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National RTAP 101 Webinar: National Aging and Disability Transportation Center Overview

Join us on a tour of FTA's newest technical assistance center: the National Aging and Disabilities Transportation Center (NADTC). Carol Wright of Easter Seals and Virginia Dize of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) will provide an overview of the services available through the new program.

Compliance with the ADA as well as strategies for working with older adults, people with disabilities, and caregivers in your community will help you achieve your goals of accessible, available transportation for all ages and abilities.

Join us next Wednesday, April 6th from 2:30-3:30pm EDT to learn more about what this new center can do for you!
US DOT's National Transit Map Initiative and New National RTAP GTFS Technical Brief

US DOT announced the National Transit Map initiative to display our national transit infrastructure. The map is built using general transit feed specification (GTFS) data, the same data that Google Maps and other trip planning apps use.

Don't have your route and schedule data in GTFS? Check out National RTAP's new Why GTFS? Technical Brief, or dive right in with our free GTFS Builder software!
Federal Transit Administration and US DOT Updates

DOT announced $266 million in Section 5339 funding to improve bus service: $211 for Buses and Bus Facilities and $55 million for the Low-No Emission program. Eligible applicants include direct 5307 recipients, states, and tribes. Read the Press Release and the Notice of Funding to learn more. The deadline is May 13th. A webinar about the grants will be held April 14 from 2-3:30 p.m. ET - register here.

FTA announced a Notice of Funding for $5.3 million in Rides to Wellness Demonstration and Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility Grants. Proposers must be states, tribes, or designated/direct 5311, 5310, or 5307 recipients and must be the lead agency of a local consortium of stakeholders from transportation, healthcare, human service or other sectors. The deadline is May 31st.

The FTA invites nominations from rural transit systems to be considered for the 2016 FTA Administrator's Award for Outstanding Public Service in Rural Public Transportation. The awards will be presented at the 22nd National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference in Asheville, NC October 2-5, 2016.

Reminder about the Tribal Transit Program Funding Opportunity for $5 million in competitive grants. Proposals are due May 13th.

Reminder that comments on FTA's proposed Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan and National Public Transportation Safety Plan are due April 5th. Comment on the Agency Safety Plan NPRM here or the proposed National Safety Plan here.
Resources and News

Publications

TCRP Synthesis 121: Transit Agency Practices in Interacting with People Who Are Homeless reviews policies and procedures in place within the transit community.

The Build America Transportation Investment Center (BATIC) published a report on successful practices for public-private partnerships. Check out the Fastlane Blog post, or BATIC's site

Opportunities

NCMM is offering a Transportation Connections for Youth to Summer Food Programs webinar on April 4, 2:00 p.m. ET. Each year, millions of children eligible for federally funded summer meals go hungry because they lack transportation to the meal sites. This webinar will focus on strategies for transportation and mobility management professionals to help solve this problem. 

Registration for the 19th Annual National Tribal Transportation Conference is now open! Visit the NTTC site for information and to register. 

Join the National Center for Rural Road Safety on April 28th for Crash Risk Factors for Low-Volume Roads: an ODOT Case Study, a free webinar from 1:00-2:30pm ET.

Resources

NTI's website has a collection of Pocket Guides on topics including emergency management, system security for bus operations, and bus maintenance. 
Have you used the Marketing Transit Toolkit templates, photos, or graphics?  

Our newest toolkit was launched in October. It was designed to help small systems develop or enhance marketing plans and implement various strategies. If you haven't checked it out yet, the  Marketing Toolkit is available online.

 

We want to hear success stories or see materials created using the tools, especially the templates. Please send examples to etaylor@nationalrtap.org and let us know if we can show them on our website or during presentations!
March 31st, 2016
Events
NCMM
Rides to Meals
April 4
2:00 EST

National RTAP
101 Webinars: NADTC
April 6
2:30-3:30pm

FTA
State Safety Oversight Final Rule Webinar
April 12
2:00-3:30 EDT

ESPA
ADA Reasonable Modification
April 13
2:00-3:30 EST

NTI
Understanding ADA
April 22
Hartford, CT

NTI
Financial Planning in Transportation
May 2-4
Chicago, IL

CASTA
Transit Training Conference
May 10-13th
Pueblo, CO

NTI
Public Involvement in Transportation Decisionmaking
May 10-12

National RTAP
Peer Call: Procurement
May 18
2:30-3:30

CTAA
2016 Expo
May 22-27
Portland, OR

NTI
TCRP Report 169: Developing Best-Practice Guidelines for Improving Bus Operator Health and Retention
June 7
2:00-3:30 EST

NADO
National Regional Transportation Conference
June 13-15
Chattanooga, TN
Conference

CTAA
SUN 2016 Conference 
Denver, CO
August 10-12
Conference

TRB
National Conference on Rural Public and Intercity Bus
October 2-5
Asheville, NC

For a listing of all National RTAP and other national events, view our Calendar. If you'd like to submit an event, please email info@nationalrtap.org.

All event times listed as Eastern Time
Resource Spotlight
Make safety a priority for your drivers every day. Keep our 2 The Point Training cards in your break room and incorporate them into your regular refresher training program. 

These cards are quick and easy ways for drivers to brush up on topics from customer service to defensive driving to ADA sensitivity. Read more on our website for ways to use the cards!
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.: 50 F Street NW, Suite 7020, Washington, DC 20001