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.
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Upcoming Young Professionals in Transportation Happy Hour with National RTAP
Join National RTAP and the Young Professionals in Transportation (YPT) on May 21, 2020, 5:00-6:00 PM ET, for a
Happy Hour discussion on rural and tribal transit. Robin Phillips, Executive Director of National RTAP, will be joined by two Review Board members, Julia Castillo, Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Authority (HIRTA), and Tim Geibel, Executive Director, Crawford Area Transit Authority (CATA), who will offer first-hand accounts of the state of rural and tribal transportation and the COVID-19 response.
Founded in 2008, YPT International’s vision is to become the preeminent professional development organization for emerging leaders in the transportation field. YPT was created to fill the void presented to young professionals in the large, established transportation organizations. It aims to provide young professionals with opportunities to take leadership roles, participate in networking events, and grow their careers.
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ProcurementPRO State Portal Instruction Guide
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Did you know that National RTAP's
ProcurementPRO application can include a State Portal? A State Portal ensures that all necessary federal and state documents are downloaded by transit agencies who use ProcurementPRO. We updated our State Portal instruction guide in May 2020, to walk you through collecting, organizing, uploading, and testing state documents.
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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.
Summaries Available from Recent National RTAP COVID-19 Peer Events
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
.
U.S. DOT and FTA Updates
FTA published the April/May 2020 issue of
Transit Safety and Oversight Spotlight. The issue contains an article about Transit Agencies Helping Their Communities During COVID-19, new COVID-19 questions answered by FTA, and e-learning
Transportation Safety Institute (TSI) courses, such as Curbing Transit Employee Distracted Driving and Fatigue and Sleep Apnea Awareness for Transit Employees.
FTA is
soliciting expressions of interest from nonprofit entities to participate in the Pilot Program for Nonprofit Cooperative Procurements. The program will increase innovation, promote efficiency, and demonstrate effectiveness of cooperative procurement contracts for rolling stock and related equipment administered by eligible nonprofit entities. Expressions of interest must be received by July 10, 2020.
- FTA has postponed the remaining FY 2020 program oversight reviews (triennial, state management, etc.) until early in FY 2021.
- For recipients with Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goals due August 1, 2020, FTA extended the due date to October 1, 2020. DBE site visits may be conducted by computer, tablet, or mobile technologies, including photographs of necessary items from within vehicles.
- National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) will not be waived during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Opportunities
On May 7, 2020, FHWA
announced the availability of $9.2-million in grant funding from the
Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund. Tribal governments may apply for funding to conduct transportation safety planning, crash data improvement, and infrastructure projects that reduce the risk of fatal and serious injury motor-vehicle crashes. FHWA will be holding a
Transportation Safety Funding webinar on May 20 at 1:30 PM ET.
Webinars and Training
The Native Learning Center offers training and technical assistance to Native Americans and those working within Indian Country at no cost. Training courses include:
- Financial Literacy
- Grant Writing and Management
- Meeting Planning
- Strategic Planning
Publications
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created a web page with COVID-19 information for Tribal communities:
Plan, Prepare, and Respond. The page includes information about cleaning, disinfecting, social distancing, coping, and contact tracing.
National RTAP Mobility Management Topic Guide Updated
Legislation
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules on April 23, 2020 to make 1,200 megahertz of spectrum in the 6 GHz band available for unlicensed use. The
new rules will increase the spectrum available for Wi-Fi by nearly a factor of five and help improve rural connectivity.
FMCSA
proposes prohibiting State Driver’s Licensing Agencies from issuing, renewing, upgrading, or transferring a commercial driver’s license, or commercial learner’s permit, for individuals prohibited under current regulations from driving a commercial motor vehicle due to controlled substance. Comments must be received by June 29, 2020.
Research Citing National RTAP
In Freund, Katherine, et al. "From the CDC: Characteristics of ride share services for older adults in the United States." Journal of Safety Research (2020), Researchers conducted a review of literature from organizations including National RTAP. The
article described barriers and facilitators of older adults’ use of ride share services and service characteristics.
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.
Also, stay tuned for contests on our
Twitter
and
Instagram
pages to win a Rural Transit Day t-shirt.
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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.
