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Upcoming National RTAP Webinar on the FTA Low-No Emission Program: Grant Writing for Small & Rural Systems
 
Tara Clark of FTA's Office of Program Management will introduce the Low-No competitive grant program, walk through the supplemental application, and answer your questions. In addition, three successful proposers to discuss how they requested grants to start low or no emission programs at their systems. 

This webinar will be held on Thursday, April 19, 2018 at 2:00-3:30 PM ET.  Register here.
Upcoming National RTAP Webinar:  Moving from Demand Response to Deviated Fixed Route   

T his webinar will discuss the process of evaluating a transit system for the implementation of a deviated fixed route service and will feature a presentation by an agency that operates a deviated fixed route. Best practices and answers to frequently asked questions on this topic will be provided. 

The webinar will be held on Wednesday, April 18 at 2:00-3:30 PM ET. Presenters include Julie Schafer of RLS & Associates, Angie Peters of Union County Public Transit in Oregon, and Frank Thomas of Oregon DOT.
National RTAP Survey of State RTAP Managers Yields Insights on Priorities and Training Needs 
 
National RTAP surveyed State RTAP Managers in fall 2017, receiving 49 responses.  RTAP Managers were queried as to the trainings they provide, use of National RTAP products and services, and issues of importance to their programs.  

Issues identified as most important were asset management and performance measures.  If you would like a summary of survey results, contact [email protected].
National RTAP Welcomes New Board Member 
 
We are pleased to announce our newest Review Board member, whose term will begin at our upcoming Spring Meeting in May: Neil Sherman, Director of Statewide Transit Programs, Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. 

The National RTAP Review Board provides experience and expertise to ensure that our products and services are easily accessible, useful, and of the highest quality for transit operators and state RTAP managers.
FTA and US DOT Updates

FTA offers a TAM Maturity Agency Self-Assessment Tool for an agency to determine its current state/baseline of asset management maturity. The Excel tool, which serves as an appendix to FTA's Transit Asset Management Guide, develops a maturity score from user inputs.

US DOT has a new webpage about the National Transportation Network.  The page includes statistics about the network, such as that the nation's transportation assets were valued at about $7.7 trillion in 2016, a 20.6 percent increase over 2010 estimates.

A new blog post describes how FTA is exploring the use of automation technologies in transit operations.  The post includes an infographic on Enabling Technologies for Bus Transit Automation.
Resources and News

Webinars

TRB is hosting a  webinar  on Public-Private Partnerships and the Mobility on Demand Sandbox Program on April 16, 2-3:30 PM ET. The webinar describes FTA's Mobility on Demand Sandbox awards. Presenters will discuss the role of public-private partnerships between public transportation, shared mobility, and goods delivery services. TRB's  TR Circular E-C231 : US DOT's Mobility on Demand Initiative is also available for more information.

Join NCCM's next  Conversations with Leaders Series on April 12, 2:00 PM ET. Chuck Dyer, Ohio DOT will discuss driver screening and training, vehicle requirements, requirements, customer eligibility, and usage and costs in this interactive conversation.

NTI is holding a webinar on TCRP Report 196: Private Transit: Existing Services and Emerging Directions on April 19, 2:00-3:30 PM ET. The report addresses micro-transit, shuttles and other shared mobility modes, transportation demand management, and 1st mile/last mile options. 

Opportunities

CTAA, the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, and the Institute for Community Inclusion announce  grants of up to $35,000  for local inclusive planning projects. Projects will adopt inclusive strategies that fit communities and empower people with disabilities and older adults to be actively involved in designing and implementing coordinated transportation systems.

TRB is  accepting proposals through May 1, 2018 for the Transit Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program, which provides financial support of up to $100,000 for the early stage development and testing of innovative and unproven concepts and methods for advancing transit practice. 

Publications

Promoting Opportunity through Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (eTOD): Navigating Federal Transportation Policy is a report by Enterprise Community Partners that is meant to help stakeholders who are involved in achieving eTOD understand and benefit from Federal transportation policies and programs, such as the Transportation Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act (TIFIA) and FTA's Capital Investment Grants Program.

The National Center for Rural Road Safety's Rural Intelligent Transportation System Toolkit includes Coordinated Rural Transit Service Fact Sheets, Public Transportation Trip Planners, Integrated Weather Monitoring/Prediction Systems, and many other ITS topics. 

FHWA updated its Public Involvement Reference Tool (PIRT), a database of public involvement resources and references to assist State DOTs improve transportation decision making. PIRT includes Public Involvement Plans from every State DOT, environmental justice policies, Title VI plans, limited English proficiency resources and Tribal consultation.

Technology Tools

The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) has a number of helpful free technology tools, such as AllTransit, which reveals where transit improvements could provide the most impact by highlighting underserved areas, and Total Driving Costs, which measures costs for an average household in an area, including car ownership and use. 

Legislation

The $1.3 trillion Omnibus Appropriations Bill was signed on March 21, 2018. The bill includes $86.2 billion for transportation infrastructure, including $27.3 billion in discretionary appropriations ($8.8 billion above FY17), $1.5 billion for TIGER grants, and $625 million to increase rural broadband.
Updated Tribal Transit Topic Guide

National RTAP updated our  Tribal Transit Topic Guide  in March 2018.  We've updated the guide with new resources that include our recent Peer Call on ADA Riders Guide and Policies for Tribal Transit and the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS) Program.
Let's Get Social!
 
