1 of 22

How National RTAP Helps Create Sustainable Transit Projects

Robin Phillips and Cara Marcus

February 27, 2024

U.S. Department of Transportation

2 of 22

National Rural Transit Assistance Program

  • Technical assistance center funded by FTA through Section 5311 since 1987
  • Free training materials and technical assistance products and services for rural and tribal transit providers and State RTAPs
  • National RTAP offices are in MA and DC, with some remote staff
  • Review Board – State DOT officials and rural and tribal transit agency staff
  • Learn more at nationalrtap.org

3 of 22

National RTAP Products and Services

  • Technical Assistance
  • Information
  • Training
  • Toolkits
  • Technology Tools

​

3

nationalrtap.org

4 of 22

National RTAP Products and Services

4

5 of 22

Technical Assistance

  • Reference services – for questions or a template or example
  • Peer Assistance
    • Online Forums
    • Roundtables on Zoom
    • Twitter/X Chats
    • Peer Mentoring
  • National RTAP Conferences
  • Participation in national, state, and regional conferences
  • Direct Technical Assistance – evaluated upon request

5

6 of 22

6

News you can use!

  • eNews - biweekly newsletter (email or online)
  • Contains news, opportunities and useful� information from nearly 200 sites and� newsletters
  • National RTAP news, resources, events
  • Industry webinars, conferences, trainings
  • FTA and U.S. DOT updates
  • Industry publications
  • Funding opportunities

​

​

​

7 of 22

National RTAP Resource Library�

  • Free, quality technical assistance and training materials that are rural and tribal transit focused
  • National RTAP resources
      • Training modules (hard-copy and eLearning)
      • Technical briefs
      • Best practices articles
      • Toolkits
      • Technology tools
      • Webinars
  • Relevant resources by other organizations

8 of 22

Shipping Center

9 of 22

National RTAP Training Modules

  • 2 the Point Training
  • Active Shooter Training
  • Customer Service Excellence
  • Dispatching and Scheduling
  • Essential Spanish
  • Essential Skills for Trainers
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Fundamental Financial Management
  • Problem Passengers
  • Reasonable Suspicion for Supervisors
  • Safety Training and Rural Transit (START)
  • Substance Abuse Awareness for Safety Sensitive Employees
  • Top Shops: Emergency Management in Facilities

9

10 of 22

TACL: The Transportation Technical Assistance Coordination Library

The Transportation Technical Assistance Coordination Library (TACL) provides a sustainable methodology and platform to access rural and tribal transportation coordination resources across a diverse range of transportation technical assistance centers and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

​

The FTA-funded technical assistance centers participating in this ongoing work with links to their coordination resources are:

http://transportation-tacl.org

​

11 of 22

11

National RTAP eLearning

To access National RTAP eLearning, a learning management system (LMS), go to:

​

elearning.nationalrtap.org

​

If you have questions, email: elearning@nationalrtap.org

12 of 22

Courses Available

National RTAP:

  • 2 the Point Training
  • Active Shooter Trainings (Operations, Management)
  • ADA Driver Training
  • Delivering and Managing for Excellent Customer Service
  • Dispatching and Scheduling
  • Emergency Procedures for Rural Transit Drivers
  • Problem Passengers: Managing Difficult Passengers & Situations
  • Reasonable Suspicion Training for Supervisors
  • START Online - Safety Training and Rural Transit
  • Substance Abuse Awareness Training for Safety Sensitive Employees
  • Succession Planning 101
  • Top Shops: Emergency Management in Maintenance Facilities

​

National Aging and Disability Transportation Center:

  • Cost Allocation Meets Coordination: A Mini-Course for Human Services Transportation Providers

​

Other Partner Organizations:

  • COVID-19 Safety for Frontline Transit Employees (NJ Transit)
  • FTA Title VI Program Requirements for FTA Grantees
  • Learn about TACL: The Transportation Technical Assistance Coordination Library
  • Transit and Human Trafficking: Busing on the Lookout
  • Wheelchair Securement and Lifts Training Videos

​

Small Urban and Rural Center on Mobility:

  • Crisis Management for Rural and Tribal Transit Providers
  • Customer Service for Rural and Tribal Transit Providers
  • FTA 101: An Introduction to the Federal Transit Administration
  • Grant Writing for Rural and Tribal Transit Providers
  • Financial Management Short - The Basics
  • HR Training Shorts: Onboarding, Interview Questions, Performance Appraisals, Employee Recognition

13 of 22

Toolkits

  • ADA
  • Bus Roadeo
  • Find Anything
  • Marketing
  • State RTAP Manager’s
  • Transit Manager’s – We’re building a new Tribal Transit section

14 of 22

Technology Tools

  • Cost Allocation Calculator
  • GTFS Builder
  • ProcurementPRO
  • Website Builder
  • Coming soon: RideSheet

14

15 of 22

What’s New (and updated) in the Resource Library?

