ITLC Represented at Major Industry Conferences |
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“It’s so nice to see you in person instead of looking at small squares on a computer screen.”
A version of that sentiment was voiced repeatedly at each of the three recent conferences attended by ITLC staff. Like nearly all of us, the transit professionals attending these events were relieved to be emerging—at least part of the way—from the long COVID pandemic.
California Transit Association’s 56th Annual Fall Conference & Expo, presented by Proterra, November 2-4
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Henry Li, Sacramento Regional Transit District's (SacRT) General Manager/CEO addressing CTA Fall Conference |
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As with almost every sector of the economy coming out of the pandemic, California transit leaders are paying a lot of attention to workforce issues. A plenary session on November 3 during the Annual Fall Conference of the California Transit Association in Sacramento, moderated by Dr. Karen Philbrick, Executive Director of the Mineta Transportation Institute and an ITLC Board member, focused on efforts to attract workers from younger generations and diversify the workforce. The panelists were Beverly Scott, founder of Iyai+; Shrayas Jatkar of the California Workforce Board; Lauren Skiver, General Manager at Sunline Transit; and Matthew Tucker, Executive Director of the North (San Diego) County Transit District. |
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Pictured left to right, Dr. Karen Philbrick, Executive Director of the Mineta Transportation Institute; Matthew Tucker, Executive Director of the North (San Diego) County Transit District; Lauren Skiver, General Manager at Sunline Transit; Beverly Scott, founder of Iyai+. |
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An afternoon workshop focused specifically on “The Next Gen Mechanic,” with an emphasis on recruiting women into non-traditional skilled trades jobs. Jim Beck, an experienced mechanic who leads training at Gold Coast Transit, moderated the panel. He also highlighted efforts at his own agency to develop mentoring programs, work with high schools and community colleges for recruitment. He profiled several women who have succeeded in transit careers as mechanics and leaders at Gold Coast. Michael Flocchini from AC Transit spoke to the highly successful and long-standing joint apprenticeship program there. He stressed the need for partnership with labor and addressed emerging instructional technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality. Brad Menil from San Joaquin RTD recounted fairly recent experience in establishing an apprenticeship program there. Again, mentoring proves crucial and working with the workforce makes it succeed. Jack Clark from ITLC closed out the panel with examples of best practice programs in addition to those covered by other panelists.
Community Transportation Association of America EXPO, November 7-11
ITLC staff Amri Joyner, Kenyon Corbett, Karitsa Holdzkom, and Pat Greenfield attended the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) EXPO in Richmond, VA, participating in a range of workshops on critical issues and innovative programs in transit operations across the United States. Driver workforce challenges, including recruitment and retention, were among the topics covered in the workshops that staff attended, in addition to in-depth discussions on mobility management, passenger assistance, transitioning to new technologies, and addressing equity issues, while maintaining and increasing ridership and diversifying funding sources.
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Scott Bogren addressed CTAA Expo attendees over Zoom |
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On November 11, Scott Bogren provided an overview of the recent federal investment in transit infrastructure. He also announced the launch of the Transit Workforce Center (TWC). ITLC Executive Director Jack Clark introduced the mission and goals of the TWC, emphasizing that this is a cooperative venture and that the TWC will develop resources in response to the workforce needs communicated by transit agencies. |
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American Public Transportation Association TRANSform Conference and EXPO, November 6-10 |
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TRANSform Conference Plenary keynote address from Dr. Cady Coleman, a former NASA Astronaut and U.S. Air Force Colonel |
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Announcement of the brand-new Transit Workforce Center (TWC) at the 2021 American Public Transportation Association (APTA) TRANSform Conference and EXPO stirred up excitement among conference attendees from across the country. ITLC Deputy Director Xinge Wang made presentations at the Workforce Development Committee and Rail Transit Committee on the establishment of the first national technical assistance center on transit workforce development by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Operated and staffed by the ITLC, TWC will work with transit agencies, local unions and other partners to address many of the pressing workforce challenges highlighted during the panel discussions and shared by conference attendees, such as operator and technician training for Zero-Emission Bus (ZEB) deployment, driver shortages, and recruitment and training in anticipation of funding from the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). |
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eLearning – December 1, 2:00 pm ET
Out of necessity, the pandemic ushered in a new wave of remote learning. While the initial stages of the lockdown had everyone waiting with bated breath for the return to in-person training, it quickly became apparent the paradigm had forever shifted. Despite initial reluctance, training and learning via Zoom and other virtual platforms soon became the norm and revealed the good and the bad associated with those modalities. Now, as the pandemic begins to wane, we are faced with a different crisis – what did we learn and what does it mean for the future? In a world where virtual learning is here to stay, answering the question of “What now?” requires us to thoughtfully evaluate how we got here and how we can leverage the knowledge gained during the pandemic to address one of trainings greatest historical challenges – how we reinforce learning to move from knowledge to behavior change.
