eNews - December 19, 2024

National RTAP is a program of the Federal Transit Administration dedicated to creating rural and tribal transit solutions through free training materials, technical assistance, and partner collaboration.

Newsletter Highlights

An End-of-Year Message from our Executive Director Robin Phillips

National RTAP/NEMTAC Webinar on Insurance for Non-Emergency Medical Transportation

Upcoming National RTAP Intercity Transportation Update Webinar

National RTAP Review Board Member Spotlight Article - Diana White

U.S. DOT Proposal to Revise Oral Drug Testing Procedures

Upcoming National RTAP / NEMTAC Webinar on Insurance for Non-Emergency Medical Transportation

Join us for Risky Business III: Insurance for NEMT on January 23, 2025, from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET, for the final episode of National RTAP's Risky Business webinar series.

In partnership with the Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Accreditation Commission (NEMTAC), this webinar will guide NEMT providers on securing the best insurance coverage while lowering costs.

U.S. DOT proposes to revise its June 1, 2023 drug testing procedures rule to provide interim provisions to require the conduct of directly observed urine tests in situations where oral fluid tests are currently required, but oral fluid testing is not yet available because no oral fluid laboratories have been certified. Comments are due January 8, 2024.

U.S. DOT is proposing a waiver of the domestic preference requirements for transit-oriented development projects that receive credit assistance through the Build America Bureau under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA). Comments are due December 24, 2024.

FTA recently published an updated NTD Narrative Template to help agencies complete an annual narrative report to the National Transit Database (NTD) describing changes to asset condition from the previous year and detailing progress to meet performance targets set in the previous year.

Effective January 16, 2025, FTA’s final policy guidance for the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program will be in effect. The guidance is available on the FTA website.

The Transit Workforce Center (TWC) will hold a series of Mentorship Program Office Hours in January 2025. TWC’s experienced and knowledgeable team members will be available Fridays for 15-minute office hours on January 10, 17, 24, and 31 from 12:30-2:30 PM ET to provide technical assistance to transit agencies and their partners with an interest in learning about, exploring, developing, expanding, and evaluating mentorship programs. 

The National Transit Institute (NTI) holds in-person training and is looking to partner with transit agencies to serve as hosts. Courses require a wheelchair-accessible training room that can comfortably fit up to 25 people at tables. NTI will provide course instructor(s) and materials free of charge and will hold up to 8 seats in the course for the employees of the host agency or host agency partners. Fill out a host request form.

In Impacts of Transit on Health in Rural and Small Urban Areas, researchers from the Small Urban and Rural Center on Mobility (SURCOM), found that missed health care trips were more likely as travel time to health care services increased, and health care expenses were significantly higher for those who had missed or delayed a health care trip. 

TCRP's Transit Exclusion Policies in Public Transportation Systems helps transit agencies understand the usefulness of such policies, as well as understand the methods for creating, amending, or supplementing exclusion policies to maximize their effectiveness in reducing crime and disorder within their respective transit systems. 

Cybersecurity Language for the Procurement of Intelligent Transportation System Equipment by the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office incorporates security principles to consider when designing and procuring intelligent transportation system products and services (software updates/patches, systems, maintenance, vulnerability disclosure policies, breach notification, and initial device or system configurations) and provides example language to incorporate into procurement specifications.

A Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) is a contract signed by community groups and a real estate or other developer that requires the developer to ensure local community members benefit directly from the development activity. What Small Town and Rural Leaders Need to Know About Community Benefits Agreements by Rural Organizing outlines how to create a CBA and what to watch out for, along with providing case studies of agreements that met the needs of the community.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of the latest major release of the MOtor Vehicle Emission Simulator model, MOVES5. MOVES5 is available for use in state implementation plans and transportation conformity analyses.

The National Center for Applied Transit Technology (N-CATT) provides a Tech Resilience tool that helps agencies assess their technology. Users answer questions such as, "Do you track the performance of your software and technology, and/or have the ability to determine if it is underperforming or not meeting expectations?" and receive a personalized assessment.

Smart Growth America is accepting applications for its Champions Institute through January 17, 2025. Champions Institute provides mayors, city councilors, Tribal leaders, and other local elected officials with knowledge and resources to support plans, policies, and funding that promote activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations. 

The National Accessible Transportation Accelerator Network (NATAN) Accessible Transportation Resource Center is conducting a nationwide survey on transportation accessibility. The survey is open to anyone who is involved in any way in transportation services and will close on December 20, 2024.

The Implementation Plan for the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport will be a tool in steering global efforts toward sustainable, inclusive, and resilient transportation systems. The questionnaire for the global online stakeholder consultation is open to everyone and the deadline for submission is January 10, 2025. 

Transportation Energy Partners is conducting a survey to identify and brainstorm policy actions that federal policymakers could take around clean fuels, beginning in January 2025.

FMCSA announced changes to its Crash Preventability Determination Program (CPDP). New crash types were added, such as CMV was struck because another motorist was driving in the wrong direction.

Effective January 13, 2025, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is finalizing a revision to its personal protective equipment standard for construction to explicitly require that the equipment must fit properly.

Effective February 11, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will adopt rules to address the transition of 5.9 GHz Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) operations from Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC)-based technology to cellular-vehicle-to-everything (C–V2X)-based technology. Existing licenses for DSRC systems may be renewed through December 14, 2026.

