Center Update
The Center's Next Train-the-Trainer Session will be in Cleveland the First Week of May - Seats Still Available
 
Are you looking to develop more in-house training capability or sharpen your own training skills? This highly interactive train-the-trainer program has been touted by many as an eye-opening experience, for even the most experienced instructors. May 2-6, the Center will hold its fourth train-the-trainer session at Greater Cleveland RTA. This session will be geared specifically towards practice teaching signal maintenance techniques but the concepts, listed below, can benefit current or would-be instructors for any public transportation field:
  • Characteristics of adult learners and how to accommodate them
  • Qualities of an effective instructor
  • Gagne's 9 events of instruction
  • The pros and cons of different teaching techniques
  • Using consortium developed training materials
  • Evaluation techniques
For more information read highlights of previous train-the-trainer sessions (BART, SEPTA, NYCT/TUF, Facebook Pictures) or contact Senior Associate Mark Dysart.
Public Transportation News
APTA is committed to being inclusive and does not condone discrimination of any kind against anyone who works for, or uses, public transportation. APTA's long-standing Diversity Policy and our recent LGBT initiative reflect the values we stand by. The City of Charlotte recently enacted an ordinance to further protect its LGBT residents from discrimination. APTA supports this ordinance and is disappointed that North Carolina's Governor Pat McCrory took steps to reverse the City's decision by enacting a statewide ban on such protections. As a result, there have been calls for a boycott of North Carolina, and some governments have enacted official travel restrictions for their employees. APTA signed contracts to hold our Bus & Paratransit Conference and Roadeo in North Carolina more than four years ago. Unfortunately, we are legally bound to adhere to those contracts.   
For more than 300,000 working poor New Yorkers, transit expenses often exceed 10 percent of their family budgets, limiting their ability to access jobs and forcing them to forgo other necessities. Data from the 2015 Unheard Third, our annual public opinion survey to elevate the concerns of low-income New Yorkers, reveals that the prohibitively high cost of subway and bus fares keeps many New Yorkers-especially low-income blacks and Latinos-from getting medical care or even taking a job further from home. 
Huron Daily Tribune - April 12, 2016
Several U.S. transit systems looking to defray costs of providing services for the disabled are weighing partnerships with Uber and Lyft, unsettling some advocates who note that ride-hailing services have themselves faced criticism over accessibility. Paratransit, better known under names like "The Ride," ''Access-a-Ride," or "Dial-a-Ride," is required under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. But the costs, which include door-to-door pickup and drop-off, can be steep.
International Transportation News
Thunder Bay's mayor says he's encouraged by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to the city last Friday. Trudeau spoke at the transit headquarters on Fort William Road, where he highlighted the over $3 billion available to municipalities for spending on transit. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talks transit funding in Thunder Bay Trudeau promises money for hard-hit First Nations to flow this year The Prime Minister's announcement was short on details for Thunder Bay - he said the city could see "millions," - but Keith Hobbs said city officials are going over the transit master plan to see what projects could be eligible for funding help from Ottawa. 
Transit System/Partners
RTA's popular trolleys have been in service 10 years, and 12 new trolleys begin service this month. Balloons, streamers and party hats will decorate one special trolley all day as we celebrate 10 years of trolley service in Downtown Cleveland. Look for your favorite driver dressed in party gear and for the trolleys' destination signs flashing "Happy Birthday Trolleys." 
Labor News
ABC 7 News - April 11, 2016
Heralding the tentative agreement as a turning point in BART labor relations, union leaders and management lauded a proposed worker contract that would stem the possibility of strikes for the next five years. The proposed agreement, which must still be ratified by union membership and the BART Board of Directors, would give workers at 10.5 percent pay raise over the next four years.
The News Tribune - April 11, 2016
The Pierce Transit Board of Commissioners voted Monday to tap its swollen reserve account to hire 35 positions to restore a portion of service hours decimated during the recession. The hires would allow the transit agency to restore 59,000 service hours by the end of 2017, said Wayne Fanshier, Pierce Transit's chief financial officer. The estimated personnel cost for this year is $1 million, with much of the spending to occur this summer and fall. That's when hiring gears up for a 15,000-hour bump in bus service scheduled for September and another 34,000-hour increase for March 17.
Building Transportation Infrastructure
Brentwood Home Page - April 11, 2016
Nashville MTA/RTA Chief Executive Officer Steve Bland spoke at the Williamson County Association of Realtors on Monday morning about the future of transit in Tennessee. Bland went over the current state of traffic and public transportation and discussed three future transit scenarios. The overall plan is called nMotion 2016, aimed to get public feedback on the scenarios and improve traffic for the Nashville area through 2040. "It's been over a year process to identify these options to improve mobility to folks in Tennessee," Bland said. "No one piece of the pie will solve the problem. We're really going to have to use all the tools in the toolbox."
The Seattle Times - April 11, 2016
Our region's population will increase by at least 30 percent by 2040. Anyone stuck in rush hour on Interstate 5 can tell you the Seattle area already has a transit problem, and additional freeway lanes aren't going to accommodate the massive influx of new commuters in the coming decades.
Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter