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GAO Report on Rural and Tribal Transit

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) came out with a report on the Formula Grants for Rural Areas Program. The GAO found that types of transit services offered by recipients and sub-recipients of this program remained about the same, while ridership increased by 4%, and operating costs by 19%, from 2009-2012. Interviewed transit operators reported a number of challenges, such as hiring and retention of drivers, and securing local and state funding. The report also addresses the changes that came about under MAP-21 for tribal transit systems who received either more or less funding than in years prior.
 
 
July 15th Deadline for Photo Contest
 
Please consider submitting a photo or two to our 2014 Photo Contest! We have excellent prizes, including a camera and gift cheque. As always, there's the chance for your photo to appear in one of our publications, or on our website. 
 
National RTAP's Photo Contest theme this year is Reaching Your Riders: Getting the Word Out About Your Transit Services. Photos should reflect the ways that you market your transit system to the community. For more information, including great prizes, contest rules, and a link to the photo release form, please visit our Photo Contest Page. Entries are due July 15th, 2014 to [email protected], and must include all necessary documentation.

 
Wanted: Your Rural Transportation Grant Success Stories

We occasionally receive requests for success stories about transportation agencies who have used federal rural transportation funds to enhance or start successful services and initiatives. Does your agency have a story like this? Email [email protected] to give us a synopsis of your success story!
 

FTA/DOT Updates

 

UPDATE: Ladders of Opportunity Initiative recovers $100 million in funding from 5309- Bus and Bus Facilities Program (SAFETEA-LU). Funds can be used for rehabilitating or purchasing buses and facilities. Proposals due August 4th. Updated grant application materials link

 

Mobility Services for All Americans (MSAA) Deployment Planning funding applications are due July 1st. 


 

Resources and News

Reports and Journals

AARP Public Policy Institute Spotlight on Reconnecting Small-Town American by Bus. This evaluation of rural Washington State's push to create public-private partnerships to restore rural intercity bus service also comes with a video.

Impacts of Dialysis Transportation on Florida's Coordinated Public Transportation Programs documents how Community Transportation Coordinators are affected by the increase in dialysis transportation need. 

Compare different local funding sources using the information in Evaluating Public Transportation Local Funding Options from the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, an article that appeared in the Journal of Public Transportation. The authors found that a variety of funding options are best, as no one option is cost-effective and easy to implement.

Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Legal Research Digest 45: Transit Public-Private Partnerships: Legal Issues discusses legal issues around transit public-private partnership (PPP) agreements, including why PPPs should be used in certain cases, legal barriers that PPPs may confront, and funding of PPPs for transit projects and facilities.

Announcements

TRIPTAC (Transit in the Parks Technical Assistance Center) is closing at the end of this month, but their resources will still be available on a new website, to come out very soon. We'll keep you updated as to when it's live.

Blogs
 
Read the National Center on Senior Transportation's (NCST) response to a technical assistance question about tribal transit coordination with off-reservation transit agencies.

 
RIBTC Conference Early Bird Rate to end July 20th

We hope you will join us at the upcoming Rural Public and Intercity Bus Conference in Monterey, CA, October 26-29th. Register for the conference at www.ribtc.org by July 20th to receive the early bird rate. 

The conference is being held at the Monterey Plaza Hotel, which is sold out. However, there are additional rooms at the Victorian Inn for $149 a night (800-232-4141)  and the Spindrift Inn for $169 a night (800-841-1879). For an ocean view room for $229 a night, call the Monterey Bay Inn (800-424-6242). 

For more information about the conference please visit the Rural and
Intercity Bus Transportation Conference website at www.ribtc.org.

June 26, 2014
Events
n4a
Answers on Aging Annual Conference & Tradeshow
July 12-16
Dallas, TX

TRB
14th National Conference on Transportation Planning for Small and Medium-Sized Communities 
July 21-23
Burlington, VT

LTAP/TTAP
National LTAP/TTAP Conference
July 21-24
St. Louis, MO

National Rural ITS Conference
August 24-27
Branson, MO

TRB
Conference on Transportation and Federal Lands
September 15-17
Washington, D.C.

National Tribal Transportation Conference
September 22-25
Anchorage, AK

APTA
Annual Meeting
October 12-15
Houston, TX

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

NADO
2014 National Rural Transportation Conference
December 3-5
Cincinnati, OH

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

All event times listed as Eastern Time
Resource Spotlight
Did you know...you can submit events?

National RTAP's EventShare Calendar and Listing (above) are open to any regionally- or nationally-open conferences, webinars, online courses, or other events. As long as there is an interest for rural and tribal transit operators and/or state program managers, you can submit your event for consideration to [email protected]. We can help get the word out for you!
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