Q'Straint Training Academy
Wheelchair Securement Training
May 14, 12:00-1:30 PM
NADTC
Brown Bag Webinar Series – Session 2: Volunteer Transportation Western New York
May 14, 12:30-1:30 PM
NCMM
Pre-Application Webinar for NCMM's Community Mobility Design Challenge 2020
May 14, 1:00 PM
SCORE
Essential PR Tools and Tactics – Elevate the Visibility of Your Business While Being Sheltered in Place
May 14, 1:00 PM
Smart Growth America
Arts & Transportation Rapid Response
May 14, 1:00-2:00 PM
Vision Zero Network
Safe Systems for Safe Mobility: A Deeper Dive
May 14, 2020, 1:00-2:00 PM
Government Technology
Tech Resiliency During COVID-19
May 14, 2:00 PM
BraunAbility
BraunAbility Dual Parallel Arm (DPA) Lift Technical Overview
May 14, 2:00 PM
Government Technology
Building Resiliency: Securely Enabling and Scaling Remote Work
May 15, 2:00 PM
HRSA/AAFP
Assessing Your Community Using the UDS Mapper
May 19, 11:00 AM-12:00 PM
Merchants Fleet/Automotive Fleet
Keeping Your Fleet Moving Forward: Strategies for a Post-Pandemic Market
May 19, 2:00 PM
National Transit Institute
Crisis Communication on a Card: The Essentials of an Effective Plan
May 19, 2:00-3:30 PM
National Center for Rural Road Safety
ROUTES Initiative
May 20, 1:00-3:00 PM
FHWA
Transportation Safety Funding
May 20, 1:30 PM
N-CATT
Open Source Software and Open Data
May 21, 2:00 PM
Government Technology
From Data to Actionable Intelligence: How to Gain Deeper Insights from Your Data Faster
May 21, 2:00 PM
APTA
Workforce challenges During and Post-COVID 19
May 21, 3:00-4:00 PM
National RTAP/Young Professionals in Transportation
Young Professionals in Transportation Happy Hour with National RTAP
May 21, 2020, 5:00-6:00 PM
National Hispanic & Latino Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network
Coping with Stress During the Pandemic
May 26, 1:00-2:30 PM
Vision Zero Network
Towards Zero: Unlocking the Bigger Picture Through Data-Driven Safety Analytics
May 26, 1:00-2:00 PM
Government Technology
Resiliency in the Face of Crisis: Creating a Data-Driven Foundation for Emergency Preparedness
May 26, 2:00 PM
TRB
Evaluating Goals Under the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program
May 27, 2:00-3:30 PM
NADTC
The Impact of COVID-19 on Transportation Services for Older Adults and People with Disabilities: A Conversation with Section 5310 Programs
May 27, 3:00 PM
BraunAbility
BraunAbility Dual Parallel Arm (DPA) Lift Technical Overview
May 28, 2:00 PM
SCORE
10 Principles to Running a Virtual Company Extremely Well
June 2, 1:00 PM
APTA
Restoring and Reimagining Transit Service in a Pandemic-Transformed World
June 4, 3:00-4:00 PM
National Safety Council (NSC)
Addressing Opioids at Work: From Confusion to Clarity – Creating Your Roadmap
Pittsburgh, PA, June 5
SCORE
Simple Ways to Boost Your Productivity While Working Remotely
June 9, 1:00 PM
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
Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Center for Transportation Safety
Virtual Traffic Safety Conference
June 10-12
Native Learning Center
Respecting Differences and Remaining Sensitive within Tribal Communities
June 11, 2:00-3:00 PM
EVNoire/Forth
National EMobility Equity Conference
Portland, OR, June 18
Q'Straint Training Academy
Wheelchair Securement Training
June 18, 12:00-1:30 PM
Oklahoma Transit Association
2020 Oklahoma Transit Association Annual Conference & EXPO
Lawton OK, July 6-9
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
National RTAP
#RuralTransitDay Twitter Chat
July 16, 2:00-3:00 PM
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:
- TRB 13th National Conference on Transportation Asset Management
- National Tribal Symposium to Advance Transportation
- Transportation Safety Institute (TSI) in-person courses through June 30, 2020
- Transportation, Environment, and Energy: An Integrated Research Symposium
- World Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exposition
- WYTRANS
As we are informed of cancellations, we will remove the listings from our
Calendar
. Conferences still may be displayed in
past issues of eNews
.
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Look for Us at these Upcoming Conferences
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- 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
- TriState Transit Conference, Woodstock, VT, September 9-11
- NOSORH Annual Meeting, Saratoga Springs, NY, September 29-30
- New Jersey TransAction Conference, Atlantic City, NJ, October 27-29
- National Conference on Rural Public & Intercity Bus Transportation (RIBTC), Charleston, SC, October 24-27, 2021
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