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National RTAP Appoints Three New Review Board Members

National RTAP welcomes the following rural transit operator and two state DOT representatives as new members of the Review Board:
  • Frank Thomas - Transit Manager, Northeast Oregon Public Transit, Community Connection of Northeast Oregon, Inc.
  • Beth Kreider - Director, Office of Local Transit Support, Maryland Transit Administration
  • Curtis Sims, Jr., CSSO - Training, Safety/Security, and RTAP Program Manager, Office of Public Transit, South Carolina Department of Transportation
The new members join eleven sitting members from Mississippi, South Dakota, Georgia, West Virginia, Washington State, Hawaii, Oklahoma, New York, Nevada, Florida, and Minnesota. Learn more about the National RTAP Review Board on our website.
National Aging and Disability Transportation Center Overview Webinar - Recording Now Available

In this webinar, co-directors Carol Wright, of Easter Seals, and Virginia Dize, of n4a, provide an overview of the newest FTA-funded technical assistance center, focusing on the Section 5310 program. NADTC offers training, resources, a hotline, technical assistance, a grant program, and more. Subscribe to their emails by emailing contact@nadtc.org, call them at (866) 983-3222, and check out their website at the end of April at www.nadtc.org!
Federal Transit Administration and US DOT Updates

US DOT's ITS Joint Program Office is hosting a T3 Webinar: Give Your Customers More Mobility Options! Utilizing Technology in Coordinated Human Services Transportation Systems today, April 14 at 1:00-2:30 pm ET. Register now.

Reminder about the Tribal Transit Program Funding Opportunity for $5 million in competitive grants. FTA is holding a webinar April 18th at 2:30-3:30 p.m. ET. No registration is necessary -simply join the webinar. Proposals for funding are due May 13th.

FTA announced $266 million in Section 5339 funding to improve bus service: $211 for Buses and Bus Facilities and $55 million for the Low-No Emissions program. Eligible applicants include direct 5307 recipients, states, and tribes. Join the overview webinar today, April 14 at 2:00 p.m. ET - no registration required. Proposals due May 13th.

FTA announced $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. Read FAQs and register for the webinar April 20th at 3:30-4:30 p.m. ET. Proposals are due 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. Nominations are due by May 15th! The awards will be presented at the 22nd National Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Conference in Asheville, NC October 2-5, 2016.

Interested in learning more about the proposed FTA Award Management Circular? Check out the text, read the FTA's explanation and comment! Comments close on April 29th.
Resources and News

Resources

SWTA released a great How to Submit Comments to the FTA Docket video. In only 10 minutes, Kristen Joyner, SWTA Executive Director, walks you through finding and reading a proposed rule, and how to write a comment to make your voice heard.

News

APTA congratulates Carolyn Flowers on her appointment to lead the FTA. Flowers, who served as FTA Senior Advisor, took over for  Acting Administrator Therese McMillan effective April 2.

A Bureau of Transportation Statistics report finds that more than 65 U.S. cities operate bike share programs. Bike shares can be a great way to bridge the 'last mile' to another type of public transit.

SmartGrowth America and the FTA announced the communities selected for transit-oriented development technical assistance. The program will help communities plan economic development through better zoning, land use, and developing communities near transit.

Opportunities

TRB is soliciting funding proposals for its Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) annual research program. Proposals are due May 1. View the announcement or watch our recent Peer Call about other ways to get involved with TRB research.

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

Publications

TCRP's Better On-Street Bus Stops Synthesis Report 117 explores major issues and successful approaches to address on-street bus stops from both the transit agency and customer's perspectives. 

A pre-publication version of NCHRP Report 829: Leadership Guide for Strategic Information Management for State Departments of Transportation is now available.
April 14th, 2016
Events
US DOT
Utilizing Technology in Coordinated Human Services Transportation
April 14
1:00-2:30pm

FTA
Notice of Funding Opportunity Webinars:

Bus and Bus Facilities and Lo-No Emissions
April 14, 2:00pm

Tribal Transit Program
April 18, 2:30pm

Rides to Wellness
April 20, 3:30pm

NTI
Understanding ADA
April 22
Hartford, CT

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

NTI
Public Involvement in Transportation Decisionmaking
May 10-12
New York, NY

CASTA
Transit Training Conference
May 10-13
Pueblo, CO

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

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
2:00-3:30pm

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

LTAP/TTAP
2016 National Conference
July 18-21
Madison, WI

CTAA
Small Urban Network (SUN) 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
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!
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