You All Work Very Hard

I don't even know where to begin with news,events, and resources because the TA Provider Network is such a busy crew that I am starting to feel like keeping up is about as possible as being on the candy assembly line with Lucy and Ethel. They keep on going because you of the importance of their work and the need to provide assistance to states, communities, regions, human services agencies, and transit and transportation providers, among others.

I therefore sincerely apologize for the long blog post. These are are all indicative and good examples of the work technical assistance staff produce and how they can assist clients with the resources of TA peers.

[Part of the already-realized multi-modal Denver Union Station project. Exciting at day's end to see all of the commuters and ongoing construction. Thank you to MTAP for the tour.]

New Dialogue and Mobility Management

National Center on Senior Transportation
Online dialogue - Nov. 28 to Dec. 16, 2011 - Intended for individuals and organizations from the aging network and transportation industry. "The dialogue will give the aging network, older adults, advocates, volunteers, policy makers, public and private transportation providers, federal, state, and local transportation agencies, human services agencies, and municipal planning organizations the chance to submit, comment on, and rate ideas related to planning for senior-friendly transportation services." NCST is a technical assistance center administered by Easter Seals Inc., in partnership with the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

NCST also has grant money available for mobility management. It is soliciting proposals for senior transportation projects that demonstrate innovative and effective solutions to enhance the mobility of older adults. Funding may be used to create comprehensive mobility management systems, increase mobility in urban and rural areas, and improve public transit access for older persons. The grants will be $50,000 or less. The NCST anticipates making a total of eight awards. These are the categories:
1. Peer-Mobility Management and Employment
2. Mobility Management in Rural/Frontier Areas
3. Mobility Management Integration within Current Practices
4. Mobility Management Applied to the Family of Senior Transportation Options

All proposals must be submitted by December 23, 2011.

[Chicago's Union Station.]

RTAP Events and New Resource

National Rural Transit Assistance Program
Webinar - Resource Library Overview and Tools - Dec. 5, 2011. The webinar will provide overview of the latest National RTAP web app, the Resource Library. Through National RTAP in the Cloud, this web app can be installed on any transit agency's website and may be used to upload, share and manage resources. You will also learn how you can install the Resource Library web app on your website and use it to upload, share and manage resources. Features of the web app will help you manage, track and report on resources using an easy-to-use web interface.

Conference - Creating Partnerships for Rural Transit Solutions - March 18-21, 2012, Scottsdale, Ariz. The conference will provide technical assistance with RTAP products on four tracks: Tribal, Transit Management, Transit Operations, and RTAP/5311 Program Management.

RTAP releases a new brief, Livable Communities: Tips for Designing Transit Services and Infrastructure that Promote Livability, which explains in simple terms what livability is and what the relationship to and benefits for rural transit are. The brief links to technical assistance resources and federal government information.

What Are the Procurement Rules?

Federal Transit Administration [www.fta.dot.gov]
The FTA has a new page on its site, Third Party Procurement FAQs, which answers questions about a few dozen topics about what procurement rules apply and when. Plus, the sleek look of the FTA site is worth a visit if you have not gone there in a while.

[Galesburg, Ill. train station platform.]

State Coordinating Council Profiles

National Conference of State Legislatures
NCSL has added to its State Human Service Transportation Coordinating Councils: State Profiles. These are in-depth examinations, approximately five to 10 pages, of how the state coordinating councils were created, their goals and evolution, how their objectives are being addressed across the state, and funding details. So far, NCSL's library includes five states.

NCSL also releases a livability brief. Though titled Recent State Livability Initiatives in Minnesota: An Analysis, the brief very much explains the integrated components that comprise livability and the type of projects that fall under its umbrella.

Wayfinding

Easter Seals Project ACTION
ESPA releases a brief about technology to assist people who are visually impaired. Improving Transit Facility Accessibility by Employing Wayfinding Technology discusses tactile maps, detectable warnings, talking signs, smartphone apps and other assistive technology that enables a visually impaired person to navigate streets and transit on his or her own.

Information & Referral Training

National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities
Online training - Basic Training for Aging I&R/A Professionals - This training will give an overview of the broad array of health, social, and long-term services and supports for seniors and individuals with disabilities; tools and strategies to provide culturally appropriate services; and the fundamental phases of the I&R/A process with a focus on learning how to support the decision making of seniors, individuals with disabilities, and their caregivers.

[Photo taken in California from the Coast Starlight train. I was mesmerized by the landscape.]

Local Story

The transit authority in Wichita, KS, is serving a reduced ridership following a 50-cent fare increase. The authority, in response, is soliciting feedback via an

interactive website to learn more about the public’s needs. The virtual town hall seeks community input about public services. The site provides a convenient way for residents to share ideas, offer opinions and make recommendations on a broad variety of Transit subjects including routes, services and possible expansion plans.

The fare increase was due to a budget shortfall.