Tech Briefs, Training Modules and Spotlights

    • Responding to Transit Incidents
    • Interlining
    • Oversized Wheeled Mobility Devices
    • Contracting with Private Providers
    • Seasonal Flu and Healthy Habits
    • Copyright
    • Social Media and Driving Your Online Presence
    • DBE
    • Developing Effective Policies and Procedures
    • Volunteers in Transportation
    • Training Adult Learners

Future Goals

    • Tribal Pages for Transit Manager’s Toolkit underway
    • ADA Toolkit Update will start in 2024
    • Updates to John Martin Series
    • TACL Enhancements from Usability Study
    • Update to Transportation Coordination
    • New Resource Share!

16 of 22

A Framework for Change 

  • Partners: Assessing Needs and Dreaming
  • Build a list of Projects that support achieving the dream
  • Identify the gaps and resources in your community or region
  • Creating Visibility and Change Utilizing Existing Resources
  • Funding: You are not alone
  • They did it and so can you

16

17 of 22

Background: Understanding Key Relationships

  • Improving transportation
    • Supply Partners: Providers
    • Demand Partners: Market Segments
    • Effective Forums: Planning, Board Meetings
  • What tools and resources are available to assist community programs interested in increasing access to healthy food, medical and social services and activities?

17

Steps you can take in your community

18 of 22

Strategies for Partnering with Transit: Plan, Plan, Plan

  • Bring Transit to the table early and often
    • Economic Development, Employers, Tourism, Social and Community Services
    • Medical Treatment and Recovery Services 
    • Engage in Transit Community Outreach Process
  • Assess your residents’ needs and determine existing transit service gaps
    • Work with your partners in the community to create the larger mobility needs picture
    • Get your partners nto the weeds: how did the person get to their current appointment and 
    • Build feedback loops into customer and user interactions
  • Leverage your funding resources and plan ahead
    • Transit moves people for a living and manages a complex regulatory framework
    • At every phase of community planning- add transportation as a cost item for providing treatment, getting to work, accessing recreation, participating in community activities.
    • Prepare and plan to coordinate with transit partners- know your program’s transportation needs

18

19 of 22

Funding: You are not alone

  • Who is on your Board? Are they the people you need to support the service?
  • Where are the gaps in service you have identified in your plans?
  • Did you make the plans with your potential partners?
  • Resources
    • Grant Programs through FTA, USDA, FHWA, HUD, RCORP, CDC (HOP, REACH)
    • Bricks and Mortar: CVB’s, Libraries, Grocery Stores, State Parks, County Parks, Industrial Parks, Large employers.
    • Public Committees for transit: They make prioritization decisions, Who are the demand partners in your region? Are they at the table?
    • Match: Do you have a skill or time you are donating to the transit?  Your time translates into dollars per/hour operational match.  If you are doing something the transit would otherwise have needed to contract out or pay to have done: marketing, drivers, coordinating a fundraising campaign, etc.

19

20 of 22

They Did It So Can You

  • Bettye Scott, South Carolina: Champion in her community lead a successful campaign to get dedicated funding for transit and start a program in her town.
  • Sheila Blalock, Mitchell County Transportation. Pine Line: New fixed route in an area with only demand response during limited weekday hours, to increase mobility and access and prevent people from having to walk long distances on a dangerous highway. Collaborators include the city and county, a health-focused non-profit, and a large local employer. 
  • Kayak Public Transit: Created a regional connector network to feed a tribal industrial park and provide access throughout the ceded lands of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla. Lead efforts to build regional consensus coordinated service development
  • Burns Paiute Tribal Transit: One vehicle and small route deviated service on the Burns Paiute Reservation to Burns/Haines grocery, medical, and other services.

20

21 of 22

Questions?

22 of 22

Thank You!

National Rural Transit Assistance Program

nationalrtap.org | 888-589-6821 | info@nationalrtap.org

Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn & Instagram

​

7

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Transit Administration