In his new book, Bridging the Divide: Working-Class Culture in a Middle-Class Society, Jack Metzgar, emeritus professor of humanities at Roosevelt University in Chicago and a founder and past president of the Working-Class Studies Association, tries to get beyond what American politics calls “culture wars” – which are NOT clearly related to social class – to two distinct ways of life that ARE shaped by class. Our so-called culture wars are about opinions and beliefs, but class cultures involve the dispositions, expectations, and underlying values that guide people – sometimes consciously, often tacitly – in living their lives. Metzgar critiques the cultural dominance of professional middle-class expectations and argues that an enduring working-class culture informs and shapes many more American lives than the mainstream middle-class culture does. In this presentation, he will describe these two primary class cultures, and discuss how they resonate and/or conflict with others’ sense of how social class affects the way we see the world and live within it.
WILL Empower – December 2, 7:00 pm ET
WILL Empower's Young Womxn's Labor Leadership group invites young people interested in the labor movement and progressive organizing to a virtual panel on organizing for worker justice. This event will take place online and is free and open to new and existing members of the WILL Empower network. The panel will feature several young organizers and strategic thinkers who will discuss the nuts and bolts of organizing and campaigning.
Eno Transportation Center - December 8, 2:00 pm ET
Bus network redesigns have been a major trend in public transit over the past several years, in part due to the availability of much better data to use for planning purposes and the recognition that the bus can play a big role in improving mobility. In the past few years, with the rise in app-based transportation network companies (TNCs) and microtransit providers, bus network redesigns have begun to consider how these modes can complement bus service. Join us to uncover best practices from transit agencies across the country about how to conduct a bus network redesign and to learn how new mobility options can be integrated into the network redesign process.
The National Aging and Disability Transportation Center - December 8, 12:00 pm ET
Please join us for our next Transportation DEI Lunch and Learn Webinar on Wednesday, December 8 from 12:00-12:45 pm ET. This session will feature Monica Jones, Chief Equity Officer, Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), who will discuss how COTA is addressing transportation equity from the board room to the bus stop. Attendees will hear about the challenges, successes and strategies in creating diverse and innovative solutions to meet the needs of underrepresented populations and the importance of transportation providers establishing an equity and inclusion presence, both within their organization and in the communities they serve.
Labor Network for Sustainability – December 8, 8:00 pm ET
We are on the precipice of a generational investment in infrastructure, climate, healthcare and education. The signing of the Infrastructure Act by President Biden and the passage of the Build Back Better Act in the U.S. House of Representatives frame the transitional moment we find ourselves in. Together these acts will make important strides towards a Just Transition for workers and communities. Whether or not we are facing systemic, societal change has never been in question. But are our legislative responses rising to the level of challenge we face, and will they succeed in moving us towards the climate-safe, worker friendly future for all people that we desperately need? Join as labor and environmental experts will interrogate how the Build Back Better Act and the Infrastructure Act are poised to advance elements of a Just Transition and recommend what work is still required to build the future we need.
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Mass Transit – November 19, 2021
To outline each state’s expected transit benefit, the USDOT fact sheets focus on five areas: the percentage of extra time spent commuting via public transit, the likelihood of non-White households to use transit, the percentage of transit vehicles in a state that are past their useful life and the increase in expected formula funds each state could see as compared to the final year under the FAST Act.
Streetsblog – November 18, 2021
Adelee Le Grand, CEO of the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit System in Tampa, moderates a panel featuring Debra Johnson, GM and CEO of RTD in Denver, and Peter Rogoff, CEO of Sound Transit in Seattle. Johnson and Rogoff discuss transit-expansion plans and progress in their respective regions as well as how they kept things going during the pandemic.
