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Register Now for the National RTAP 101 Webinar on Charter Service and School Transportation
 
Has your transit agency been approached by a school or community group to provide a special service? Are you unclear whether your situation falls under an exemption or exception? Do you need guidance on how to be compliant with FTA School Bus and Charter Service Regulations?
 
National RTAP's second 101 Webinar, to be held on November 20th from 2-3PM, will answer these questions and more. Sarah Brodt Lenz, Greater Minnesota Public Transit Coordinator, will discuss the basics of school bus and charter service regulations as applicable to Section 5311 subrecipients. 

Resources of Interest

Health, Safety, and Bus Drivers, a report from the Norwegian Centre for Transport Research, discusses health considerations and hazards for bus drivers around the world. 

 

U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing on senior transportation challenges. Watch it here (starts around 20 min).

 

Review of the FHWA's Coordination, Guidance, and Oversight of the Tribal Transportation Program, a report from the U.S. DOT's Office of Inspector General.

 

The seven TTAP Centers have released a Fall 2013 newsletter focusing on Tribal Transit (from ltap.org).

 

SURTC (the Small Urban and Rural Transportation Center at NDSU) will be a partner at the new Rural and Small Urban Livability Center, along with the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University. 

 

For transit systems affected by Hurricane Sandy, FTA has added some new FAQs about the relief program.

 

AASHTO members now have access to a new Digital Reference Book, containing contact information for AASHTO member organizations and standing committees.

 

CTAA's Community Transportation Magazine edition on Alternative Fuels.

 

Applications due November 15th for ESPA's Accessible Transportation Technical Support Project.

FTA Updates

 
Webinar PowerPoint slides from the November 7th Formula Grants for Rural Areas-Proposed Guidance presentation are available for view and download.

 

The Substance Abuse One-Day Seminar Upcoming Sessions list has been updated.

 

FTA has a number of upcoming webinars on DBE Reporting Requirements and accessible capital assets.
 
Save the date for these upcoming Safety and Transit Asset Management webinars from FTA:
 
ANPRM Overview, Monday, November 18, 3:30-5PM EST
This webcast is intended for industry stakeholders, and will provide an overview of Safety and TAM.

Safety/TAM ANPRM for Small Transit Systems, Tuesday, December 3, 1-2PM EST
This webcast is intended for stakeholders of small transit programs, including federal and state program managers and will identify sections of Safety/TAM relevant to small transit systems. 
More information to come.
 
Safety/TAM ANPRM for Medium and Large Transit Systems, Thursday, December 5, 2-3PM EST
This session is for members of medium or large transit systems and their state and federal program managers. 
More information to come.

NCHRP 20-65-Task 53: Independent Cost Estimates for Design and Construction of Rural and Small Urban Transit Facilities

 

National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) project 20-65, Task 53, "Independent Cost Estimates for Design and Construction of Rural and Small Urban Transit Facilities" is being conducted by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI).  The purpose of this project is to provide guidance to state transit agencies for assisting their sub-recipients with preparing and reviewing design and construction cost estimates.  One goal of this effort is to develop a database of relevant cost elements.  A second key deliverable is a spreadsheet estimating program that will focus on early estimates and include a methodology for preparing these early estimates and steps for reviewing estimates.

  

We are requesting your participation in a survey to collect key information that will help TTI develop the cost database and estimating spreadsheet for this project.  Key information of interest includes:

  • Size and type of facilities
  • Different facility features
  • Location of facility
  • Unusual conditions surrounding the project
  • Actual design costs
  • Actual construction cost
  • Major facility component costs of construction
  • Design schedule (start and finish)

We are seeking rural and small urban transit facility projects that were designed and/or constructed in the last five years.  If your agency did construct any facilities in rural and small urban areas and you would like to contribute to this research study by participating in the survey, please contact the Principal Investigator, Stuart Anderson, at s-anderson5@tamu.edu. If you have questions you can contact Dr. Anderson at 979-845-2407.

 

Take the survey at https://tti-survey.tamu.edu/67169/lang-en, or preview the survey here. 
November 14, 2013
Events
TRB
Successful Practices for Effective Tribal Consultation
November 14
12:30-2PM

NCST
Local Match Mini-Course
Webinar 4
November 20
2PM

National RTAP
FTA Charter Service Regulations
November 20
2-3PM

Transit Planning 4 All
Applying Evidence-Based Practices to Improve the Participation of People with Disabilities and Older Adults in Coordinated Planning
November 22
2-3PM

ESPA
Developing Effective Practices for Snow Removal
December 4
2-3:30PM

RITA
Open Data Policy Guidelines for Transit
December 5
1-2:30PM

FTA
Construct, Alter, Repair, or Rehabilitate Your Capital Assets-Don't Forget ADA
December 12, January 16
2-3:30PM

NTI
Transit Trainers' Workshop
Long Beach, CA
March 30-April 1

FTA 
9th Annual Drug and Alcohol Program National Conference
April 15-17
Little Rock, AR

RIBTC
21st National Conference on Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation
October 26-29, 2014
Monterey, CA

For a listing of all National RTAP and other national events, view our new EventShare Calendar!

All event times listed as Eastern Time
Resource Spotlight
Get Started with ProcurementPRO

ProcurementPRO is a free web-based application that guides rural and tribal grantees and state DOTs through FTA procurement procedures. The program provides the required Federal clauses and certifications that must be included in procurement documents. In six easy steps and less than a few minutes, ProcurementPRO does what it may have taken you days or weeks to do.
National RTAP is a program of the Federal Transit Administration dedicated to creating rural and Tribal transit solutions through technical assistance, partner collaboration and FREE training materials.

Contact us:
Main: 5 Wheeling Avenue, Woburn, MA 01801, 888-589-6821
Washington, D.C.: 1050 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 1000, Washington, D.C. 20036, 202-772-2039