TWC at APTA TRANSform Conference in Seattle

(Left to Right) Jack Clark, Xinge Wang, Betty Jackson (FTA), Bev Scott (Iyai), Mary Leary (FTA), Pat Greenfield, and David Stephen

APTA's annual TRANSform conference in Seattle, attended by public transportation industry representatives across the country, afforded ITLC/TWC staff the opportunity to connect with conference attendees on workforce issues. At the Transit Workforce Center information table, Executive Director Jack Clark, Deputy Director Xinge Wang, Senior Communications Specialist David Stephen, and Senior Director for Workforce Education Pat Greenfield distributed information to and spoke with hundreds of interested individuals about their workforce challenges and the types of support TWC could provide. FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez and Senior Advisor Veronica McBeth noted TWC's critical industry role in their presentations to APTA committees, and David introduced the TWC's National Transit Frontline Worker Recruitment Campaign Toolkit to over 200 participants in APTA's Workforce Development and Marketing/Communications committees.

National Rail Car Training Consortium Holds In-Person Meeting in Buffalo, NY

Rail Car Subject Matter Experts at NFTA's Rail Facility

The National Rail Car Training Consortium held its eighth in-person meeting in Buffalo, NY, October 4-7. Consortium member agency, NFTA, hosted the group of 22 rail car subject matter experts (SMEs) and ITLC staff. James Morrell, Director of Public Transit at NFTA, and Jeffrey Richardson, Local 1342 President, welcomed the group Tuesday morning. During the week, SMEs continued developing and reviewing courseware materials on Introduction and Overview to Wheel and Tire Replacement and an eLearning Module on Wiring Schematics. Rail Car SMEs toured NFTA’s rail facility, held discussions on apprenticeship and attracting new employees, and, most importantly, networked with peers over shared successes and challenges. The group discussed and voted on work for 2023, including an eLearning refresher module on Propulsion and the development of a new topic on Wire Maintenance. While the week was busy and very productive, the group still managed to have fun with a team-building trip to Niagara Falls.

Early Bird Registration for Making Connections 2022 ends October 31

Making Connections 2022: The National Transit Workforce Conference will be held at Capitol Hilton in Washington, D.C., December 13-14, 2022. This conference brings together industry practitioners from around the country to dialogue about transit operator recruitment and retention, bus redesign, new technologies, automation, and the future of transit work. Conference registration, hotel, and sponsorship information can be found on the registration page (click here). The discounted early bird registration ends on October 31, 2022. For general conference inquiries, contact Amri Joyner: events@transportcenter.org. Making Connections 2022 is organized by the Transit Workforce Center (TWC) and co-sponsored by the National Transit Institute (NTI).

FTA Resources

• Thriving Communities Program: Building Community Capacity to Take Transformative Projects from Concept to Completion  DOT’s new Thriving Communities Program (TCP) aims to ensure that disadvantaged communities adversely or disproportionately affected by environmental, climate, and human health policy outcomes have the technical tools and organizational capacity to compete for federal aid and deliver quality infrastructure projects that enable their communities and neighborhoods to thrive.

• SMART Grants Notice of Funding Opportunity  The purpose of this notice is to solicit applications for Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) grants. Funds for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 SMART Grants Program are to be awarded competitively to conduct demonstration projects focused on advanced smart city or community technologies and systems to improve transportation efficiency and safety.

FTA awards $8.6 million in grants through the Tribal Transit Program

Mass Transit – Oct. 12, 2022

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has awarded $8.6 million in Fiscal Year 2022 grants through the Tribal Transit Program to more than two dozen American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native communities that will use the grants to improve transit services in their communities.

U.S. Department of Transportation Releases Public Involvement Guide

FTA – Oct. 13, 2022

The U.S. Department of Transportation released its Promising Practices for Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation Decision-Making document, a first-of-its-kind guide for DOT funding recipients and partners that conduct public involvement in the transportation space.

FTA advances Lowcountry Rapid Transit project in CIG program

Mass Transit – Oct. 13, 2022

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has approved the Lowcountry Rapid Transit (LCRT) project to enter the New Starts Engineering phase of its Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program. The planned 21.3-mile bus rapid transit (BRT) system in the South Carolina Lowcountry will serve one of the fastest growing regions of the U.S.

Bus-riding dog who took herself to park remembered as ‘Seattle icon’

Washington Post – Oct. 18, 2022

The most unusual passenger on Seattle public transit never rode the bus for long, just a few stops. She sometimes dozed during her short journeys, drooping her head onto the laps of strangers who never seemed to mind. Approaching her stop, she banged on the door in anticipation. And other riders loved her for it. But Seattle’s buses will no longer carry perhaps their most famous passenger. Eclipse, the black lab-bullmastiff mix who achieved fame by riding to the park alone, died Friday. She was 10.

WMATA begins 'bold inaugural effort' to gather public input on Better Bus network redesign

Mass Transit – Oct. 12, 2022

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will hold regional events to gather customer input to help shape the Better Bus initiative. The authority calls the outreach a "a bold inaugural effort to redesign the current bus network" that will rethink, redesign and revitalize bus service.

Join the TWC “Train-the-Trainer” Online Training and Learning Technologies Webinar

Tues. - Oct 25 – 1:00-2:15 pm ET

The Transit Workforce Center will host a 3-part series of progressive webinars designed to bring concrete, usable information for trainers to apply to their area of expertise. The webinars will:

• Create online resources that meet learners’ needs,
• Identify and map skills for organizational effectiveness and role-specific success, and
• Develop and deliver instructions for trainers, mentors, and training programs

The webinar series will kick off with a topic on everyone’s mind: Online Training and Learning Technologies. This webinar will look at ways to support you in developing robust, remote training programs that provide learners with on-demand resources in the field, onsite, or in their home office. The webinar will approach training with the understanding that remote work, like in-person, can sometimes be demanding and challenging to any transit professional, whether an operator, engineer, mentor, frontline trainer, agency trainer, or state program director.

For more information or to register, click here.

Café con LIT by Latinos In Transit

Oct. 21, 2022 – 9:00 am ET

Drop in for virtual coffee and see what's brewing at Latinos In Transit