When Robert Weber, Transit Administrator for the City of Sedona, Arizona, a small town near Flagstaff, was planning for a new shuttle service to Sedona's beautiful trailheads in November 2021, he came across one of National RTAP's Best Practices Spotlight Articles, Transportation to Scenic Destinations. He decided to contact National RTAP to set up a time for a 1:1 technical assistance meeting for further resources and guidance.

Flash forward to March 24, 2022 - The Sedona Shuttle has Arrived! The new public transit system, the Sedona Shuttle, began operation with routes to four of the area’s most popular trailheads. "National RTAP’s technical assistance was very helpful to us during the planning stage of this project," said Robert. "We're delighted with the outcome, as well as the opportunity to play a part in bringing about more transportation to scenic destinations."

FTA published changes to their programs in the Federal Register on April 28, 2022 in accordance with amendments to Federal public transportation law by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law / Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The notice provides preliminary implementation instructions and guidance for the new and revised programs in FY 2022, announces the funding apportionment for programs authorized and funded with FY 2022 contract authority and appropriations, and describes future plans for new competitive programs, such as ferry service for rural communities.

FTA has a new Bus Testing Portal. Transit vehicle manufacturers can provide and submit the information required for bus testing requests using the portal. The new process will facilitate staff collaboration and eliminate the time required for drafting, reviewing, formatting, sending, and filing response letters.

The FTA Transit Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS) Employee Safety Reporting Final Report provides recommendations for employee safety reporting systems on transit systems. Recommendations include that transit agencies should have dedicated staff who ensure that agencies are SMS-compliant and conduct quality assurance and that FTA should provide a third-party central repository for information that includes the ability to conduct agency-to-agency comparisons and a Confidential Close Call Reporting System.

U.S. DOT's Climate Action Plan: Revitalizing Efforts to Bolster Adaptation & Increase Resilience focuses on climate adaptation and resilience across agency programs and the management of federal procurement, real property, public lands and waters, and financial programs.

The newly created Rural Partners Network (RPN) is an alliance of federal agencies, including U.S. DOT, and civic partners working to expand rural prosperity through job creation, infrastructure development, and community improvement. The website includes links to community networks by states and rural success stories.

FTA updated its Transit Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimator, a tool that allows users to estimate the partial lifecycle emissions generated from and the energy used in the construction, operation, and maintenance phases of a project across select transit modes.

On Earth Day, April 22, 2022, FTA showcased the Phase 1 Sustainable Transit for a Healthy Planet Challenge results and transit agency success stories. Ten transit agencies, including rural ones, were recognized for their exemplary efforts. Phase 2 of the Challenge is open. Agencies that signed up for Phase 1 of the Challenge do not need to sign up for Phase 2.

FTA published its April 2022 Transit Safety and Oversight Spotlight Newsletter. The issue includes cybersecurity resources and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law updates to the PTASP regulation.

Several upcoming webinars and conferences are focusing on energy and reduced emission transportation:

Upcoming training opportunities from TRB include Understanding the Effects of COVID-19 on Impaired Driving Webinar on May 13, 2022 from 2:30-4:00 PM, and the Sustainable and Emerging Transportation Technology (SETT) Conference in Irvine, CA on May 31-June 2, 2022.

TCRP's Resource Guide for Improving Diversity and Inclusion Programs for the Public Transportation Industry shows how diversity programs at transit agencies have evolved, how inclusion has been incorporated, and what policies, plans, and practices have been successfully implemented within the industry.

Carnegie Melon University compiled an SAE J3016 User Guide (SAE International, formerly named the Society of Automotive Engineers) to instruct on SAE Automation Levels. The article explains terms including Dynamic Driving Task and Object and Event Detection and Response, and provides a summary of the automation levels.

National Aging and Disability Transportation Center's (NADTC) Planning for Sustainability brief offers a checklist and framework for sustainable transit programs and projects, which includes integration, systems change, champions, support, replicability, and other factors.

Transportation for America published an Understanding the 2021 Infrastructure Law Toolkit. Users can learn about the basics or access deeper sections on transit, safety, climate, and other topics. The Toolkit also compares funding from the FAST Act to the 2021 Infrastructure Law through charts and analysis.

The new Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) SafeOCS Dashboard displays voluntarily reported events, including incident reports, event narratives, and contractor and operator information. It also allows operators to compare their confidential submissions with aggregated data from all participants.

Intelligent Transportation System Joint Program Office DataHub hosts vehicle trajectory data and associated files from FHWA’s Next Generation Simulation (NGSIM) research program. This data can show the precise location of each vehicle within the study area every one-tenth of a second, resulting in detailed lane positions and locations relative to other vehicles. A video is available on the webpage.

