Want to Know More about the National Signals Training Consortium? Join an Orientation Session Monday September 26 - 12pm PT
As a reader of the weekly update and a general supporter of the Center, you have surely heard a lot about the National Signals Training Consortium. In a nut shell, this group of over 20 mass transportation locations from around the country are working together, and sharing the costs - to develop a comprehensive, standardized training program for Signal Maintainers. This work includes: instruction-ready courseware, apprenticeship guidelines, train-the-trainer and now assistance in recruitment to fill the skills gap that is coming down the line.
Not only are top-rate products being developed but they are being produced at a premium price. Cost-sharing amongst 20 locations and the federal government means that each location is basically getting a 40 for the price of one deal.
The Center will be hosting a meeting of the Consortium the week of September 26, 2016 in Portland, OR. In order to welcome new members, we are holding an orientation session on Monday September 26 at 12pm PT. We are opening this live meeting up to other parties, like you, that are interested in learning more.
To get information on how to attend the orientation or to join remotely through a FREE webinar, email Program Manager of Instructional Design Julie Deibel-Pundt.
Columbus will be the U.S. Department of Transportation's Smart City. The city beat out six other finalists for the competition to receive $50 million in grant funding from the federal government and Vulcan Inc. to develop Columbus into the nation's proving ground for intelligent transportation systems. That means that, soon, driver-less vehicles will roam parts of Columbus, access to electric vehicle charging stations will increase and more cars will be able to communicate with traffic signals and other transportation infrastructure.
Fifty-two years ago this week, Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, which made public transportation a national priority by giving the federal government an active role in delivering safe and accessible mass transit. By pumping desperately-needed federal dollars into bus and rail systems that were on the brink of failure, this legislation secured the role of public transit as a viable transportation option for millions of Americans. Today, public transit continues to have a profound impact on the lives of working people. Across the country, public transit ridership is soaring. It is estimated that 10.6 billion trips were taken on transit systems last year alone - an almost 60 percent increase since the 1970s.
With Singapore opening up its public bus industry to two more new operators, the competition for drivers is growing. To attract local bus drivers to join their fleet, the four bus operators have been engaging in a pay war over the past few months. Last week, UK-based bus operator Go-Ahead, which will operate the Loyang bus routes from September, announced that it would be raising its minimum monthly starting salary for Singaporeans and PRs to $1,950.
With leased railcars finally on hand, SEPTA announced a new schedule Sunday night to improve service that has been rocky since a third of its rail fleet was pulled from service more than a week ago. The new schedule - effective for Monday's commute - adds trains and stations, with tweaked stops and arrival times throughout SEPTA's 13 Regional Rail lines - promising some relief for commuters dealing with crowded cars and bypassed stops.
A public-private partnership is expected to have recommendations for transportation improvements in the 10-county area by the end of the year, but a crowd-sourcing survey shows a strong interest in one particular area: more public transit. The Regional Transportation Alliance asked 800 groups what transportation changes would make the biggest difference for their clients or members. The agency got about 340 responses and the top suggestion in each county was to improve public transit, which was mentioned by 46 percent of all respondents and had the highest percentage in each county.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer was one of the five officers killed during the deadly attack in Dallas Thursday night, making him the first ever DART officer to die in the line of duty. Officer Brent Thompson, 43, was killed when two snipers opened fire at officers who were working the demonstration in Downtown Dallas in wake of the officer-involved shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana.DART Police Chief James Spiller described Thompson as a "courageous" and "great guy." He was married just two weeks ago and his wife, Emily, also works for the police force. She was not on duty during the protest.
New York City's bus and transit system is receiving more than $22 million in federal funds for security upgrades and training intended to prevent terrorism. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the award for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Thursday. Smaller amounts will go to transit agencies in western New York state. In addition, $1.6 million in federal funds will help pay for security improvements along the New York-Canadian border. Cuomo says the money is on top of $54 million included in the state budget to support anti-terrorism efforts and ensure first responders have the training and equipment they need.
Harsco Corp.'s Safe Turn Alert (STA) pedestrian warning system, developed and produced by the company's Protran Technology unit, has been selected for installation across the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority's (SEPTA) entire transit bus fleet of 1,075 vehicles. Terms of the order were not disclosed. Installations will begin this summer and are expected to be completed by the middle of next year.
Unemployed after cycling through temporary jobs in insurance, accounting and real estate, Lisa Edwards was considering whether to borrow and go back to college three years ago when she came upon a flier on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. It was for a "women in technology" program offered by Per Scholas, a nonprofit offering low-income workers training in information technology. Five months later, Ms. Edwards landed on the leading edge of a promising approach to helping embattled workers attain and hold on to a middle-class life in an economy that has devalued the work of all but the best educated.
Broward County is now hiring. Applicants must be fresh out of prison, disabled or poor. The unlikely hiring spree is part of a recently approved one-year trial, offering jobs to the traditionally hard-to-hire, doing work the county says is critically needed: cleaning county buses. County bus passengers have long complained of foul odors and stomach-turning messes. A woman who wore white complained her clothing was stained brown after sitting on one county bus. And stowaway cockroaches have surprised more than a few passengers, the county complaint logs from the past few years reveal.
The summer of 2016 is barely two weeks old, but this year is already on track to break high temperature records in the United States. On June 20, cities across the Southwest and into Nevada reached all-time triple-digit highs. Meanwhile, every single state experienced spring temperatures above average, with some in the Northwest reaching record highs. These temperatures have already proved deadly, killing five hikers in Arizona earlier this month. Triple-digit heat earlier that same week is also being blamed for the deaths of two construction workers, 49-year old Dale Heitman in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 15 and 55-year old Thomas F. "Tommy" Barnes on June 14 at the Monsanto campus in nearby Chesterfield, Missouri.
Efforts to pass a half-cent metro sales tax to expand the Twin Cities' light-rail system were thwarted by Republicans in the Legislature this spring. Cities nationwide have crafted and acted on ambitious blueprints for light-rail and other forms of mass transit, but unlike the Twin Cities, many of them have asked their voters whether they want higher taxes to help pay for it. Ballot initiatives "give local officials the ability to turn a tricky political decision over to the voters," said Jason Jordan, executive director of the Center for Transportation Excellence, a Washington, D.C., group that tracks transit spending. Since 2000, transportation initiatives have been on the ballot in 41 states, with an average of 71 percent passing.
