Thanks to those who participated in our first Peer Call on Wednesday and to Stephan Parker of TCRP for being a panelist!  

View notes from the call here, including helpful TCRP resources and information about submitting a problem statement for TCRP's FY 2016 research program - submissions are due Monday, June 15th.

Peer Calls will be the third Wednesday of each month at 2:30pm, and will be on a specific topic in rural transit. They will be an opportunity to share challenges and solutions and to ask questions of our panelists and of the other peers on the call.

The next call is on July 15th - stay tuned for the topic and registration link. If you have topic suggestions for future calls, let us know!

TRB recently published TCRP Report 179: Use of Web-Based Rider Feedback to Improve Public Transit Services, a toolkit of practices, emerging platforms, and promising approaches for customer web-based/electronic feedback to improve  transit services.

The Small Urban and Rural Transit Center (SURTC) published the 2015 Rural Transit Factbook, with statistics and information on rural transit in America. 

The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) released a new report, Making Your Community Livable for All Ages, which showcases innovative initiatives nationwide.

CTAA recently released the Spring edition of their DigitalCT magazine: Rural Transit's Greatest Generation.

NTI announced a new Assault Awareness and Prevention for Transit Operators course, available as Direct Delivery (NTI delivers the course directly to employees) or Train-the-Trainer. The course is 3 hours long and free of charge. 

Register now for the National Center on Senior Transportation (NCST)'s Transit Agency Emergency Preparedness Planning for Older Adults. This free, 3-week online independent study course runs July 6-24th and will cover guidance, tools, and resources to help transit agencies plan, prepare for, respond to, and recover from a range of emergencies all centered around assisting older adults.

Submit photos for AASHTO's Faces of Transportation Photo Contest by Friday, July 31st. 

Metro Magazine's recent Safety Corner blog post discusses the importance of Recognizing a Job Well Done at Your Bus Operation.

This Mass Transit article covers the National Center for Mobility Management (NCMM)'s announcement of nearly $400,000 in competitive grants awarded to 16 communities in order to develop new ways to better connect residents with health care services, as part of FTA's Rides to Wellness initiative.

DOT's Office of Drug & Alcohol Policy & Compliance (ODAPC) recently revised the What Employers Need to Know about DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing Handbook. A summary of changes can be found on the last page of the booklet.

A recent Fast Lane blog post highlights what the transit industry is doing to reduce bus idling by working together.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (a division of HHS) published a Request for Information regarding the use of hair specimens for drug testing. Any notice and final rule issued by HHS may affect the DOT testing program, but only after the DOT conducts its own rulemaking. Click here to view the RFI and to comment by June 29, 2015.

National RTAP has limited scholarships available to speakers only. 

Just a reminder that you can view any of our previous webinars, including our recent GTFS Builder Webinar and our 101 Webinars on Rides to Wellness, Ethics, ADA, Drug and Alcohol Testing, Charter and School Bus Regulations, and Social Media on the Webinars page of our website.