Emergency Planning - Collection of Resources & Events

Maybe it was the week of the earthquake and the hurricane that jolted the thought of emergency preparedness to come to the attention center of my brain. We have had a spring and summer with quite a bit of emergency planning, actual disasters and the recoveries that follow. In some cases, the weather events were less than expected and in others, much worse. Here are some resources and events for transportation-related emergency planning issues.

Resources

Preparedness Considerations for Aging Americans - recorded webinar - This webinar provides information about specific preparedness steps for Aging Americans. Speakers will include representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and leaders at the forefront of Aging American Preparedness. Advanced registration for this webinar is not required.

This and other emergency planning webinars are archived at http://www.citizencorps.gov/news/webcasts.shtm.

National Association of County and City Health Officials
NACCHO has a Learning Community on Emergency Planning and Preparedness for People with Disabilities. NACCHO’s Health and Disability Project is supported by the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Events

How to be FEMA Ready When Disaster Hits (Rebroadcast) - audio/web broadcast - Oct. 11, 2011 - Pointing out that within the last five years, every state has had at least one disaster declaration, APWA presents this program to help identify what should be ready before disaster strikes and what can be expected when dealing with FEMA after the disaster. Participants will learn how to justify the value of a good asset management system that gives quantifiable information to help identify the cost of bringing assets back into use and how to estimate the length of time and resources involved in the recovery process.

National Evacuation Conference - Feb. 7-9, 2012, New Orleans - Conference brings together the fields of transportation and emergency management to discuss evacuation planning to accommodate the needs of all people before, during and after a major disaster. The objective is to foster an interdisciplinary exchange of ideas surrounding a broad range of evacuation issues, particularly mass evacuations.

Public Works Peer Activity

American Public Works Association
APWA is developing an emergency management peer network. It requests that members share their expertise about the different facets of emergency preparedness, response, mitigation, planning, and recovery. The "database will operate as an in-house listserv for APWA members who need advice or information on emergency management matters."

[View from a California train ride.]

Blasts from the Past

Here are some emergency preparedness resources featured before.

Community Transportation Association of America
National Resource Center
The NRC keeps an Emergency Preparedness and Response bookshelf with reports about transportation issues in disaster planning.

CTAA has an Emergency Evacuation page on its site with checklists, toolboxes and other resources that focus on populations, locations, and different types of professionals.

National RTAP - the Rural Transit Assistance Program
RTAP has a free training module, Emergency Procedures for Rural Transit Drivers. The training includes a Learner’s Guide, a Self-paced eLearning Course Disc, an Instructor’s Guide, and a disc with videos and a trainer’s PowerPoint presentation. It can be used in a classroom setting or by a single student, and is appropriate for both new and experienced transit drivers. The training offers information on preparedness for hazards and threats that may be encountered as a transit operator. This training module also offers targeted training on the Seven Steps of Crisis Management.

For more information, please contact Pam Russell DiGiovanni at 888-589-6821 or pdigiovanni@nationalrtap.org.

For those even more involved in emergency planning is FEMA's lessons learned website. For those updates, there is a lessons learned newsletter available at the site.

Tribal Transit Resource

National Rural Transit Assistance Program and the National Center on Senior Transportation

RTAP and NCST have come out with a wonderful resource that goes beyond what its title aims to deliver. Crossing Great Divides: A Guide to Elder Mobility Resources and Solutions in Indian Country includes information and resources about federal and other funding sources and different types of transportation services beyond those exclusively serving older adults and tribes. Examples are given of tribal transportation services and transit. There is also information about aging programs and older driver safety, which is important for anyone who serves older adults.

The publication is also an example of cooperation among technical assistance centers. It was a joint effort of RTAP and NCST. NCST is a technical assistance center administered by Easter Seals Inc., in partnership with the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Included in the acknowledgments are staff from the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) and the Taxi, Limousine, and Paratransit Association (TLPA), as well as staff at the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the NCST American Indian Elder Mobility Advisory Group and National RTAP’s Review Board.

New Tools, Instruction from Our TA Partners

Mobility Management Conference - June 6-7, 2011 in Indianapolis. This conference will have plenary sessions devoted to a variety of types of partnerships and partnering objectives, including financial stability, sustainable communities and mobility for transportation-challenged populations. Breakout sessions will address specific topics, such as one-call/one-click services, statewide perspectives, and employment transportation, among others.

National Transit Institute
NTI recently sent out word of two online classes that look interesting: Attracting Senior Drivers to Public Transportation and Managing Increasing Ridership Demand, which is based on a study of South American transit systems. Please note that even though these are online instructions, there are limited attendance slots and these classes fill up.

National RTAP
RTAP releases Procurement Pro, an online procurement project management tool. There is an introductory video that is very user friendly, which, in my case, means simple and clear. There is also an explanatory webinar and a print document, which, like the video, goes step by step and explains the way Procurement Pro works. Procurement Pro requires that the user, presumably a rural transportation provider or transit agency, establish an account.