Headwaters Economics created a new Rural Capacity Index with data on local government staffing, community engagement, and socioeconomic trends. Results are available at the county, county subdivision, and community scale in an interactive map.

The new U.S. Treasury Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program provides funds to state, local, and Tribal governments to support their response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The John A. Hartford Foundation Business Innovation Award highlights the successes of community-based organizations that are partnering and contracting with health care entities. Eligible recipients include Area Agencies on Aging, Centers for Independent Living, and other nonprofit or government-based community-based aging and disability services providers. The nomination deadline is May 6, 2022.

If you provide rural public or tribal transit services, please complete a survey by May 3, 2022 for the TRB's Improving Public Transportation in Rural Areas and Tribal Communities project. The survey seeks practices and strategies that improve mobility and efficiency. The project will develop a practical and actionable guidebook for public transportation.

The new FHWA Carbon Reduction Program (CRP) provides funds for projects designed to reduce transportation emissions. Eligible projects include public transportation projects eligible under 23 U.S.C. 142, such as electric vehicle charging stations. The funds are allocated through states. Before obligating CRP funds in a rural area, a state shall consult with any regional or metropolitan transportation planning organization that represents the rural area prior to determining which activities should be carried out under the project.

The Office on Trafficking in Persons of the Administration for Children and Families announced funds available through June 25, 2022 for the Victims of Human Trafficking in Native Communities Demonstration Program. The program’s goal is to directly fund organizations that will build, expand, and sustain organizational and community capacity to deliver services to Native Americans who have experienced human trafficking. 

Effective April 18, 2022, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will no longer enforce its Security Directives and Emergency Amendment requiring mask use on public transportation and transportation hubs. A Presidential Action continued the COVID-19 Pandemic as a National Emergency beyond March 2022. FMCSA announced an extension of the Modified Emergency Declaration due to COVID-19 through May 31, 2022. FMCSA also terminated the waiver for states concerning 3rd-party CDL skills test examiners in response to COVID-19 on February 3, 2022.

The National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations Revisions was published in the Federal Register by the Council on Environmental Quality on April 20, 2022. The Final Rule clarifies that agencies have the discretion to consider a variety of factors when assessing a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) application and edits the definition of reasonable alternatives and effects.

On April 18, 2022, the Office of Management and Budget published a memorandum on Initial Implementation Guidance on Application of Buy America Preference in Federal Financial Assistance Programs for Infrastructure. The memorandum provides implementation guidance to federal agencies on the application of a “Buy America” preference to federal financial assistance programs for infrastructure and a transparent process to waive such a preference, when necessary.

President Biden set a target for the United States to achieve a 50-52 percent reduction from 2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas pollution in 2030.

Atlantic City, NJ, April 26-28

April 28, 1:00 PM

April 28, 1:00-2:00 PM

April 28, 2:00 PM

April 29, 12:00-1:00 PM ET

Columbus, OH, May 1-4

May 2, 12:30 PM

May 3, 2:00-3:30 PM

May 3, 2:30-4:00 PM

May 4, 1:00-4:00 PM

May 4, 2:00-3:00 PM

Long Beach, CA, May 9-12

New Orleans, LA, May 9-12

May 10, 12:00-1:30 PM

May 10, 2:00-3:30 PM

May 10, 4:00-5:00 PM

May 10-11, 11:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Louisville, KY, May 10-14

May 11, 1:00-2:15 PM

May 13, 1:00-4:00 PM

May 13, 2:30-4:00 PM

May 16, 2:00 PM

May 17, 2:00 PM

Chicago, IL, May 17-18

May 18, 2:00-3:00 PM

May 23-24, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Detroit, MI, May 23-26

May 19, May 26, and June 9, 2022, 1:00-2:00 PM

May 24, 2:00-3:30 PM

Colorado Springs, CO, May 24-27

May 24, 3:00-4:30 PM, and June 7-8, 1:00-6:00 PM

Seattle, WA, May 18-20

Irvine, CA, May 31-June 2

June 7, 1:00-2:00 PM

June 7, 4:00-5:00 PM

Reno, NV, June 7-9

Hollywood, FL, June 7-9

June 9, 12:00-1:30 PM

June 9, 2:00 PM

Billings, MT, June 13-15

June 13-16

1:00-3:30 PM

Sheridan, WY, June 14-16

Wichita, KS, June 20-21

June 21-22, 1:00-3:00 PM

Norfolk, NE, June 22-23

Flagstaff, AZ, June 27-28

Lawrence, KS, June 23-July 1

June 28, 2:00-3:30 PM

Warwick, RI, June 28-30

Charlotte, NC, June 28-30

June 29, 2:00-3:00 PM

Portland, OR, June 29-30

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.