Hello all, 

As summer soon rolls into falls, preparing your organization for the upcoming challenges ahead - expected and not - is important. Although each year many regions expect a series of climate-related events that can shake-up daily life, the scope of the recent slate of storms that have rolled through the Gulf region and the fires that have ravaged the Pacific coast have been extreme. Those in the realm of mobility management should be proactive in making sure their communities are prepared for what comes ahead. The NCMM report Integrating Emergency Management and Mobility Management explores how best mobility managers can partner with emergency managers, preparing for expected, and unexpected emergencies. NCMM's Resources By Topic Page, Emergency Preparedness and Response also can help with determining best practices for getting started with looping-in emergency management with your transit work. 

In other news, NCMM is proud to announce our upcoming Community Mobility Design Challenge 2020 grantees. The four teams will be working to develop and test ways to address the particular mobility challenges of low-income community members. You can read more about these new grantees below.

Related to our website, the redesign of the NCMM's homepage is now live. As you open the page, you get instant access to information on recent NCMM publications and news. As well, recent Mobility Lines blogs and Daily News are highlighted just below that. This fresh look makes it that much easier to stay up-to-date on what's going on in mobility management. When on the NCMM website and thinking about subject areas your organization could grow in, don't forget that NCMM's search feature is a great way to start. Simply typing in a phrase in NCMM's website's top right search bar, like "bike" or "older adults" can bring up a slew of resources, past webinars, and news related to the keyword. Try it out!

Kirby Wilhelm

(202) 489-6020

We are pleased to announce the four communities selected for the Community Mobility Design Challenge 2020. The Community Mobility Design Challenge helps communities develop and test ways to address the particular mobility challenges experienced by low-income community members for whom a lack of transportation is an obstacle to the pursuit of economic, health, and social well-being. This year's challenge gave communities the choice to focus on a wide range of issues, from access to health care or economic opportunity to access to healthy foods and behavioral health appointments. The four selected communities and their chosen challenge areas are:

1. Botetourt County, Va. (Lead agency: Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission)

2. Perry County, Mo. (Lead agency: Perry County Economic Development Authority)

3. Ware County, Ga. (Lead agency: Action Pact)

4. North Charleston, S.C. (Lead agency: Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments) 

We can't wait to see the solutions these communities are able to design!

The NCMM is looking for bloggers for our Mobility Lines blog. Qualified applicants can include those working in mobility management or writing about transportation. Bloggers would be paid a fair rate for their work. For application requirements, visit this page. 

NCMM has released the RFP for its newest iteration of pilot grants! If your community-based team has developed an innovative transportation solution focused on allowing low-income residents to improve their ability to be more fully engaged in economic opportunities, improve their health and well-being, and/or become more integrated into their community, consider applying. This grant of up to $75,000 can fund the pilot phase of the solution. Applicants should have used the human-centered design process in the solution's development and testing, along with a detailed operation plan.  

Applications are due by Oct. 1 at 11:59 pm EDT. You can find out more information about the grant on our webpage. 

You can download the RFP here (PDF).

NCMM is hosting its second Mobility Management Connections Conversations meeting via Zoom on Oct. 13. The meeting will feature Chris Blankenship and Katherine Newman from the Virginia Association of Mobility Managers, who will discuss how they built mobility management networks within their state and offer lessons for mobility managers looking to complete similar efforts in their own states. A breakout into smaller virtual rooms with dedicated topics will occur, so that practitioners can connect about similar challenges you are facing in your work. Indicate which topics you would like to discuss in the registration link and we will do our best to accommodate you.

 

The first iteration of MMC Conversations centered around the impacts of COVID-19 on mobility management, new roles of mobility management practitioners, and how mobility management professionals are meeting the needs of our communities. You can access the archived conversation here. 

The NCMM is proud to announce our new podcast series: Mobility Lines Podcast. Conversations of NCMM staff with mobility management leaders and innovative program creators will be recorded, transcribed, and shared through the Mobility Lines blog. Podcasts will be released monthly.