Government Technology – November 22, 2021
To see the future of public transit, look to the on-demand “micro” services cropping up across a number of agencies. It’s not that these will replace fleets of buses and trains — those will likely remain the workhorses they have always been — but on-demand transit seems to embody so many of the larger trends to emerge in transit, particularly since the COVID-19 crisis. On-demand is nimble, flexible and easily modified. It is guided by data with operators having a deeper understanding of users and where they are headed. Also, these projects are almost always built out of public-private partnerships.
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Transit Talent – November 21, 2021
Trains began running early Sunday morning on a long-awaited trolley line connecting Old Town to La Jolla that regional leaders are touting as a monumental project for greater San Diego. The most expensive infrastructure project in the region's history at nearly $2.2 billion, the new 11-mile line brings light rail for the first time to La Jolla, UC San Diego, Mission Bay Park, Pacific Beach and Clairemont.
The Missouri Times - November 19, 2021
“The big question will once again be what does our state investment in public transit look like, and that’s going to become even more important as we see these federal funding amounts grow,” Missouri Public Transportation Association (MPTA) Executive Director Kim Cella told The Missouri Times. “We’re really excited to see an increase in funding for public transit. It’s delivering in Missouri — we’re seeing that with economic returns, the number of jobs, the necessity of public transit that we saw during the pandemic.”
Mass Transit – November 18, 2021
Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) bus operators participated in training that gave them a new perspective from the RTD Bus Operations Dispatch Center at District Shops. For instance, operator Jerry Jimenez says he saw a perspective he had not had from his seat in a vehicle. At Saul Romero’s workstation, he watched as the dispatcher pointed out where operator calls dropped onto his screen in order of priority. He heard how the radio system functions and learned that dispatchers can summon police agencies from across the region as needed. Romero showed that he can see “what trip he’s on, his bus assignment, his box number, who voted the run and who’s currently assigned the run.”
New York Daily News – November 17, 2021
The new e-buses come from the company New Flyer, which in 2018 leased five 60-foot electric battery-powered buses that the MTA ran in a pilot program on Midtown’s slow-crawling M42 route. The new buses will bring the MTA’s fleet of electric buses to 75. Officials plan to buy another 475 electric battery buses through the agency’s 2020-2024 capital plan.
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The American Prospect – November 22, 2021
There are plenty of stories about weeks-long strikes, hard-fought unionization drives, unions’ role in political campaigns, and unions fighting to raise the minimum wage. Perhaps it’s considered too prosaic, but there are hardly any stories that examine in depth how belonging to a union or joining a union has changed workers’ lives and improved things for their families. This report takes a look at five workers—a construction worker, a charter school teacher, a barista, a forklift operator at a warehouse, and a hospital aide—and documents how belonging to a union has lifted those workers, has improved their pay and benefits, and given them a far stronger voice at work.
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Building Transportation Infrastructure |
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Passenger Transport – November 19, 2021
APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas said, “Enactment of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal represents a historic event for our nation and our industry. I was honored to be present at the signing ceremony at the White House this week. APTA and its members worked tirelessly for this achievement.” The legislation, he added, is “vital to building the American infrastructure of the future and is a necessary step in providing the transformational investment in public transportation that our country so desperately needs.” Following the signing, FTA announced key priorities and historic funding amounts for public transportation. The BID authorizes the most significant federal investment in transit in U.S. history.
Brookings – November 19, 2021
It’s not that there aren’t workforce provisions included in the infrastructure bill—there are. For example, there is a requirement for states to develop “human capital plans” for transportation infrastructure, as well as funding in many of the proposed programs for workforce training and development. But none of the included provisions address the wide-ranging hiring and retention crisis that is affecting nearly every state and local government entity across every infrastructure type—transport, water, electric grid, telecom, etc.
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Vox – November 18, 2021
We don’t commonly think of public transportation as part of health care policy, though the people who work in public health know it’s important. But maybe we should, according to a new study focused on the opening of a light-rail line in the Twin Cities.
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Democrat & Chronicle – November 18, 2021
In the workplace, gender-diverse persons can have terrible experiences with co-workers who don’t understand. With diversity and inclusion statements and training, human resources departments can make a significant difference for trans people.
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The Conversation - November 22, 2021
Introducing electric vehicles (EVs) on a massive scale has often been framed as the solution to reducing passenger transport emissions – witness the UK’s plans for all new homes and upgraded buildings to have EV charging points from 2022. However, recent research from the US has shown that the electrification of cars alone will not be enough for the transport sector to reach ambitious global climate action targets aiming to prevent more than 2 °C of global warming.
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