Hello newsletter readers,

For the past year, it's been learned by many that being apart from important places and people, can have a huge impact on their health and well-being. Addressing isolation, both social and from the natural world, can allow for people to thrive and be who they want to be.

Consider the importance of connecting with nature. A comprehensive study concluded that two hours a week at parks and green spaces substantially increased people's identification of being in good health and psychological well-being. For those who have difficulty accessing green space, transit can serve to connect them to wellness. For example, in Washington state, King County Metro's Trailhead Direct service connects hikers from light rail stations to popular hiking areas via bus, which initially cut during the pandemic, has returned with a growing ridership showing that people value being able to get out in nature.

When thinking about age, isolation from others can create barriers to a longer, fuller life. For older adults, having transportation to social and other essential destinations can have a positive impact on their well-being, as discussed in NCMM's recent product, The Role of Transportation in Addressing Social Isolation in Older Adults. As a follow up to that report, NCMM is offering to facilitate a collaboration between a state or tribal department of transportation and their sister agencies working on older adult and/or public health to address the positive role of transportation in reducing social isolation among older adults. You can learn more about the opportunity in the newsletter.

For those working in the mobility management space, think about isolation when new services are being developed - connecting riders with the world around them can make all the difference.

Stay well,

Kirby Wilhelm

(202) 489-6020

NCMM is seeking to grow the number of communities providing centralized transportation information by providing a remote, free training on developing One-Call/One-Click (OC/OC) systems. NCMM is requesting that states, multi-state regions, or tribal nations interested in playing a support role for their local communities in developing a OC/OC system indicate their interest by August 6. Local communities who will actually participate in the training will be chosen from within the selected state, region, or tribal nation. You can find out more about the opportunity here. States, regions, and tribal nations can apply through this form.

NCMM is seeking to facilitate groundbreaking collaborations among state-level agencies within a single state or tribal nation who are interested in working together to address the positive role of transportation in reducing social isolation among older adults. NCMM will offer to facilitate, and potentially provide pilot funding for, a project involving these agencies. The deadline to apply is Sep. 1. You can learn more about the opportunity here.

During this session, to be held Sep. 30, 2021 from 3:00-4:15 p.m. EST, participants will hear from a wide range of national mobility management experts who have conceptualized, developed, and piloted a variety of Mobility on Demand projects that have resulted in long-term, sustainable programs. Speakers will discuss the challenges, successes, and lessons they learned as they used creative strategies to unify varying transportation modes to ensure riders receive safe, reliable, and efficient trips.

Mobility Management Connections (MMC) is a peer-to-peer learning platform organized and hosted by NCMM that enables mobility managers from all backgrounds to engage in coordination topics, information sharing, and mobility management strategies related to fostering transportation connections. MMC is free and open to all mobility management professionals. For more information, please contact NCMM's Brandon Roccio. Register for the webinar here.

Mobility management professionals will have a double-header Tuesday, Nov. 9, at this year's CTAA EXPO, which will be in person! In the morning, you are invited to a half-day Mobility Management Forum from 9:00 am to 11:30 a.m. The morning session will feature two panel presentations: one in which former NCMM grantees talk about the value human-centered design techniques have brought to their work, and the other in which practitioners discuss technological innovations in transportation. Register here.

In the afternoon, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 p.m., mobility management practitioners will join other transportation professionals for an "unconference" on Mobility Innovation. For this session, the attendees drive the agenda-bringing forth issues they would like to learn and share with others in three fast-paced 50-minute sessions.

If you have suggestions for other presentations or workshop content, please email them to Amy Conrick.

Begin preparing now to showcase a poster of your work on the CTAA EXPO Trade Show Floor. The poster sessions give mobility management practitioners a chance to shine, sharing their innovative practices in an informal setting with all EXPO attendees. $500 scholarships will be provided to all accepted poster presenters. You can find out more on the 2021 Mobility Management Poster Session webpage.

NCMM invites all mobility management professionals attending the 2021 Midwest Transit Conference to join a roundtable discussion on "The Role of Mobility Managers in Innovation" on Sep. 9, from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. CST.

This roundtable, hosted by NCMM's Brandon Roccio along with Lisa Womack, director, Mobility Services, Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, and Mike Spadafore, director, Mobility management, Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging, will provide an opportunity for mobility management practitioners to collaborate and discuss how creative partnerships, funding models, and other innovative strategies can be used to develop sustainable coordinated mobility solutions. You can learn more about the 2021 Midwest Transit Conference here.

N-CATT will speak with transit agencies from neighboring counties who have pursued different microtransit projects in Georgia. We'll discuss their processes for evaluating the service design and technology as well as lessons learned and important factors to address when considering a microtransit service. Following the moderated discussion, we will have time for Q&A with attendees. Register here

The Transit Planning 4 All project, funded by the Dept. of Human Services' Administration for Community Living, hosted a webinar on Tuesday, June 8 at 4 p.m. EDT, focused on rural on-demand and demand responsive transit solutions. The webinar will feature Valerie Lefler of Feonix-Mobility Rising and Kevin Chambers of Full Path Transit Technology discussing their experiences with related rural transit services. You can visit the webinar recording, transcript and presenter slides on the TP4A website here.

The first in the Coordination Connections series, Statewide Coordination: Bottom Up, Top Down, will be held on July 29, 2-3 p.m., ET. NADTC is launching the Coordination Connections series featuring two members of the NADTC Coordination Advisory Committee. Amy St. Peter is the Deputy Executive Director of the Maricopa Association of Governments, and will discuss how local and regional transportation coalition work grew into a statewide coordination effort. Denise Jess is the CEO/Executive Director of the Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired, and will discuss the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Non-Driver Advisory Council of which she is co-chair, and how this group is working statewide to effect change on the ground. Register here.

Join NADTC for the Lunch and Learn webinar on Thursday, Aug. 5, from 12:30 - 1:15 p.m., EST. This webinar, connecting NADTC's Transportation Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Coordination Connections initiatives, will feature Quincy Brown, co-founder of We All Rise Consulting. Mr. Brown will discuss strategies for engaging traditionally marginalized and underserved populations in transportation planning, ultimately leading to coordination best practices. Register here.

FTA funded eight Rides to Wellness demonstration projects in 2016 to identify and test promising, replicable public transportation health care access solutions that support increased access to healthcare, improved health outcomes, and reduced health care costs. You can download the recently released program evaluation report here to learn more about the successes of the demonstration projects funded under the Rides to Wellness program.

Jamin from Port Orchard, Washington takes Disability Mobility Initiative for a ride-along showing the need for accessible sidewalks everywhere.

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.