National RTAP eNews - August 18, 2022

eNews - August 18, 2022

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.

Newsletter Highlights

Panhandle Trails Intercity Public Transit Uses National RTAP GTFS Builder for Trip Plans

National RTAP Article on Sharing Training for Agencies Coordinating Transportation

Historical Rural Transit Conference Proceedings Collection Donated to National RTAP

Minnesota DOT and RTAP Comprehensive Entry-Level Driver Training Website

Tribal Transit Dispatcher Spotlight: Christy Young of Kayak Public Transit

Panhandle Trails Intercity Public Transit Uses National RTAP GTFS Builder to Publish Trip Plans

When Panhandle Trails Intercity Public Transit Director Jonnie Kusek saw GTFS Builder demonstrated at the 2019 RIBTC Conference, it sparked her interest. With assistance from the National RTAP GTFS Builder support team, she populated all the spreadsheets needed to create a robust trip planner for the agency. Two weeks after the trip planner was published on Google in spring 2022, the agency started receiving calls from riders – even out-of-staters visiting the Panhandle - who were really excited to find them online.

Read More about this Project

Learn about GTFS Builder

National RTAP Best Practices Spotlight Article on Sharing Training with Agencies Coordinating Transportation

Case studies from Coffey County Transportation in Kansas, OATS Transit in Missouri, and Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) in Ohio provide best practices for developing shared training for drivers, dispatchers, managers, riders, and others across agencies that coordinate transportation. The article also provides additional promising practices, tips, and techniques. Thank you to National RTAP Review Board Member Jill Stedem of OATS Transit for the review of this article. Photo Credit: Shannon Webster, Greene County Mobility Manager.

Featured Resource

Best Practices in Cost Allocation Webinar Recording Posted

A Best Practices in Cost Allocation webinar was held on August 4, 2022, co-hosted with AASHTO's Multi-State Transit Technical Assistance Program. The webinar provided attendees with an understanding of cost allocation and how two State DOTs use it in managing human services transportation programs.

A few easy-to-use tools for allocating operational costs were introduced. Speakers were Richard Garrity of RLS & Associates, John Taylor of PennDOT, Sheila Gombita of Freedom Transit, and Timothy Bradshaw of VTrans. Access the webinar recording, presentation slides, and questions and answers.

Find Out About What's New in the National RTAP Toolkits

National RTAP is holding a webinar on What's New in the National RTAP Toolkits on September 19, 2022, from 2:00-3:00 PM ET.

Join National RTAP Review Board Member Laura Corff, Transit Director for United Community Action Program, Inc./Cimarron Transit, for an overview of pages she helped update in the ADA Toolkit and Transit Manager's Toolkit. National RTAP Analyst Nancy Doherty will discuss updates to the State RTAP Manager's Toolkit resulting from the 2022 State RTAP Manager’s survey. Resource Center Manager Cara Marcus will also introduce many of the updates to the toolkits.

National RTAP Creates Hot Topic Guide on Medicaid Transportation

National RTAP completed its annual update of the Hot Topic Guides in our Find Anything Toolkit. Our final 2022 Hot Topic Guide is on Medicaid Transportation. Resources include:

National RTAP's Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Resource Guide
Center for Health Care Strategies' Disruptive Innovation in Medicaid Non-Emergency Transportation
TCRP's Handbook for Examining the Effects of Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Brokerages on Transportation Coordination

National RTAP Survey of Rural and Tribal Transit Managers

National RTAP is conducting its biennial survey of rural and tribal transit managers. The purpose of this survey is to establish the status of rural and tribal transit, learn how we can best support rural and tribal transit agencies, and obtain data for our ever-popular transit jobs salary database. The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Please click on this Survey Link.

Save the Date: Risky Business II

National RTAP, AASHTO MTAP, and NADTC are hosting a Risky Business II: Insurance for Nonprofits and Small Transit Agencies webinar on December 14, 2022 from 2:00-3:00 PM ET.

Welcome New Georgia State RTAP Manager

National RTAP extends a warm welcome to new Georgia RTAP Manager Bill Powell. If you would like to get in touch with them or any other RTAP Managers, visit our Directory of State RTAP Managers.

RIBTC Conference Proceedings Added to National RTAP Reference Collection

Thank you to Fred Fravel, Vice President, KFH Group, for his generous donation to the National RTAP Library Reference Collection which now includes historical resources from the first Conference on Rural Public Transportation (1976) to later proceedings from National Conference on Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation (RIBTC). If you want to schedule a visit to view the resources, please contact us.

Learn about TACL Slides Posted

The Transportation Technical Assistance Coordination Library (TACL) helps rural and tribal transit agencies access information about public transportation coordination. The presentation slides for our August 11, 2022 training session have been posted.

Two Weeks Left to Submit a Proposal for Tribal Transit Pages for our Transit Manager's Toolkit

National RTAP is soliciting proposals from interested and qualified Tribal transit management subject matter experts to prepare pages on Tribal Transit Management for our Transit Manager’s Toolkit. The deadline for submission is 5:00 PM ET on Wednesday, August 31, 2022 to info@nationalrtap.org. See the Request for Proposals (RFP) for full details and the Questions and Answers from our Pre-Proposal Call.

