ITLC Highlights Human Capital at ZEB Conference hosted by CTE |
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Most zero emission transportation conversations center on the technology’s capabilities. However, we cannot overlook the parallel socioeconomic investments that are needed to bring about a zero emission transportation system. At the 2021 Zero Emission Bus (ZEB) Conference in Denver, CO, hosted by Center for Transportation and the Environment, ITLC Deputy Director Xinge Wang joined a panel of four on a session titled Cultivating Human Capital: From the Workforce to Community Partnerships. Each of panelist provided a unique perspective on ways they’ve strengthened the training, outreach and partnerships that support adoption of ZE technology in their communities.
Ms. Wang’s presentation “ZEBs are Here: Are Technicians Ready?” was framed around the importance of human capital investment in the frontline technicians who are charged with maintaining ZEBs now and increasingly down the road, showcasing the work ITLC has carried out with its partners in this area. Agencies don’t have to reinvent the wheels when it comes to the ZEB preparedness training. There is a great deal of commonality in training programs on ZEB familiarization. During the pandemic, the ITLC worked with multiple OEMs and partner organizations to develop three virtual learning sessions targeted at frontline technicians. They were well received by close to 500 technicians joining from across the country. With the infrastructure bill including dedicated workforce development funding for ZEB training as part of the Low-No grants and the establishment of the national Transit Workforce Center (TWC) by FTA under the ITLC, coordinated national efforts are needed from all stakeholders to avoid the duplication of resources and efforts, and produce highly effective training programs to address ZEB maintenance skills gaps.
To access the ZEB Familiarization online learning sessions or be involved in future discussions of ZEB maintenance training, please contact John Schiavone, ITLC Program Director at [email protected].
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UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies – October 14, 3:30 pm ET
Public transportation can offer a “ladder of opportunity”, providing affordable and convenient connections to jobs, goods and services, medical care, and other essentials of daily life. But pervasive racism and discrimination in land use, transportation, and transit planning have created wide gaps in transit access across race, income, and other characteristics, exacerbating social inequity. The Transit Center’s Equity dashboard illuminates existing disparities and tracks progress toward equity by measuring transit outcomes for Black people, other people of color, people living in poverty, and single mothers.
AFL-CIO – October 14, 7:30 pm ET
Join AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Fair Fight Action founder Stacey Abrams for a fireside chat on protecting the freedom to vote and the power of organized labor.
Aspen Institute - October 20, 2:00 pm ET
The pandemic has heightened many organizations’ focus on job quality: now is the time to shift focus from fixing workers to fixing work. Companies are facing pressure to improve factors that contribute to job quality including wages, benefits, workplace safety, racial and gender equity, and opportunities to learn and grow. But often overlooked is the content of the work—how does what we do align with who we think we are? In his new book, “Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America,” Eyal Press explores the toll of moral injuries at work, highlighting the working conditions of jobs that typically go unseen and raising disquieting questions about our society and its dependence on these jobs. For anyone concerned about job quality, “Dirty Work” is essential reading.
Urban Institute – October 29, 12:00 pm ET
Apprenticeships offer the opportunity for workers to learn a career on-the-job through work-based learning and mentoring with supplemental classroom training. What happens, though, when a pandemic halts in-person activities that may be essential for apprenticeships? During the pandemic, organizations had to quickly rethink accommodating online and hybrid learning, hiring strategies, and mentoring in real-time. Consequently, the last 18 months have produced new strategies and innovations in how apprenticeship programs across the globe were implemented.
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COVID's Impact on Transit |
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Mass Transit Magazine - October 13, 2021
A busy weekend in San Francisco brought back sights of pre-pandemic crowds and gave life to the region's struggling public transit as thousands of people rode buses, trains and ferries to celebrate the return of Fleet Week's popular festivities and watch the Giants' playoff series against the rival Dodgers. The crowds helped regional transit agencies reach ridership numbers that hadn't been seen since the start of the pandemic.
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The Philadelphia Inquirer – October 9, 2021
About 1,000 SEPTA employees contributed ideas during the yearlong process. McKinsey trained workers how to build a business case for a proposal and prepared 300 employees to be “initiative owners,” responsible for implementing changes, said Elizabeth Smith, SEPTA’s chief administrative officer.
Cleveland.com – October 12, 2021
The new program is expected to go into effect in 2022 on rail lines, the Healthline and other routes with high ridership. It would entail hiring unarmed civilians to check whether riders have paid fares, as well as social workers trained in crisis intervention.
King 5 - October 8, 2021
Pierce Transit is planning to remove 10% of all stops on their bus lines by next spring. The agency argues reducing the number of stops will address one of the most common complaints from riders: buses take too long to get to their destination. One of its bus lines has 21 stops on a single mile of road. With that many stops so close together, Rebecca Japhet, Communications Manager for Pierce Transit, says it can take way too long to get passengers where they need to go. “The end goal here is to speed up the system,” Japhet said. “As you add more stops, the bus has to pull out of traffic, you have to let people off, people come on, they pay their fare, they get seated, then the bus has to get back into traffic. Every time that happens, it slows the system down.”
Greater Greater Washington – October 11, 2021
WMATA has developed plans for climate resilience as well. In order to reduce the Metro’s vulnerability to extreme weather events, WMATA has invested in upgrading pumping stations, securing vent shafts, and repairing interior damage within Metro tunnels. It also has measures in place to address heat waves. WMATA currently relies on plans including its Severe Weather Plan and its Flood Emergency Response plan to address the effects of climate change, but it is developing a specific climate resilience implementation strategy to more directly address these concerns.
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Transit Talent - October 10, 2021
Researchers from the Homeland Security Department and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology aim to find “actionable data for emergency preparedness authorities,” according to an advisory from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The particles and gases that will be used in the study are designed to imitate biological and chemical agents, authorities said. The scientists will set up air testing devices at dozens of locations across the subway from Oct. 18-29 to conduct the study.
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Forbes – October 11, 2021
"To assess the carbon footprint of any product, one should think about its lifetime emissions— that is, the emissions generated throughout the different phases of the product’s lifecycle,” says Ioannis Bellos, a professor at George Mason University School of Business who has conducted research on EVs and their adoption. Currently, EVs generate more emissions during their manufacture than similar fossil fueled-powered vehicles, largely due to the production of batteries.
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Fast Company – October 7, 2021
The new trains have just rolled off the assembly line of Siemens Mobility’s North American manufacturing headquarters in Sacramento. The full cost of the train set deal was not made public, but based on the cost of a similar train deal Siemens made with Amtrak, Brightline’s five new train sets likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars. They’ll soon be rolling on Brightline’s growing operations in south Florida. The first route is a 65-mile connection between Miami and West Palm Beach, which the company says has served more than 2 million riders since beginning operations in January 2018. Services were halted during the pandemic, but Brightline aims to resume operations in November.
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