Hello newsletter readers,

I recently did some holiday traveling, like a large portion of the U.S. did, for the first time since 2019. In my two weeks of travel across four states, it seemed like I utilized almost every transportation mode available to me: heavy and light rail trains, my private vehicle, my friends' and family's vehicles, buses, hotel shuttles, transportation network companies, airplanes, my bicycle, shared micromobility scooters and bikes, and my own two-legs. Just in the first day of my holiday, in a span of 8 hours, I ...

I traveled around 1500 miles in less than a day by seven transportation modes! 

This single day of movement shined a brighter light for myself on the importance of availability: namely availability of information and of services. First of all, I needed to know what services were available to get from my dad's home to the airport, by a certain time on a certain day. I wouldn't have been able to complete my journey without the help of a real time transit app that showed the different service links available at different times, depending on when I would arrive at my first stop. While I wasn't able to pay for any of my tickets on my phone for the transit system I was using, I was at least able to find out on their website where I could buy tickets and for how much. More importantly, I live in a part of the country that has plentiful public and private transportation options; the availability of transit allowed me to make my journey in the first place. Otherwise, I would've needed to figure out how to get my cat to her kind cat-sitter (my dad), and how to get to an out-of-the-area airport myself without spending a boat-load of money on parking and contributing to global warming by driving myself all the way there. If it wasn't for available transit services, I would've had to do both.

As you get started this year, consider what you can do at your workplace to make transit more available. Whether that's making real-time service information easier to receive or working towards getting a new service on the road, whatever you do will help those who rely on transit to get them to where they need to go.

Be well,

Kirby Wilhelm

(202) 489-6020

Bill Wagner recently joined the NCMM team as Deputy Director. Bill brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from his previous role as the Director of the Getthere Mobility Management Program in Binghamton New York. Over his six-year tenure, Bill oversaw a five-county regional mobility management program that included the Getthere Call Center, a non-emergency medical transportation program (Connection to Care), a rural and urban regional travel training program (How do I Getthere), a volunteer transportation program, and most recently a transportation to employment program. Bill has been actively involved in human services coordinated planning in multiple counties, age friendly transportation services and, transportation to meet COVID related needs. Read more about Bill and his move to NCMM here.

NCMM is seeking letters of interest from communities who would like to have NCMM facilitate a one-day meeting with mobility management practitioners and their partners to try to solve a particular perplexing mobility issue that requires cross-agency coordination. These meetings will take place in-person between April 2022 and September 2022 (but can be held remotely as circumstances dictate). NCMM will facilitate up to five meetings in total, and will work closely with the selected communities to co-design these one-day meetings to ensure they effectively addresses the communities' goals. NCMM will cover costs associated with this meeting. Find out more information about the opportunity and application instructions here.

NCMM is excited to have released its seventh episode of the Mobility Lines Podcast. This first-part of a conversation with Jana Sochor on about a discussion paper for the international transport forum entitled, Piecing Together the Puzzle: Mobility as a Service from the User and Service Design Perspectives. Listen to this conversation, along with past episodes, here or search for Mobility Lines Podcast on your favorite listening channel, such as Spotify.

NCMM is pleased to announce its newest e-Learning course - Mobility Management for All: An Introduction for Non-Transportation Professionals. This bright and lively course serves as a sound introduction to mobility management for client-facing non-transportation professionals (and new mobility managers alike). With easy-to-implement practices, course takers will be sure to have something to take back to their workplace. The course also provides an avenue to show the importance of mobility management to your partners in fields like health care, social services, and housing. Course takers will have the opportunity to receive a certificate of completion if they pass the quiz. You can find this e-Learning course here and the rest of NCMM's slate of courses in our e-Learning catalog.

NCMM is pleased to announce our 2022 Mobility Management Forum to be held at CTAA's EXPO 2022 in Louisville, Ky., on Thursday, May 12. If you have suggestions for presenters or content you would like to see addressed, please email them to Amy Conrick. 

As low- and no-emission buses continue to gain market share among transit agencies, it is important for managers to develop plans to transition to these alternative fuels, as well as required for applying for Low/No Grants. On Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. Eastern, two speakers will discuss how they developed their transition plans, including lessons learned, and how other agencies can set themselves up for success in planning their own transitions to low/no-emission vehicles. You can register for N-CATT's webinar here. 

The 2022 Transportation Mid-Manager Accelerate program is designed for mid-level leaders wanting to be faster, sharper, and stronger in the art of leadership working in cross-functional transportation roles in transit, government, and the public and private sectors. The Accelerate model is intentionally anchored by three directives: enhance strategic skill sets, engage in meaningful leadership content and learning, and re-invigorate how participants show up as leaders. You can find out more about the program and application process here. The deadline to apply is March 18.

A new Streetfilm shows the myriad of families on cargo bikes throughout New York City. Getting around has never been easier (or more fun!). Does anyone in your community use them as their primary way of getting around?

Mobility Management News is the newsletter of the National Center for Mobility Management (NCMM), which is operated jointly by the Community Transportation Association, the American Public Transportation Association and Easter Seals under a cooperative agreement with the Federal Transit Administration.