National RTAP Participation in Upcoming Conferences and Meetings

We're presenting and exhibiting at the following conferences and meetings:

National Transportation in Indian Country Conference 2022, August 22-26
MPTA / MDOT Statewide Annual Meeting, August 22-24
WSTA Transportation Conference, Vendor EXPO & State Roadeo, August 27-30
KPTA Annual Meeting & Expo, August 29-31
Transportation Disadvantaged Training Workshop & Expo, August 30-31
URSTA 2022 Conference and Roadeo, September 7-10
TRANSED: Mobility, Accessibility & Demand Response Transportation Virtual Conference, September 12-16
DTA 2022 Fall Conference and Roadeo, September 16-20
CASTA Fall Conference, September 27-30
2022 Missouri Public Transit Association State Conference & Expo, September 28-29
Montana DOT Fall Conference, October 5-6
New York State Public Transit Conference and Expo, October 25-27

Join our All Onboard for Mental Health Twitter Chat

RSVP for an #allonboard4mentalhealth Twitter Chat on October 11, 2022, 2:00-3:00 PM ET. The chat will be moderated by Heather Edmonds and Jane Mahoney of the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center (NADTC), Angie Jones, District Manager, Grant County Transportation District (People Mover), and National RTAP staff.

Two Days Left to Enter our Photo Contest - The Bus Stops Here

Our National RTAP 2022 Photo Contest – The Bus Stops Here – is all about where your bus stops. We’re looking for photos that showcase your beautiful bus stop, shelter, station, or hub, as well as photos that show all the great places your bus stops at to bring riders to shopping, school, work, or leisure. Enter up to 3 photos by August 20, 2022.

Resource Share User Guide Updated

We updated our User Guide to the National RTAP Resource Center Online. This user guide will show you how to browse, search and filter to find the resources you need, and how to save, download, access, and request print copies to be shipped to you.

Books in Transit Book Discussion Group Selects Next Book

The Books in Transit Discussion Group selected Riding the Bus with my Sister by Rachel Simon. The book takes place in rural Pennsylvania and is about someone with an intellectual disability who spends her days riding buses. The next meeting will be in February 2023.

U.S. DOT and FTA Updates

U.S. DOT is requesting public comments through October 4, 2022 on how its regulations for conducting workplace drug and alcohol testing for the federally regulated transportation industry could be amended to allow electronic signatures on documents.

U.S. DOT published a Request for Information for the newly created Thriving Communities Initiative to gain information on the technical assistance, planning, and capacity-building needs faced by disadvantaged communities that are seeking to advance local transportation projects. Comments are requested by August 26, 2022.

FTA published the July Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) Technical Assistance Center (TAC) Update. It includes a Monitoring Operations and Maintenance Procedures Guide that provides examples of how transit agencies may monitor compliance with operations and maintenance procedures and ensure their sufficiency and an Agency Safety Plan Directory.

The U.S. DOT Construction Materials Used in Federal Financial Assistance Projects for Transportation Infrastructure in the United States Under the Build America, Buy America Act Request for Information has been changed to August 18, 2022. U.S. DOT is also seeking comments through September 8, 2022 on a new information request for the forthcoming Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grant Program. Both notices can be found in the Federal Register.

U.S. DOT created the Privacy Risk Assessment Methodology (PRAM) for Connected Vehicle Environments (CVE). The PRAM can help drive collaboration and communication among various components of an organization, including privacy, cybersecurity, business, and IT personnel. The PRAM consists of four worksheets that provide a context-specific starting point for privacy risk analysis and management.

FTA announced the opportunity to apply to serve as the Program Lead for the newly forming Mobility, Access, & Transportation Insecurity: Creating Links to Opportunity Demonstration Research Program.

Under the Public Transportation Safety Certification Training Program (PTSCTP) regulation, applicable State Safety Oversight Agencies (SSOAs) have until August 20, 2022 to complete PTSCTP training requirements. FTA will begin taking enforcement action against SSOAs subject to the PTSCTP regulation beginning August 21, 2022.

FTA announced its FY22 Bus and Low- and No-Emission Grant Awardees. Rural and Tribal projects funded include NEMT and commuter vehicles, charging stations, and facilities improvements.

Webinars and Training

Minnesota DOT and RTAP created a comprehensive Entry-Level Driver Training Website. The site contains complete training modules for Class A and B with Passenger (P) Endorsement, and P Endorsement only, and other resources. The training is meant to be used in conjunction with an FMCSA TPR registered trainer. MN RTAP helps agencies determine if their agency trainer is eligible to become an FMCSA registered trainer and connects agencies with no eligible trainer to other transit agencies to complete their training through an agency-to-agency training network. More information is available on the website and in the National RTAP ELDT Requirements Technical Brief.

National Transit Institute (NTI) is holding a National Transit Database: Annual Reporting for State Subrecipients Webinar on September 1, 2022 from 2:00-3:30 PM ET. The goal of this course is to help transit professionals affiliated with 5311 subrecipient agencies develop the necessary skills to report data using the NTD online reporting tool.

Publications

Innovations for Better Rural Mobility is a report published by the International Transport Forum sharing over 80 case studies from more than 20 countries to help inspire rural transportation innovations. Issues from policy to funding to research and more are discussed with solutions shared. Resources from National RTAP are also recommended for readers.

In Ridesourcing in Rural Communities: North Dakota Driver Survey, North Dakota State University (NDSU) researchers studied ridesourcing options (such as Uber and Lyft) in rural communities. Ridesourcing is seen as a beneficial resource for older adults and for trips to places like airports, restaurants, medical appointments, etc., but the lower rate of smartphone use by older adults is a barrier to widespread adoption.

Rural America at a Glance by the United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service discusses the resiliency and recovery of rural communities after the COVID-19 pandemic from three aspects: population and employment change, the intensity of infection, and broadband Internet availability and adoption.

Tribal Transit Spotlight - Christy Young, Kayak Public Transit

Kayak Public Transit in Pendleton, Oregon is administered by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). Kayak Public Transit Dispatcher Christy Young was hired in January 2020, right when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Her basic responsibilities include monitoring drivers, tracking log data, and providing bus information to the public, but right away she took the bull by the horns and went above and beyond to pitch in wherever she saw a need.