eNews - June 6, 2024

National RTAP is a program of the Federal Transit Administration dedicated to creating rural and tribal transit solutions through free training materials, technical assistance, and partner collaboration.

Newsletter Highlights

National RTAP Launches 2024 Photo Contest - The Art of Transit

Upcoming State RTAP Manager Peer Roundtable

Updated National RTAP Technical Brief on Volunteers in Transportation

FTA Fiscal Year 2024 Apportionments Published

FTA Funding Available for Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development Planning

National RTAP Launches 2024 Photo Contest - The Art of Transit

Our National RTAP 2024 Photo Contest – The Art of Transit – is for your creative side. We’re asking you to draw, paint, sculpt, quilt, weave, make a collage, or create an artistic digital image that depicts rural or tribal transit.  Entries must include an original artistic image of a bus, bus stop, driver, and/or riders. The artist can be a transit agency staff member or a rider. This is still a photo contest; the final submission will be a photo of your artwork. Learn more and submit your artwork by August 23, 2024.

Artwork by National RTAP Knowledge and Resource Manager Cara Marcus

Upcoming State RTAP Manager Peer Roundtable

Our next State RTAP Manager Peer Roundtable will be held on July 10, 2024, from 2:00-3:00 PM ET. Join your State RTAP manager peers for an informal discussion. We will discuss GTFS benefits, 5310 programs, scholarship policies, special day/week promotions, and other topics of interest to State RTAP managers.

Note: This event is just for State RTAP Managers. Stay tuned for upcoming Transit Manager Peer Roundtables.

FTA published its Fiscal Year 2024 apportionments and allocations based on these funds for the various FTA programs, as well as statements of policy and guidance on public transit administration. FY24 apportionments reflect the U.S. Census Bureau’s new urbanized area boundaries and population figures. $938,673,323 was apportioned for the Section 5311 program for FY2024.

FTA announced the availability of funding under the Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development Planning (TOD Pilot Program). Funds will be awarded competitively to support comprehensive planning or site-specific planning associated with new fixed guideway and core capacity improvement projects. Applications are due July 22, 2024.

On May 17, 2024, FTA introduced enhancements to the Transit Award Management System (TrAMS). Enhancements include changes to the layout, appearance, and terminology specific to the records page and do not change the workflow or data within the system. 

On May 13, 2024, FTA posted the Strategic Transit Automation Research Plan 2.0: 2023-2028, a successor to the original 2018 STAR Plan published by FTA. It builds upon the 2018 STAR Plan and provides a new five-year strategic research and demonstration framework to advance driving automation systems that meet public transportation needs. 

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) provides Charts and Visualizations that can be filtered by regions, policies, sectors, partnerships, dates, and other fields. For example, one visualization shows Zero-emission vehicle phase-ins: Medium- and heavy-duty buses.

U.S. DOT published a Final Rule, effective June 24, 2024, that established additional policies and procedures for the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program. There are updates to the interest rate spread and language for inclusion in transportation plans and programs.

FTA's May 2024 Transit Safety and Oversight Spotlight newsletter includes links to FTA safety presentations at various events and resources for mental health for transit professionals.

FTA published a Milestone Checklist for the Acquisition of Real Property to assist transit agencies with a general understanding of the real property acquisition process. The first step is to consult with your FTA Regional Office to verify funding eligibility, planning, environmental, and other applicable federal requirements. The checklist includes steps about property maps, environmental site assessments, relocation plans, and other necessary tasks for real property acquisition.

FTA created an FTA Census Map to view the U.S. Census Bureau's Urban Areas under 50K, Native areas, National Transit Database (NTD) reporters, routes, stops, and other data.

FTA's Joint Procurement Clearinghouse, a tool available to all FTA grant recipients, enables them to communicate about procurement needs and solicit partners interested in pooling resources for a joint purchase. The Clearinghouse includes fields for procurement officers to list information such as bus size, engine type, and other features. The tool includes filters and search fields to help users explore and find specific joint procurements to fit their agency’s needs.

The National Center for Applied Transit Technology (N-CATT) is holding a Transit Data Dashboards 201 Workshop on June 25-27, 2024 from 2:00-4:30 PM ET. Each day is worth 2 AICP CM credits. Attendees will learn about the basics of data cleaning and visualization, transforming data to interactive visualizations using Power BI, and leveraging advanced Power BI functionality to enhance dashboard operations and user experience.

The National Highway Institute (NHI) free Air Quality Planning web-based training series, designed for transportation practitioners, includes Clean Air Act Overview, State Implementation Plan (SIP) and Transportation Control Measure (TCM) Requirements and Policies, SIP Development Process, and Transportation Conformity. For more information, visit the NHI website and search “Air Quality Planning".

