Hello newsletter readers,

It was a pleasure to meet and see those who attended the 2021 Mobility Management Forum earlier this month. For those who couldn't attend or would like to revisit the morning presentations, you can find the recording on NCMM's website on our Mobility Management Forum webpage (see below for the link).

Throughout the morning panel session and especially during the afternoon unconference session at the Forum, it became even more apparent the value of interacting in-person and getting to know those you work with and for, face-to-face. We hope to be able to see you all again soon to share innovations and work on challenges in our communities. Please mark your calendars for our 2022 Forum in Louisville, Ky., on Tuesday, May 10.  

Looking ahead towards the end of the year, there are a couple of projects that will soon be shared publicly. NCMM will be releasing a new e-Learning course focused on introducing mobility management to those outside the transportation field. This course, featuring a lively animated style, will be perfect for showing those you work with in your community what mobility management is all about. Additionally, in the next few weeks we'll be rolling out our NCMM user registration platform, which will allow you to sign in just once to access all NCMM resources, such our e-learning, newsletter, or Mobility Management Connections. Even more important will be the ability to network with other mobility managers. We'll provide more information in the next newsletter.

Hope you had a pleasant holiday! 

Stay well,

Kirby Wilhelm

(202) 489-6020

NCMM held our 2021 Mobility Management Forum at CTAA's EXPO 2021 in Richmond, Va. The morning session, a series of four presentations and panel discussions, was live-streamed and recorded. You can also view the session's agenda, as well as posters of the 2021 Mobility Management Poster Session presenters on our site. You can view these items and the recording NCMM's website. 

The National Center for Mobility Management seeks to understand what future transportation professionals are learning about mobility management topics, disability, and accessibility. This is not intended to be an evaluation or an assessment of what is or is not being taught; rather, it's NCMM's work to develop an understanding of what is already being done to prepare our future transportation professionals with the content they need to respond to the mobility needs of broad audiences. We hope to use what we learn to develop support materials for faculty to include in their teaching programs. For those teaching at the higher education level or for those looking to share with their network, use this link to share information of the program or course.

We are pleased to announce the four communities selected for the 2021 Community Mobility Design Challenge grants. The Design Challenge grantees will develop and test ways to solve the mobility challenges of community members for whom a lack of transportation is an obstacle to the pursuit of economic, health, and social well-being. The four selected communities are:

NCMM has already begun traveling out these communities to work with them. We can't wait to see the solutions these communities are able to design! You can find out more about our grantees, and to stay up to date on their progress, here. 

NCMM is excited to have released its sixth episode of the Mobility Lines Podcast. This conversation with Janae Futrell focuses on gaining key skills for implementing and maintaining one-call/one-click transportation information systems while avoiding common stumbling blocks. Listen to this conversation, along with past episodes, here or search for Mobility Lines Podcast on your favorite listening channel, such as Spotify.

FTA has announced the availability of $3.5 million in Fiscal Year 2021 competitive grant funding for projects that improve access to vital services for older adults and people with disabilities, and in low-income communities. FTA's Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility (ICAM) pilot program, part of FTA's Access and Mobility Partnership grants, supports public transportation projects that improve state and regional coordination and will help advance the goals of the President's Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. Applications for funding will be evaluated based on criteria outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity in the Federal Register, including how the project will enhance access and mobility to vital community services for older adults, people with disabilities, and people of low income. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. ET Monday, Dec. 6. You can find out more about the opportunity here.

Micromobility options, especially bikeshare, have flourished in the past few years due to a number of technological advances. They represent a significant partnership opportunity for transit agencies to expand their networks. Rather than being just a bus company, transit agencies can integrate a variety of modes to make sure their communities get where they need to go. This webinar will illustrate promising practices in harnessing this tech through relationship building and collaboration, and identifies methods for your agency to consider. Register here.

Is your transit agency interested in upping your GIS analysis or map-making skills? Are you looking for free GIS tools that will help make your transit planning better? If so, this workshop may be for you! This hands-on workshop for transit agency staff will bring together experts and participants to explore a number of GIS Topics. Visit here for more information on the two-part virtual workshop.

When re-thinking how people move themselves around the world in the face of climate change, it's important to think beyond what currently is - and look towards what it can be. This NY Times article explores this topic; this image of Bogota, Columbia's newer cable cars shows what public transportation can look like in an urban metropolis.

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.