Center Update
Center Delivers Train-the-Trainer Course to Denver RTD and Mile High Youth Corps in Preparation for TC3 Pilot
On March 20-24, Center assoc iate Yvonne Syphax delivered the Center-developed  Train-the-Trainer  course to current and future maintenance trainers from Denver RTD and a n instructor from Denver's Mile High Youth Corps (MHYC). These trainers will pilot a six-module version of the   Transit Core Competencies Curriculum (TC3) , to be delivered to a group of MHYC corps members attending their public charter high school in a six-week April-May course. As part of Denver-based collaboration, the program was held at the Community College of Denver (CCD).

TC3 is an orientation and outreach program aimed at diverse audiences of young people and adults from the communities
transit serves who are interested in a career in public transportation, providing knowledge and skills that will help them be successful in the job application process and initial training and apprenticeship programs. The adapted Train-the-Trainer, as well as TC3, was developed and piloted as part of the FTA-funded project, "Integrating Career Pathways in Public Transportation-Railcar Maintenance and Beyond." In addition to the MHYC's lead instructor, the seven RTD trainees came from a range of maintenance areas, with different sets of expertise. While the training content focused on TC3, the training skills-including work with Center courseware and interactive training methods -will be applicable to all sorts of training settings and course content.

Matt Younce, RTD's Manager for Maintenance Training coordinated with the Center, MHYC and CCD and helped facilitate the training itself. As Matt noted, "We tend to go straight to the PowerPoint and lecture for many of our current classes, then wonder why our maintainers struggle to apply the material we just taught. This Train-the-Trainer has really opened my eyes to the importance of student involvement, recall, knowledge checks, and changing our teaching styles and techniques to reinforce learning. This class has given our training department some great instructional skills, and we've all gained some great insight into how adult learners learn."
 
For more information:
The Transportation Research Board will conduct a webinar on Thursday, April 6, 2017, from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM ET about training and career development strategies that help build and sustain a highly effective maintenance and operations workforce in surface transportation.
 
The surface transportation frontline workforce is facing major changes as older employees retire in large numbers and younger employees replace them, thus requiring new approaches to ensure a proficient and productive workforce. Additionally, the job duties and responsibilities are changing due to advanced technologies and more stringent regulations. This webinar will address training needs for the current workforce and ways to engage new employees. For more information, visit: http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/175783.aspx
In furthering their mission to increase and retain the number of individuals choosing the transit field as a career, the American Public Transportation Foundation (APTF) will award a minimum of twenty scholarships, ranging from $2,500 to $5,000 each, to college students or transit professionals who are interested in pursuing or advancing in a career in the public transportation industry. For more information visit: http://www.aptfd.org/our-work/Pages/Scholarship-Program-Guidelines.aspx
Public Transportation
USA Today - March 23, 2017
She is the ultimate Washington insider: a senior appointee in the past three Republican administrations, the only member of President Trump's Cabinet to have served in a Cabinet before, the CEO credited with rescuing the United Way from financial scandal. And as the spouse of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, half of D.C.'s top power couple.
Planetizen - March 26, 2017
Ride hailing apps have changed the way people travel. Though public transit may lose ridership to these services, transit should also learn from technological advancements and use those insights to improve transit service.
Metro Magazine - March 22, 2017
Modern streetcars are just one part of a city's larger transportation system - a system that may include light rail, commuter rail, buses, and bike-share and car-share programs - and the optimal mix of modes will be different in each city to meet specific transit needs.
Transit System/Partners
Progressive Railroading - March 24, 2017
The review team will benchmark WMATA's operating conditions against those of comparable U.S. transit systems. The team will compare key metrics such as cost and expenses, funding levels, maintenance costs and rail safety incidents.
Dallas Magazine - March 23, 2017
After a year of debate over how and where to build the much-needed second downtown Dallas DART light rail alignment, there is a chance that any dreams of downtown subway will have to wait for a new presidential administration.
Next City - March 23, 2017
Rail in the Atlanta metro is a highly charged issue - and its lack of support outside the city core has crippled the system in the past.
KQED News - March 26, 2017
The brand-new Warm Springs BART station is officially open to passengers - and is getting ready to welcome its first weekday commute crowd.
BillyPenn.com - March 27, 2017
"Transit is an equalizing force," SEPTA's Director of Business Innovation Erik Johanson said. "If you provide low-cost transportation to everyone, that has benefits to people living in any neighborhood along the line."
Economic Issues
The Mercury News - March 24, 2017
More than 120 Silicon Valley business leaders fired off a letter Friday to President Donald Trump and Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, asking them to make good on federal promises to allocate $647 million to electrify Caltrain from San Jose to Francisco.
The Star Tribune - March 22, 2017
Some 84 Republican legislators at the Minnesota Capitol have signed a letter urging U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to block federal funding for the Southwest light-rail line.
The Tennesseean - March 26, 2017
Two-thirds of Nashvillians say they would be willing to pay more in sales tax to support improving public transit if given a vote in a public referendum, a new poll shows.
Building Transportation Infrastructure
The Hill - March 27, 2017
Coupling infrastructure with tax reform could get Democrats to support a tax overhaul, and could bring fiscal conservatives on board with massive transportation spending.
Green News 
Metro magazine - March 20, 2017
The Catalyst, which fully recharges in less than 10 minutes, holds up to 40 seated passengers and can travel more than three hours on a single charge. MARTA Operations has outfitted the test routes with periodic rapid charging stations.
 
International Transportation News 
Metro Magazine - March 23, 2017
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced details of Phase II of the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund (PTIF II), an 11-year federal commitment to transfer $20.1 billion in public transit infrastructure across Canada
The Telegraph - March 20, 2017
With more than 49 million residents crammed into the urban sprawl, the city's planners have had to think up some creative infrastructure solutions for the limited space they have.
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