The South West Transit Association (SWTA) is holding a Heat Resiliency at Bus Stops Webinar on June 11, 2024 from 12:00-1:00 PM ET. The webinar will present a case study on heat resiliency at bus stops and describe the implementation of an 'ideal bus stop' aimed at mitigating heat and keeping passengers cooler.

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation Transit Technology Toolkit describes technology including computer-aided dispatch, automatic vehicle location, onboard announcement systems, operator check-in kiosks, wayside emergency call boxes, and more. Photos and screenshots are provided. Although case studies are from Canada, the technology information can be applied to the U.S.

NCHRP's Shared Automated Vehicle Toolkit: Policies and Planning Considerations for Implementation provides resources that identify key stakeholders and partnerships, offers emerging lessons learned, and provides sample regulations that can be used to help plan for and integrate emerging modes.

FHWA's Model Long-Range Transportation Plans: A Guide for Incorporating Performance-Based Planning provides guidance to agencies about effective practices for incorporating performance-based planning into the development of a long-range transportation plan. A performance-based plan sets the foundation of goals, objectives, performance measures, and targets that support decisions for long-range investments and policies.

Minnesota DOT's Rural Community Transit Strategies: Building on, Expanding, and Enhancing Existing Assets and Programs developed a menu of strategies that use existing community assets to promote walking, biking, car sharing, bus sharing, car pooling, and van pooling.

The Safe Project includes information on State Naloxone Access Rules and Resources for all 50 states. The introduction explains the different types of access for third parties.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and the Transit app have partnered to build a new resource for the transit industry, tracking demand for public transit and publishing estimates of ridership change in real-time, the APTA Ridership Trends Dashboard. Data can be compared by size, region, and agency.

TransitCenter launched Transit Insights, which allows users to compare the country’s transit systems in recent years while looking into factors like regional population changes and density, fare prices, operating costs, and how many miles the system covers. 

FHWA released Version 2.1 of the Database for Air Quality and Noise Analysis (DANA). Updates include improved data-filling algorithms, accounting for traffic volume variations by month and weekday/weekend, and reduced memory requirements. 

The National Technical Reports Library of the U.S. Department of Commerce contains the largest collection of U.S. government-sponsored technical reports in one collection. A search for rural transit displays over 60,000 reports, many available as PDFs.

Brookings Metro updated its Federal Infrastructure Hub, which tracks the state and local opportunities made possible by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 and Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. This Hub includes an interactive database of IIJA awards by state and metro area.

TripShot offers a free rider app that displays integrated walking, biking, and driving directions and real-time tracking on arrivals and departures.

The Transit Workforce Center (TWC) provides free, customizable job recruitment Advertisement Templates. These customizable marketing templates include photos of transit drivers and are free for rural and Tribal transit providers to enter their specific agency information. 

Qualifying businesses, tax-exempt organizations, or entities such as state, local, and tribal governments can take advantage of certain clean energy tax credits through new elective payment and transfer options from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR) published a Notice of Funding Opportunity for its Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program. Applications must be received by November 21, 2024.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) published a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the FY24 Transit Security Grant Program. This grant provides funding to protect critical transportation infrastructure and the traveling public from terrorism, and to increase transportation infrastructure resilience. Applications are due June 24, 2024.

A new request for proposals has been issued for TCRP D-23: Manual for Planning and Constructing a Small, Rural, or Tribal Transit Facility. This project will develop a manual with checklists and templates that would assist frontier, small, rural, or tribal transit agencies with project management and construction of a low-cost transit facility. Proposals are due August 1, 2024.

FHWA published a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program Round 2. Applications will be accepted through August 28, 2024. A 10 percent set-aside is also available for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program.

The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation published a Notice of Funding Opportunity for its Communities Taking Charge Accelerator program. The program aims to help everyone ride and drive electric, foster public and private relationships, build interdisciplinary teams, advance the American blueprint for transportation decarbonization, and promote managed charging. Applications must be received by July 16, 2024.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published guidance on harassment in the workplace that outlines the legal standards and employer liability that apply to harassment claims under the federal employment discrimination laws. The guidance includes over 70 examples illustrating unlawful harassment, including situations involving older workers and workers with disabilities.

FMCSA removed two devices from its list of registered electronic logging devices (ELD). Blue Star ELD and ELD Mandate Plus have been placed on the revoked services list because they failed to meet the minimum requirements established in 49 CFR part 395, subpart B, appendix A. Transit agencies must discontinue their use and revert to other logs to record required hours-of-service data, as well as replace the revoked ELDs with compliant ELDs from the registered devices list before July 20, 2024.