According to the site, the application is intended to provide:

the steps needed to determine the Federal clauses and certifications that must be included in procurement documents for a Federally funded project. In return you will receive a document that includes all required Federal clauses and certifications and other supporting documentation, such as checklists and templates, to help you manage the procurement process.

RTAP will be hosting a Website Builder webinar to provide education about its new Cloud web application. The webinar is scheduled for Thursday, April 28, 2011. It will cover using the application to build a transit system presence on the Internet that will be easy to manage. The Website Builder application enables transit systems to post routes, schedules and fare information. The application is a new, free, online tool. More information about Website Builder is available at http://www.nationalrtap.org/WebApps/WebsiteBuilder.aspx.

Rural Webinars

National Association of Development Organizations (NADO)
NADO's current Rural Transportation newsletter is full of information relevant to those who work with rural communities.

The NADO Research Foundation and RPO America are hosting a webinar on Feb. 15, 2011 showcasing the work of two award-winning organizations on rural and small metropolitan alternative transportation. One of the presentations will focus on rural travel demand management via a website and outreach materials that address transportation options throughout the region.

National Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP)
RTAP will be hosting a webinar on Feb. 17, 2011 to showcase its recently released training module, Emergency Procedures for Rural Transit Drivers. Information about the webinar is available at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/780816704.

[Very opposite of rural is a Brooklyn subway station, which commemorates Sheepshead Bay's past as a fishing village. You can still fish in the bay.]

More Resources for Emergency Preparedness

National RTAP - the Rural Transit Assistance Program - announces its updated free training module, Emergency Procedures for Rural Transit Drivers. The training includes a Learner’s Guide, a Self-paced eLearning Course Disc, an Instructor’s Guide, and a disc with videos and a trainer’s PowerPoint presentation. It can be used in a classroom setting or by a single student, and is appropriate for both new and experienced transit drivers. The training offers information on preparedness for hazards and threats that may be encountered as a transit operator. This training module also offers targeted training on the Seven Steps of Crisis Management.

For more information, please contact Pam Russell DiGiovanni at 888-589-1122 or prussell@nationalrtap.org.

FEMA Reviews its Progress

Although FEMA’s Preparedness for the Next Catastrophic Disaster - An Update, a report from the Department of Homeland Security, will not render assistance in the midst of an actual emergency, it provides food for thought about what is involved across the different types of agencies called to serve during or in the aftermath of a man-made or natural disaster.

Transportation is mentioned as a piece of the pie of emergency response services, and discussed in reference to large-scale evacuations.

FEMA is responsible for providing direction, guidance, and technical assistance on state and local evacuation plans that contain integrated information on transportation operations, shelters, and other elements of a successful evacuation. FEMA is also required to work with state, tribal, and local authorities to support contraflow planning, where the normal flow of traffic is reversed to aid in an evacuation, and is responsible for ensuring that adequate resources are available for evacuation efforts.

Most indicators of progress have progressed with a moderate rating. Substantial progress has been made in the areas of emergency communications and having pre-disaster contract in place.

Tribal Transit Resources

Tribal communities, many with low income residents and isolated in extremely rural areas, benefit greatly from the technical assistance of our TA network. These are some resources that quickly explain the particular issues of working on transit and transportation issues with tribes and community-specific projects.

Much thanks to Kelly Shawn for his suggestions.

National RTAP is featuring American Indian Transportation: Issues and Successful Models, a brief co-authored by one of the Community Transportation Association of America's (CTAA) tribal specialists, Kelly Shawn. The brief discusses transportation funding, coordination and economic development.

CTAA's Tribal Projects

On CTAA's website are resources about funding transit and projects in particular tribal communities. Tribal Transit: Accessing Federal Transit Funding to Develop Your Transit System covers the major federal funding sources, discusses how tribes should begin planning for transit initiatives, and features successful examples.

An interactive map lists all of CTAA's rural and tribal community transit projects since 1990.

An issue of Community Transportation magazine, Tribal Transportation, highlights the transit services in several tribal areas.

A list of links to other tribal and transportation-related information sources is also available on CTAA's website.

Tribal Delegates Appointed to CTAA Delegate Council

At the "Nations in Transit" conference, part of CTAA's EXPO conference in Long Beach, CA, representatives of tribal nations elected three delegates to serve on the Community Transportation Association's Delegate Council. Selected as Tribal Delegates were Lee Bigwater of the Navajo Nation (Ariz.), Camille Ferguson of the Sitka Tribe (Alaska) and Kathy Littlejohn of the Eastern Band of Cherokees (N.C.).

National RTAP's Tribal Resources

National RTAP has posted links to:
* the process for becoming an acknowledged Indian tribe, and
* a list of tribal transit grant recipients.