Management Systems (SMS) Principles for State Safety Oversight (SSO)

Chicago, IL, July 24

Training

TRB

Automated Vehicles Symposium 2020

San Diego, CA, July 27-30

Conference

APTA

2020 Sustainability and Multimodal Planning Workshop - Virtual

July 30-31

Online Workshop

AASHTO Council on Public Transportation/MTAP

States Discuss Strategies/Guidance for Navigating Transit’s COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis Recovery

August 11, 2:00-3:30 PM

Webinar

Bridging Transportation Researchers (BTR)

Bridging Transportation Researchers Online Conference

August 11-12

Online Conference

Q'Straint Training Academy

Wheelchair Securement Training

August 17, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Webinar

Q'Straint Training Academy

Wheelchair Securement Training

August 18, 3:00-4:30 PM

Webinar

FHWA

Value Capture Strategies: Advertising, Naming Rights, & Sponsorships

August 20, 1:00-3:00 PM

Webinar

West Coast Collaborative

Green Transportation Summit & Expo

Tacoma, WA, August 24-26

Conference

Conference and Training Cancellations and Postponements

Many rural and tribal transit events have been cancelled or postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. Check the March 19, 2020 eNews and eNews published after that date for previously listed events that have been canceled or postponed, as we are not repeating them here.

Cancellations and postponements include, but are not limited to:

2020 Fleet Safety Conference (planning for Fall 2020)
2020 Global Fleet Conference (held online from June - July 2020)
APTA Transit Board Members & Board Administrators Seminar (being held virtually)
APTA 2020 Sustainability & Multimodal Planning Workshop (being held virtually)
Micromobility America 2020 (being held virtually, October 1-2, 2020)
National Association of Area Agencies on Aging Annual Conference & Tradeshow
National EMobility Equity Conference
National LTAP/TTAP Conference
National Regional Transportation Conference (planning virtual conference)
NSC Addressing Opioids at Work
State DOT Roundtable
State Public Transportation Partnerships Conference
SWTA 2020 Summer University Conference (will be Virtual Forum in Summer 2020)
Texas A&M Transportation Institute Virtual Traffic Safety Conference
TRB 2020 Conference on Sustainability and Emerging Transportation Technology
TriState Transit Conference (postponed to April 2021)

As we are informed of cancellations, we will remove the listings from our Calendar . Conferences still may be displayed in past issues of eNews .

If we have listed an event that is cancelled or postponed, please contact us at info@nationalrtap.org. For a listing of all National RTAP and other national events, view our Calendar. To submit an event, email info@nationalrtap.org.

Look for Us at these Upcoming Conferences

2020 Oklahoma Transit Association Annual Conference & EXPO, Lawton, OK, July 6-9
National Transportation in Indian Country Conference (NTICC), Santa Ana Pueblo, NM, August 31-September 3
NOSORH Annual Meeting, Saratoga Springs, NY, September 29-30
New Jersey TransAction Conference, Atlantic City, NJ, October 27-29
TriState Transit Conference, Woodstock, VT, April 25-28, 2021
National Conference on Rural Public & Intercity Bus Transportation (RIBTC), Charleston, SC, October 24-27, 2021

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