The Office of Management and Budget published the 2024 Compliance Supplement for its guidance on uniform administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit requirements for federal awards. The Supplement applies to fiscal year audits that cover any period beginning after June 30, 2023. Comments on the 2024 Supplement must be received by August 5, 2024.

All event times listed in Eastern Time. Subtract 1 hour for Central Time, 2 for Mountain Time, 3 for Pacific Time, 4 for Alaska, and 5 or 6 for Hawaii (depending on daylight savings time).

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

Vehicle Technologies Annual Merit Review

Arlington, VA, June 3-6

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

June 6, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

Government Technology

Getting Identity Right Online: Insights from the State of Digital Identity 2024 Report Webinar

June 6, 2:00 PM

FHWA

Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant NOFO Overview Webinar

June 6, 2:00 PM

U.S. Access Board

Title II – Accessibility for State and Local Government Funded Facilities Webinar

June 6, 2:30-4:00 PM

Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA)

CTAA Expo

Palm Beach, FL, June 9-12

Please visit our booth!

National Center for Applied Transit Technology (N-CATT)

The First Steps to Defending Your Agency in Cyberspace: an N-CATT Forum

West Palm Beach, FL, June 10, 10:15 AM - 2:00 PM

Mass Transit

Piggybacking: How to Expedite the Electrification RFP Process Webinar

June 10, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Administration for Community Living (ACL)

A Strategic Framework for a National Plan on Aging Webinar

June 10, 2:00 PM

South West Transit Association (SWTA)

Heat Resiliency at Bus Stops Webinar

June 11, 12:00-1:00 PM

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

June 11, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

FHWA

CFI NOFO Overview - Reconsideration of Round 1 Applications Webinar

June 11, 1:00 PM

U.S. DOT

Public Engagement Workshop

Atlanta, GA, June 12, 8:15 AM - 4:45 PM

Intelligent Transport

Transforming Customer Journeys: Enabling Seamless Travel with the Latest Ticketing & Payment Technology Integration Webinar

June 12, 9:00 AM

Administration for Community Living (ACL)

Navigating Successful Partnerships: Benefits and Strategies Webinar

June 12, 1:00 PM

National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) 

Building Capacity in Gateway Communities through the GNAR Academy Webinar

June 12, 1:00-2:00 PM

Louisiana Clean Fuels

Clean Fuels Summit

Lake Charles, LA, June 12-13

Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee (TTAC) 

TTAC Public Meeting

June 13, 11:30 AM - 3:30 PM

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

June 13, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

Maryland Department of Planning

When Driving is Not an Option - Designing Transportation for Involuntary Non-drivers Improves Accessibility for All Webinar

June 13, 1:00-2:00 PM

Joint Office of Energy and Transportation

Electric Vehicle Working Group June Virtual Public Meeting

June 17, 1:00 PM

Transit Workforce Center (TWC)

Powering Up the Workforce: Transit Workforce Center's Zero-Emission Bus Resources Webinar

June 17, 1:30 PM

Clarion Events

Transport Ticketing North America 2024

Chicago, IL, June 17-18

U.S. DOT

DBE Final Rule Changes: DBE Open Ended Performance Plans (OEPP) for Design-Build Contracts Webinar

June 18, 1:00 PM

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

June 18, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National Center for Rural Road Safety

Filibusters, Snipers, and Verbal Jiu Jitsu: How to Manage a Public Speaking Event Webinar

June 18, 1:00-2:00 PM

U.S. DOT 

Climate Change Research & Technology Webinar

June 18, 2:00-3:00 PM

The Transportation Alliance

RevUp 2024

Niagra Falls, NY, June 18-20

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

June 20, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

FMCSA

Transparency in Fees Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators are Charged for Towing and Recovery Services Public Meeting

Washington, DC, June 21, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Rural Grocery Initiative

National Rural Grocery Summit

Montgomery, AL, June 24-25

Please visit our booth!

TRB

TRB's 4th International Conference on Access Management

Boston, MA, June 24-26

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

June 25, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Iowa

Evolution of User Trust in Autonomous Vehicles and Characteristics of Disengagements Webinar

June 25, 4:00 PM

National Center for Applied Transit Technology (N-CATT)

Transit Data Dashboards 201 Workshop

June 25-27, 2:00 PM

Administration for Community Living (ACL)

Navigating Partnerships with Healthcare Organizations Webinar

June 26, 1:00 PM

Accessible Transportation Resource Center (ATRC)

ATRC Virtual Office Hours

June 26, 1:00-2:00 PM

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

June 27, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

Internet for All

Digital Equity Webinar Series: Digital Equity for Small and Rural Communities

June 27, 2:00 PM

U.S. DOT Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Enabled ITS Webinar

June 27, 2:00-3:15 PM

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

July 2, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

TRB

TRB’s Workshop on Transportation Law

Kansas City, MO, July 7-10

USAging 

Answers on Aging Annual Conference and Tradeshow

Tampa, FL, July 8-11

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

July 9, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

University of Massachusetts Amherst and University of Iowa

Virtual Reality Simulation to Evaluate Drivers’ Mental Models of Advanced Vehicle Technologies Webinar