National RTAP has icons at the bottom of our website so you can visit us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and join approximately 300 others who follow us on social media.   

Not only that, now if you want to print, email, or share any of our web pages on your own social networks, simply click the social share icon on the left side of our website.
Suggest Topics or Ask Questions with our Webforms

We've improved our webforms to make it easier for our users to interact with select National RTAP webpages to suggest resources and ask for assistance.  Easy to use boxes are on the left side of our Toolkits, such as the ADA Toolkit that say, "Suggest A Topic."  We also have forms on other pages of our website, such as the  Request Peer Assistance form in our Peer Program section.
National RTAP Website is Section 508 Compliant

The National RTAP website is Section 508 compliant and accessible to persons with disabilities. If you need assistance accessing any content on our website or need alternative formats for our materials, please contact us at [email protected] or 888-589-6821.
Look for us at these upcoming conferences!  
  • Arizona Transit Conference, Tuscon, AZ, April 8-10
  • Ohio Public Transit Association Annual Conference, Columbus, April 9-11
  • MassDOT Innovation & Mobility Exchange, Worcester, MA, April 10-11
  • WisDOT Inter-Tribal Task Force, Transit Peer Exchange, Hayward, WI - April 19 (presenting remotely) 
  • Connecticut RTAP Spring Conference, Newington, April 25
  • Michigan Rural Transportation Managers Workshop, Mount Pleasant, April 25-26
  • Grantmakers in Aging Summit, Berkeley, CA, May 2-3
  • Utah's Urban & Rural Transportation Association Conference, Brian Head, UT, May 10-11
  • Montana Transit Association Spring Conference, Bozeman, MT, May 21-25
  • Virginia Transit Conference, Richmond, VA, May 22-23
  • CTAA EXPO, Pittsburgh, June 10-14
  • Wyoming Public Transit Conference, Riverton, June 19-21
  • Tri-State Conference, North Conway, NH, September 12-14
  • National Transportation in Indian Country, Duluth, MN, September 17-20
  • Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference, Breckenridge, CO, September 30-October 3
April 5, 2018
Events
AzTA/ADOT
Statewide Transit Conference
Tucson, AZ
April 8-10

OPTA
Ohio Needs Transit Conference
Columbus, OH
April 9-11

NTI
Contract Administration
Cincinnati, OH
April 9-13

NTI
Transit Maintenance Leadership Workshop
Seattle, WA
April 9-13

Q'Straint
Q'Straint Training Webinar
April 10, 12-1 PM

NTI
Title IV and Public Transit
North Little Rock, AR
April 10-11

America Walks
Making the Case for Transit
April 11, 2-3 PM
Webinar

NTI
Using the Transit Economic Requirements Model (TERM Lite)
Lakewood, WA
April 11-12

NADTC
Disability Sensitivity and the ADA Complaint Process Webinar
April 12,  2-3:30pm 

NCCM
Conversations with Leaders Series: Chuck Dyer, Ohio DOT
April 12, 2:00 PM

TRB
Public-Private Partnerships and the Mobility on Demand Sandbox Program
April 16, 2-3:30 PM

ESPA
Introduction to Travel Training
Wilmington, DE
April 16-18

NJ TransAction Conference
Atlantic City, NJ
April 17-19

NTI
Management of Transit Construction Projects
Boise, ID
April 17-19

National RTAP
Moving from Demand Response to Deviated Fixed Route
April 18, 2-3:30 PM

National Safety Council
Engaging Ways to Address Distracted Driving at Work
April 19, 12-1 PM

National RTAP
FTA Low-No Emissions Program: Grant Writing for Small and Rural Systems
April 19, 2-3:30 PM

NTI
TCRP Report 196: Private Transit: Existing Services and Emerging Directions
April 19, 2-3:30pm ET

ESPA
Advanced Travel Training Strategies
Wilmington, DE
April 19-20

NTI
Implementing Rural Transit Technology 
April 19-20
Denver, CO

Connecticut RTAP
Spring Conference
Newington, CT
April 25
Contact: Michele Brooks

VTA
Virginia Transit Conference
Richmond, VA
May 22-23
 
FTA
Real Estate Requirements
Denver, CO
May 22-23

National RTAP
Cost Allocation 101
June 6, 2-3:30 PM
Webinar - Registration Coming Soon

CTAA 
Expo 2018
Pittsburgh, PA
June 10-14

RIBTC
National Conference on Rural Public & Intercity Bus Transportation
Sept 30-Oct 3
Breckenridge, CO
Conference

For a listing of all National RTAP and other national events, view our  Calendar . To submit an event, email 
[email protected].

All event times listed as Eastern Time
Resource Spotlight
START 

National RTAP's START: Safety Training and Rural Transit Learner's Guide provides new hire and refresher training on vehicle, driver and passenger safety.  The written content was updated in 2015. A section on Securing Motorized Wheelchairs and Scooters (previously an insert) was added to the START book in February 2018.
National RTAP is a program of the Federal Transit Administration dedicated to creating rural and Tribal transit solutions through technical assistance, partner collaboration and FREE training materials.

Contact us:
Main:  5 Wheeling Avenue, Woburn, MA 01801, 888-589-6821
Washington, D.C.:  718 7th Street NW , Washington, DC 20001