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ACT Educates Regulators, Media, on Rideshare  Terminology
In response to misuse of the terms "ridesharing" and "carpooling" by transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft, ACT launched an effort today to educate regulators and the media about the real definition of those terms and ACT members' many years of work in developing and expanding mobility options for commuters and other travelers.
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Download ACT's new chart of terms here. |
ACT sent an official statement to targeted stakeholders and transportation reporters ("Ridesharing": What
Reporters, Legislators and Regulators Need to Know), along with a rideshare definition matrix that explains multiple transportation modes.
In addition, ACT government relations specialist Jason Pavluchuk assembled an array of resources for a dedicated web page at actweb.org.
A one-page FAQs document will be sent to ACT board members and chapter presidents for their reference.
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ACT Board Election Brings New Leadership
The results are in. "The ACT board election attracted a healthy turnout which is consistent with past ACT elections," reports ACT Elections Committee Chair Peggy Schwartz.
Congratulations to the new officers and at-large directors, whose two-year terms begin January 1, 2015.
 | | ACT President-elect Rob Henry will begin his term January 1, 2015. |
President: Robert Henry
Vice President: Connie McGee
Secretary: Jim Barr
Treasurer: David McMaster
At-Large Directors:
- Wendy Duren
- Maureen Farrell
- Rico Fleshman
- Luanna Huber
- David Judd
- Jon Martz
- Frank Mongioi Jr.
- Diane Thorne
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Still Time! Take Member & TDM Professionals Survey
Deadline: September 22
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 The ACT member survey has generated tremendous response to date, with many respondents entered in the drawing for free registration to the 2015 ACT International Conference in Baltimore, Maryland July 25-29. Hurry if you want to weigh in! The last day to respond is Monday, Sept. 22
by midnight.
ACT's Board of Directors commissioned the survey to help guide future programs and activities and identify TDM trends. Members and non-members alike are encouraged to participate. If you have not yet responded to the survey, you'll find it online here.
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Award Winner Spotlight
The ACT Connections newsletter is spotlighting a 2014 award winner in each issue.
Outstanding TMA: RideFinders, a division of GRTC Transit System
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RideFinders Program Manager Cherika Ruffin and Executive Director Von Tisdale accept Outstanding TMA award from ACT President Josh Kavanagh.
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For many years, RideFinders, the commuter assistance program serving the Richmond, Va., metropolitan region, has provided travel assistance services to residents, employees, and visitors. The program offers a variety of transportation demand management (TDM) services designed to reduce reliance on single-occupant vehicles. While RideFinders advances numerous transportation-related programs, it has done so without assessing and reporting the agency's true effect on vehicle miles traveled (VMT), reduction in air pollution inputs and energy saved. The organization's winning project quantified RideFinders' travel and environmental impacts in the Richmond region and documented the overall impacts of RideFinders'TDM program.
 The effort was part of a phased project with Southeastern Institute of Research and LDA Consulting. RideFinders used performance effects of major program touchpoints (website, Emergency Ride Home program, carpool and vanpool matching, and the Commuter Store) from its fiscal year 2012 evaluation to update the impact data. During fiscal year 2013, two additional services were added: commuter express and fixed route bus. Travel surveys were conducted with riders who used each service to provide the necessary data for estimated effects. RideFinders launched a marketing and public relations campaign to spread awareness throughout the region, including partnering with area television stations.
The results were impressive. RideFinders helped more than 11,400 people find convenient and sustainable work transportation, directly eliminated more than 34 million VMTs, removed about 5,700 vehicle trips per day from area highways, eliminated 34 million pounds of greenhouse gases, and helped save 1.9 million gallons of gasoline.
Funding for Phase II of the RideFinders'Performance Evaluation and Community IMPACT Program was the result of an application for Technical Assistance State Aid Grant to Public Transportation from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. RideFinders was successful in securing a $214,000 grant for the project-50 percent funded with state aid with a 50 percent federal match. Staff dedicated more than 100 hours to this project.
A copy of the 2013 Technical Impact Report detailing the calculations and methodology is available from RideFinders. Contact Von Tisdale at (804) 643-RIDE.
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| What Is It About September?
There's a lot happening this month in the world of transportation alternatives. If your organization is hosting any special activities in connection with these or similar events, please send a couple of photos and some details to ACT Connections at info@actweb.org.
- Car Free Day (Monday, Sept. 22): A few quick examples of observances in the U.S. include New York (Long Island), Washington, D.C.,and Los Angeles, all based on World Car Free Day.
- Try Transit Week (Sept. 15-19): Local jurisdictions in New Hampshire, North Carolina (for a whole month), and Virginia are inviting people to try public transportation. How about in your area?
- European Mobility Week (Sept. 16-22): This annual sustainable urban mobility campaign is organized with the support of the Directorates-General for the Environment and Transport of the European Commission to encourage European local authorities to introduce and promote sustainable transport measures and to invite their citizens to try out alternatives to car use.
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| Of Note |
- U.S. DOT Announces Latest TIGER Grants: U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced that the Department of Transportation would provide $600 million for 72 transportation projects in 46 states and the District of Columbia from its 2014 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. Details: http://www.dot.gov/tiger.
- Telework Abuse Targeted:
- Bike Share Conference: The North American Bike Share Association (NABSA)
- Seventh International Symposium on Travel Demand Management: Organizers of this April 13-15, 2015, event in Tucson, Ariz., have extended the deadline for abstract/paper submission to Dec. 15, 2014. The conference aims to connect the domestic and international TDM research and practice communities to spark ideas that inspire the present and future direction of TDM in urban mobility. The conference will feature an academic track and an industrial track. Past conferences have been held in England, Scotland, Austria, and China. Details: http://www.tdmsymposium.org/.
- Naturalistic Bicycling Behavior: The Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida was recently awarded an innovative research project from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to conduct a naturalistic bicycling behavior pilot study. The major objectives of the research project are to fully understand bicycling behaviors via comprehensive analyses of naturalistic bicycling data collected from the project, and develop effective countermeasures to improve bicycle safety in Florida. More info: Dr. Pei-Sung Lin, lin@cutr.usf.edu.
- Survey Spotlights Transit Support: The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) released a survey showing that Americans' support for increasing federal public transportation investment grew to nearly 68 percent -- a nearly two point increase over last year. The survey also found that nearly 74 percent of Americans support the use of tax dollars for creating, expanding, and improving public transportation options in their communities. Read more here.
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| Join ACT or Renew Your Membership | If you are not already a member of ACT and want to join, or if you need to renew your membership to take advantage of all the opportunities ahead, click here. Contact TJ Cantwell, ACT's membership director, at cantwell@actweb.org or call 571.699.3064 for more information. |
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Got News?
Help us spread the word about the people, places and things that are happening in the TDM world. Do you have any news or events that you would like included in a future issue of ACT Connections? Send them to Mark Wright, executive director, at wright@actweb.org. |
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