July 9, 4:00 PM

Conference Of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO)

COMTO 2024 National Meeting & Training Conference

Houston, TX, July 9-12

National RTAP

State RTAP Manager Peer Roundtable

July 10, 2:00-3:00 PM

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

July 11, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE)

Maximizing Fleet Performance: Data Reporting for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) Fleets Webinar

July 11, 2:00 PM

National Association of Counties (NACo)

2024 NACo Annual Conference & Exposition

Tampa, FL, July 12-15

Special Libraries Association

SLA 2024 Annual Conference & Expo

Kingston, RI, July 13-16

We're presenting!

American Public Transit Association (APTA)

Transit Board Members & Board Administrators Seminars

San Jose, CA, July 13-16

TRB 

TRB Conference on Advancing Transportation Equity

Baltimore, MD, July 15-18

We're participating

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

July 16, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP

Rural Transit Day Chat

July 16, 2:00-3:00 PM

National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine

Climate Crossroads Summit 2024

Washington, DC and Virtual, July 16-17

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

July 18, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National Local Technical Assistance Program Association (NLTAPA)

National LTAP/TTAP Annual Conference

Albuquerque, NM, July 21-25

Via

Transit Summit

Chicago, IL, July 23

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

July 23, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

U.S. DOT

Final Rule Prompt Payment and Return of Retainage Requirements with Rollout of a Tool and Toolkit for Optional Use by Recipients/Subrecipients Webinar

July 24, 1:00 PM

Administration for Community Living (ACL)

Navigating Partnerships Between State Government, Local Government, and Program Providers Webinar

July 24, 1:00 PM

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

July 25, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

FTA/AASHTO/APTA 

State Public Transportation Partnerships Conference

Fort Worth, TX, July 29-30

We're participating

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

July 30, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

U.S. DOT

Requirements for TVMs in the New DBE Rule Webinar

July 30, 3:00 PM

FTA

2024 FTA Transit Asset Management (TAM) Roundtable

Chicago, IL, July 30-31

National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) 

2024 National Regional Transportation Conference

Greenville, SC, July 30 - August 1

Association of Travel Instruction (ATI)

2024 ATI Annual Conference 

Charlotte, NC, July 30-August 1

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

August 1, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

American Public Transit Association (APTA)

2024 APTAtech Conference

Philadelphia, PA, August 4-7

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

August 6, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP

Books in Transit Discussion Group - Buses Are a Comin'

August 6, 2024, 2:00-3:00 PM ET

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

August 8, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

August 13, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

August 15, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

American Public Transit Association (APTA)

APTA Sustainability/Operations Planning and Scheduling Workshop

Washington, DC, August 18-21

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

August 20, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

American Public Transit Association (APTA)

Workforce Summit

Washington, DC, August 21-23

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

August 22, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

TRB

Transportation Symposium on Environment, Energy, and Livable Economies 

Denver, CO, August 25–28

National Transportation in Indian Country Conference (NTICC)

NTICC

Durant, OK, August 25-29

We're Presenting and Exhibiting!

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

August 27, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE)

Zero Emission Bus Conference (ZEB Con)

Philadelphia, PA, August 27-29

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

August 29, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

September 3, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

Missouri Public Transit Association (MPTA)

2024 MPTA State Conference & Expo

St. Louis, MO, September 3-5

Please visit our booth!

Transportation Association of South Carolina (TASC)

TASC Annual Conference and Vendor Expo

Myrtle Beach, SC, September 3-6

Please visit our booth!



National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

September 5, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

TRB

International Conference on Women and Gender in Transportation

Irvine, CA, September 9-11

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

September 10, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

September 12, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

September 17, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP and Transportation Safety Institute (TSI) 

Substance Abuse Management and Program Compliance Course

Kalispell, MT, September 17-19

To register, send an email to Neil Rodriguez with your contact info.

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

September 19, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP and Transportation Safety Institute (TSI)

Reasonable Suspicion and Post-accident Testing Determination Seminar 

Kalispell, MT, September 20

To register, send an email to Neil Rodriguez with your contact info.

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

September 24, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

Forth

Forth Roadmap Conference 

Detroit, MI, September 24-26

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

September 26, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

For a listing of all National RTAP and other national events, view our Calendar. Also, see the FTA Events Calendar. To submit an event, email info@nationalrtap.org.

National RTAP | 888-589-6821 | info@nationalrtap.org | nationalrtap.org