Recipients of Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) must obligate funds by December 31, 2024, and expend obligated funds by December 31, 2026 (with the exception of projects under the Surface Transportation projects and Title I eligible use categories, for which funds must be expended by September 30, 2026). Subrecipients are not subject to the December 31, 2024 obligation deadline.

NHTSA's Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act, effective on January 16, 2025, authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to pay an award to eligible whistleblowers who voluntarily provide original information relating to any motor vehicle defect, noncompliance, or violation or alleged violation of any notification or reporting requirement, which is likely to cause unreasonable risk of death or serious physical injury if the information provided leads to the successful resolution of a covered action.  Petitions for reconsideration of this rule must be received by January 31, 2025.

H.R.5536, the Grant Transparency Act of 2023, became law on December 11, 2024. The Act establishes transparency requirements for notices of funding opportunities for competitive grants awarded by federal agencies, excluding the Government Accountability Office.  Each notice of funding opportunity must include:

• A description of any rating system and evaluation and selection criteria the agency uses to assess applications for the grant
• A statement of whether the agency uses a weighted scoring method and a description of any such method that it uses for the grant, including the amount by which the agency weighs each criterion
• Any other qualitative or quantitative merit-based approach the agency uses to evaluate an application for the grant

All event times listed in Eastern Time. Subtract 1 hour for Central Time, 2 for Mountain Time, 3 for Pacific Time, 4 for Alaska, and 5 or 6 for Hawaii (depending on daylight savings time).



National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

December 19, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

U.S. DOT

FY 2025 RAISE Webinar Round 2: Benefit-Cost Analysis Spreadsheet Template and Office Hours

December 19, 2:00-3:00 PM  

New

U.S. DOT

Benefit-Cost Analysis Spreadsheet Template and Office Hours Webinar

December 19, 2:00-3:00 PM

New

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

FEMA’s Virtual Tribal Consultation on the Tribal Declarations Interim Guidance Webinar

December 19, 3:00 PM

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

January 2, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

TRB

TRB Annual Meeting

Washington, DC, January 5-9

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

January 7, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP

Succession Planning LinkedIn Learnalong

January 7, 2:00-3:00 PM

Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE)

CES 2025 - PAVE Roundtable

Las Vegas, NV, January 8, 1:30 PM

New

USDA Rural Development

OneRD Guarantee - Discussion on Disaster Response and Recovery Activities Webinar

January 9, 1:00 PM

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

January 9, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP

State RTAP Manager Peer Roundtable

January 9, 2:00-3:00 PM

New

Great Lakes ADA Center

From Standards to Support: Understanding the Access Board’s Role in Accessibility Webinar

January 9, 2:30-4:00 PM

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

January 14, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

New

U.S. Access Board

Preliminary Findings on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Disability Community and AI Practitioners Webinar

January 14, 2:00-3:30 PM 

New

FTA

Advancing Safety Risk Management and Safety Assurance Online Course

January 14-15, 10:30 AM

U.S. DOT

Navigating Climate Challenges: Enhancing Transportation Resilience Webinar

January 15, 2:00 PM

U.S. Census Bureau

Census Bureau Tribal Consultation

January 15, 3:00-4:30 PM

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

January 16, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

January 21, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP

Risky Business III: Insurance for NEMT

January 23, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

New

MnDOT's Office of Research & Innovation and the Minnesota Local Road Research Board 

Research Radar: Exploring Autonomous Vehicle Innovations Webinar

January 23, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

January 23, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

Seminole Tribe of Florida 

Renewable Energy & Sustainability 7th Annual Conference 

Hollywood, FL, January 27-29

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

January 28, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

New

National Center for Applied Transit Technology (N-CATT) 

Enhancing Your Real-Time Communications Workshop

January 28-29

New

Appalachian Regional Commission

Getting the Grant: Successfully Applying for ARC Funding Opportunities

Charleston, WV, January 30, 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

January 30, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

New

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

2025 AASHTO Washington Briefing

Washington, DC, February 3-6

New

Appalachian Regional Commission

Getting the Grant: Successfully Applying for ARC Funding Opportunities

Cartersville, GA, February 4, 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

February 4, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

New

Appalachian Regional Commission

Getting the Grant: Successfully Applying for ARC Funding Opportunities

Ithaca, NY, February 6, 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

February 6, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

Transportation Energy Partners

Energy Independence Summit 2025

Washington, DC, February 10-13

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

February 11, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

February 13, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

February 18, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

Southwest Transit Association (SWTA)

SWTA 2025 Annual Conference & Expo

Tucson, AZ, February 18-21

New

MnDOT's Office of Research & Innovation and the Minnesota Local Road Research Board 

Research Radar: Sustainable Transportation Solutions Webinar

February 20, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

February 20, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP

Books in Transit Discussion Group Meeting - The Lost Ticket

February 20, 2:00-3:00 PM

New

United Motorcoach Association (UMA)

UMA Motorcoach Expo

Oklahoma City, OK, February 20-23

National RTAP

Website Builder Office Hours

February 25, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

National RTAP

GTFS Office Hours

February 27, 1:00-1:30 PM

No preregistration necessary - join at the time of the meeting

For a listing of all National RTAP and other national events, view our Calendar. Also, see the FTA Events Calendar. To submit an event, email info@nationalrtap.org.

National RTAP | 888-589-6821 | info@nationalrtap.org | nationalrtap.org