Archive for March 2012

Call for Papers: Special Rural and Intercity Bus Edition of the Journal of Public Transportation

Mar 28, 2012 / 0 Comments

Papers offering contributions in the area of rural and intercity bus are being solicited for submission for a special issue of the Journal of Public Transportation, with support from the USF Center for Urban Transportation and NDSU Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute’s (UGPTI) Small Urban & Rural Transit Center (SURTC). This special edition of JPT will be made available at the 20th National Conference on Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation in Salt Lake City, Utah, October 14-17, 2012.

The deadline for submission is April 27, 2012. See the Call for Papers for more details.

Uncategorized
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SURTC to Conduct Webcast of Metro COG Public Input Meeting

Mar 27, 2012 / 0 Comments

SURTC will conduct a webcast of a public input meeting hosted by the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments (Metro COG) on March 27. The meeting is regarding a current study of the Trunk Highway 75/Trunk Highway 10/Center Avenue corridor in Moorhead and Dilworth. The meeting and the webcast will run from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Click here to attend the live webcast.

SURTC is conducting the webcast as part of a project to test the use of technologies such as webcasts, smartphones, online surveys, and social media for increasing public participation in transportation planning.

Research
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CUTR Webcast Series: SURTC Presenting Transit, Technology & Public Participation

Mar 23, 2012 / 0 Comments

SURTC researchers Jeremy Mattson and Del Peterson will be presenting findings from their Transit, Technology & Public Participation Study during a webcast Thursday April 5th at 11am CDT.

The Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) will be hosting the presentation as part of their online webcast series.

The objective of this project was to evaluate the benefits of employing an integrated system of technologies and practices to improve public participation in the public transportation planning process. A demonstration project was developed in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area addressing the issues of limited agency resources, individual participation barriers, and the technology divide, among others. A combination of on-vehicle rider surveys, transit-oriented social networks, electronic transportation surveys, and public meeting webcasts were designed to mitigate these issues. For more information the project website can be found here.

Events, Research
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Transit Roundup: Funding Opportunities, Transportation Legislation, and Ridership Increases

Mar 19, 2012 / 0 Comments
  • The U.S. DOT announced the availability of $15 million under the FTA’s Tribal Transit Program. Proposals must be submitted by May 10, 2012. (FTA Press Release)
  • U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood wrote in his blog Fast Lane about the importance of FTA grants to transit systems in small communities.
  • The U.S. Senate, last week, passed its version of surface transportation legislation (see reactions from APTA and AASHTO), but the House’s bill is not expected to reach the floor until after the current legislation expires on March 31 (Politico, The Hill), so Congress will now focus on extending SAFETEA-LU (Transportation Issues Daily). Transportation for America conducted some detailed analysis comparing the Senate and House bills.
  • APTA released its ridership report last week for 2011, showing a 2.3% increase from 2010. The largest growth was in rural and small urban communities. Ridership increased 5.4% in communities with population under 100,000. (APTA Press Release)
Transit Industry News

Dr. Hough Quoted in NPR Story on Gas Prices and Rural Transit

Mar 16, 2012 / 0 Comments

SURTC Director Dr. Jill Hough was quoted in this story from National Public Radio on the impact of higher gas prices on rural transit: Gas Prices Force More People To Take Rural Transit.

Uncategorized
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SURTC Participating at TRF

Mar 12, 2012 / 0 Comments

SURTC will be represented at the upcoming 53rd Annual Transportation Research Forum in Tampa, FL. Del Peterson will present his Ride or Relocate study which highlighted senior transportation and housing options in North Dakota.

Events, Research

Tribal Transit: Principles of Transit Management Course to be Held in Rapid City – Register Now

Mar 9, 2012 / 0 Comments

Registration is open for the Tribal Transit: Principles of Transit Management course to be held April 10-12, 2012 at the Ramkota Hotel in Rapid City, SD. The course will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. The cost is $325 per participant, and the deadline for registration is April 5. Class size is limited to 35 participants.

Training is being held in conjunction with the 2012 Tribal/BIA Transportation Conference. Continuing Education Credits are being provided by United Tribes Technical College at no charge.

Click here for registration and hotel information.

The instructors for the course are Carol Wright and Keven Anderson of SURTC. Tribal Transit:  Principles of Transit Management is an intensive three-day course developed by SURTC that covers virtually all aspects of transit and paratransit management for operators of tribal transit programs across the country.  This course is based on our popular Principles of Transit Management course which has been taught across the country over the past three years, but it has been specifically modified to address the unique perspective of tribal transit operations.  Particular attention has been placed on tribal governance, financial management, human resource management and procurement, since many of these issues vary even among various tribal entities.  This course is directed toward experienced managers and those who are relatively new to their positions, as well as front-line supervisors and those who are in a position to assist transit managers. It also provides extensive take-home resource materials.

Training
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Webinar: Tribal Transit & Prospects for Future Funding

Mar 8, 2012 / 0 Comments

SURTC is sponsoring a free webinar March 28 on tribal transit and prospects for future funding. Pre-registration is required. Details are shown below.

Title:  Tribal Transit and Prospects for Future Funding
Date and Time: Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 1:00 pm Central Time
Duration: 1 hour
Cost: Free

Overview

What is the status of the tribal transit industry?
How has it grown?
How has it performed?
What are its funding needs?
What are the prospects for future funding?

Presenters

Kelly Shawn – Community Transportation Association of America
Jon Mielke – Small Urban & Rural Transit Center
Jim Glaze – Partner, Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Endreson & Perry, LLP

Sponsors

Small Urban & Rural Transit Center
Community Transportation Association of America
Northern Plains Tribal Technical Assistance Program

To register

Go to http://www.instantpresenter.com/PIID=EA55DD86874F

The entire registration process takes less than a minute.  You will receive an e-mail confirmation once you have registered.

Participants will use their computer’s speakers to hear webinar presentations – there is not an access number to dial into. Questions may be asked through the chat feature of the webinar service.

Questions

Contact Jon Mielke at jon.mielke@ndsu.edu if you have content questions about the webinar and Denise Brown at denise.brown.1@ndsu.edu if you have technical questions.

Please pre-register by Friday, March 23

Events
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