TWC Presentation at FTA National Safety Standards Committee |
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Last week, ITLC Executive Director Jack Clark attended a meeting of the FTA National Safety Standards Committee, convened on behalf of FTA by the Center for Urban Transit Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida.
Also in attendance were chief safety officers from some very large and mid-sized agencies: BART, MARTA, LA Metro, MBTA, SEPTA, Port Authority, Capital Metro, Broward County (FL), Memphis. FTA officials, academics, labor representatives, and APTA staff were also at the committee meeting.
On Thursday, February 16, Jack Clark gave a presentation to the committee on the Transit Workforce Center (TWC), FTA’s technical assistance center operated by the ITLC. Mr. Clark described the TWC’s goals and key areas of work along with the services that the TWC is providing to the industry now and those that are in development for the future.
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While the National Safety Standards Committee meeting was in progress, the ITLC released a report on providing training through the ZEB procurement process. Through CUTR staff, the report was shared with the entire group. There was a lot of interest in building better language on training into procurement. This group also wants to see procurement language that builds in basic safety standards.
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Urban Institute – February 25, 12:00 pm ET
In Germany, apprenticeships are a common pathway to enter the workforce, and more than half of young adults pursuing this route and employers have collectively engaged in setting apprenticeship learning standards. In the US, apprenticeships are a small and growing share of the workforce and offer employers considerable flexibility in design. Each country’s system takes a different approach, but both ensure that apprentices receive high-quality training, employers cultivate needed talent, and the benefits of apprenticeship extend throughout society. What can we learn from these countries to help advance the success of apprenticeships everywhere? Join the Urban Institute and DIAG USA for a discussion of German and US apprenticeship best practices to advance high-quality apprenticeships, featuring the first lady of Germany, the German consul general of Los Angeles, the lieutenant governor of California, the secretary of California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and other distinguished guests.
TRB – March 9, 2:00 pm ET
What is the transit agency’s role in developing micromobility solutions? TRB is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, March 9, 2022, from 2:00 to 3:30 PM Eastern that will address how transit agencies can partner with organizations to deploy micromobility options. While much of the existing research around micromobility has focused on what cities can do to regulate it, this webinar will identify how transit agencies can work with others in deploying shared bikes and scooters. Presenters will discuss case studies and lessons learned from transit agencies already offering micromobility.
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AASHTO – February 18, 2022
The Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) recently deployed online surveys as a way to improve transit service coordination for elderly, disabled, and low-income riders.
The Seattle Times – February 21, 2022
Delays in manufacturing and shipping have come for the transit agency, as they have for a broad range of industries, leaving more buses in need of parts the county doesn’t have. When the parts do arrive, finding enough skilled mechanics to install them is a stretch.The good news is the larger-than-normal number of idle buses hasn’t yet resulted in any canceled routes. But it’s another headache for Metro as it grapples with depressed ridership, driver shortages, and public health and safety concerns.
The Washington Post – February 19, 2022
Metro registered a rare sliver of good news these past two weeks: The number of passengers boarding trains rose to its highest levels since mid-December. It was a small but welcome development for a transit agency facing a federal safety probe that has left most of its rail cars out of service. Seeing few positive developments on the horizon earlier this month, Metro acknowledged future service is unlikely to mirror its pre-pandemic offerings.
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Mass Transit - February 18, 2022
A total of 74 newly trained bus operators graduated after successfully completing training at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Zerega Training Center in Castle Hill in the Bronx. These operators will help New York City Transit (NYCT) tackle crew shortage challenges and bolster the frequency of bus service. This marked the formal end of six weeks of intensive training that began in January 2022. The graduation took place as NYCT Bus and MTA Bus Company combined ridership hovers between 50 and 60 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
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Jacobin – February 18, 2022
Gig companies have always maintained that people use their apps for the flexibility, not the wages, and that this flexibility is not available to full employees. However, the kind of flexibility in work that Uber and Lyft are trying to sell is not a guarantee for their drivers, nor is it definitionally exclusive with traditional employment. It’s a false choice, meant to obscure the real reason why this issue is so important to rideshare and app delivery companies: a precarious workforce of individual independent contractors competing for jobs and legally barred from collectively bargaining for better pay and working conditions means cheap labor.
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Planetizen – February 17, 2022
The financial risks facing transit agencies was one of the earliest signs of the pandemic's potential to upend life in U.S. communities, and one of the most obvious and urgent concerns for planners trying to assess the pandemic's effects. While federal funding has kept many systems afloat—much more than seemed possible in early March 2020—the full consequences of the emergency have only been delayed. System capacity has declined right along with ridership—neither of which are likely to return to pre-pandemic levels given the current politics of transportation and land use planning in the United States. Drivers and operators are in short supply, and neither are likely to become suddenly abundant given the current politics of public sector compensation.
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Building Transit Infrastructure |
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K&L Gates – February 16, 2022
13 February 2022 marked 90 days since President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (P.L. 117-58) into law. The Administration has made measurable progress on the road to implementation of the largest long-term investment in America’s infrastructure in nearly a century. In the last three months, President Biden has appointed former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu as Senior Adviser and Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator, signed an Executive Order establishing the Infrastructure Implementation Task Force, and worked with his team at the federal agency level to fast-track implementation of the law. For those tracking the journey from campaign promise to bipartisan legislation to the agency initiatives that will drive infrastructure opportunities in communities across the nation, there is a lot to unpack, but here are a few notable highlights.
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