The inaugural episode of the Mobility Lines Podcast is a discussion between Dr. Judy Shanley and Dr. P.S. Sriraj of the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC). The two discussed the findings of NCMM and UIC's research on the factors affecting the creation and success of statewide mobility management networks. Access to it here.

In light of the COVID-19 public health emergency, NCMM heard from several mobility managers around the country about the need to better respond in emergency scenarios. This led to the creation of NCMM's Integrating Emergency Management and Mobility Management report, which explores emergency management concepts, synergies with mobility management, and potential strategies for mobility management professionals looking to partner with emergency managers. NCMM staff researched and interviewed stakeholders from around the country to share five case studies of programs that showcase the promise of partnerships with emergency management professionals. 

NCMM is still seeking additional examples and case studies for the report. Examples can include new partnerships between mobility professionals and emergency managers to prepare and respond to, recover from, and mitigate future mobility challenges resulting from natural or man-made disasters and emergencies. Please share your practices with Jerom Theunissen, NCMM Project Associate at jtheunissen@easterseals.com.

If you are functioning as a mobility management professional, regardless of your job title, we're asking you to share your job description. NCMM currently keeps a compilation of job descriptions of mobility management practitioners on its website and would like to update it. These postings help to suggest requirements for future mobility management jobs, as well as help determine the various responsibilities of those in working in the realm of mobility management. 

If you'd like to share a mobility management job description, please email Kirby Wilhelm at wilhelm@ctaa.org with the description attached as a PDF.

Transit Planning 4 All's has selected three applicants for its Inclusive Mobility on Demand Grant. The three awarded applicants are:

Find out more about the grant and grantees here.

On Oct. 1, at 3 p.m. EST, a discussion of New York MTA's new fare payment system, OMNY, will be held. The interview will explore the core functionalities MTA is building into the system, its impact on the ridership experience, and the opportunities OMNY presents for ongoing enhancements to transit ticketing in the future.

This webinar hosted by N-CATT on Oct. 15 at 2 p.m. EST, will tie together promising practices for successful technology adoption and case studies that examine a range of technologies from maintenance operations to fare payment to software interoperability. N-CATT will discuss ways to ensure that small urban, tribal, and rural transit agencies make sound technology decisions that add value to their operations for years to come. 

Save the dates now for APTA's TRANScend conference! This Oct. 21-22 virtual event will explore different perspectives on the biggest questions for the year ahead and how we'll rise above our current challenges.

 

A new e-learning course from CTAA has recently launched. "Understanding Passengers Who Have Experienced Trauma" was created for public transportation, NEMT, specialized transportation, and other drivers who interact with the general public on a daily basis. Its purpose is to educate drivers on the impacts that past traumatic events can have on individuals and how those impacts may play out in a transportation setting. 

You can take this free course here and can access CTAA's full suite of online courses at their Online Training Center.

Every Thursday at 10 a.m. EST, the TRB will be virtually hosting a scholar to share their high-quality research in this field. The series features a broad topic coverage from planning, behaviors to operations, and intends to engage audiences both within and beyond the transportation community. 30 minutes of in-depth and inclusive discussions between the speaker and audiences will follow. To register and find out more information, visit the Emerging Mobility Systems and Services website.

The focus on the intersection between transportation and public health is increasingly important as communities plan for recovery and response amid COVID-19 and tackle more persistent health and safety issues. Emerging research to better align the two fields offers not only an expanded perspective of their connections, but also opportunities to address health issues through the lens of transportation. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC), in partnership with many organizations, is delivering a webinar series aimed at exploring the integration of health in various transportation planning practices. Learn more here. Each webinar is also linked from NCMM's Events Calendar.

In addition to the opportunities listed below, find out more on our Grant page.

Deadline: Oct. 6

Focus: Innovative, community-based initiatives to improve the health status of infants, children, adolescents, and families in rural and other underserved communities by increasing their access to preventive care and services.

Deadline: Nov. 11

Focus: Promoting the development of better integrated, efficient, and accessible rural health care networks.

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.