The U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration and partners at the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Education support a range of technical assistance initiatives for coordinating human service transportation. These programs and centers are charged with providing training, resources, and direct assistance to communities and states interested in enhanc¬ing the mobility and transportation options for all citizens, including older adults, individuals with disabilities, and people with lower incomes.

This information was developed to help states and communities build awareness of the various technical assistance programs available to help them improve and coordi¬nate existing transportation resources.

The National Resource Center for Human Service Transportation Coordination National Resource Center for Human Service Transportation Coordination Community Transportation Association of America 1341 G Street, NW, 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20005 1-800-527-8279 http://www.unitedweride.gov/

The fundamental purpose of the National Resource Center (NRC) is to provide states and communities with the support they need to better integrate public transportation services with the services and demands of their human services networks. The NRC is funded through a cooperative agreement with the Federal Transit Administration. Major activities of the NRC include (1) providing United We Ride Coordination Ambassadors in every federal region; (2) maintaining an information clearinghouse; (3) promoting coordination among federal and non-federal technical assistance centers; (4) supporting the National Consortium on the Coordination of Human Services Transportation; (5) delivering training classes and informational sessions; and (6) sponsoring research. The NRC also provides technical assistance to the federal interagency Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility and its member agencies.

National Center on Senior Transportation National Center on Senior Transportation Easter Seals/National Association of Area Agencies on Aging 1425 K Street NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20005 (866)528-528.6278 http://www.seniortransportation.net/

The National Center on Senior Transportation (NCST) is a national training and technical assistance project funded through a cooperative agreement with the Federal Transit Administration and the Administration on Aging. The mis¬sion of the NCST is to increase transportation options for older adults and enhance their ability to live more inde¬pendently within their communities throughout the United States. The NCST has developed various resources, including a toll-free line, website, publications clearinghouse, newslet¬ter, and training and technical assistance, in an effort to increase community mobility for everyone, regardless of age.

 

 

National Rural Transit Assistance Program C/O American Public Works Association National Rural Transit Assistance Program American Public Works Association/Community Transportation Association of America 1401 K ST, NW 11th Floor Washington, DC 20002 1-800-527-8279 http://www.nationalrtap.org

The National Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP) was established by the Federal Transit Administration in 1987 to provide a wide range of professional services and products. National RTAP provides outreach and training to each state RTAP, and coordinates with other organizations involved in rural transit. Products and services are identified, developed, promoted and disseminated through each state’s RTAP manager, who, in turn, can use and reproduce them economically to improve the delivery of local transit services. The National RTAP also works collaboratively with the Community Transportation Association of America to operate a toll-free line, a website, a national peer-to-peer technical assistance network, and to create various presentations and publications and fulfillment services for National RTAP products.

 

Easter Seals Project ACTION 1425 K Street NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20005 1-800.659.6428 or 202.347.3066 http://projectaction.easterseals.com/

Easter Seals Project ACTION (Accessible Community Transportation in Our Nation) is a national technical assistance project funded through a cooperative agreement with the Federal Transit Administration. The mission of Project ACTION is to encourage and facilitate cooperation between the disability and transportation communities, with the goal of achieving universal access to transportation for persons with disabilities nationwide. Project ACTION offers various resources, including a toll-free line, website, publications clearinghouse, and quarterly newsletter, as well as training and technical assistance, in an effort to make the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) work for everyone, everyday.

 

Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Peer-To-Peer Program Federal Highway Administration 400 7th St. Room 3416 Washington, DC 20590 888-700-PEER (7337) www.its.dot.gov/peer

The ITS Peer-to-Peer Program provides assistance through its network of more than 120 U.S. Department of Transportation-approved ITS professionals who have planned, implemented and operated ITS programs in urban and rural areas. Most of the program’s Peers are public sector ITS practitioners—”your peers.” The Peer-to-Peer Program delivers short-term assistance according to your ITS needs. Assistance may include telephone consultations, off-site document reviews, presentations, visits to your site or other appropriate actions. Many customers receive a mix of services delivered by phone, mail and site visit. The program helps metropolitan and rural providers to create solutions for a variety of highway, transit, and motor carrier. interests. The program offers assistance in virtually all areas of ITS planning, design, deployment and operations.

 

National Job Links Employment Transportation Initiative C/O Community Transportation Association of America 341 G St. N.W. 10th Floor Washington, DC 20005 1-800-527-8279 www.ctaa.org

The National Joblinks Employment Transportation Initiative is funded by the U.S. Departments of Transporta¬tion and Labor. Joblinks is designed to help communities overcome transportation barriers preventing individuals with lower incomes from getting and keeping jobs. Joblinks has a national peer-to-peer network that links transportation providers and workforce develop¬ment professionals with experienced practitioners familiar with the human services and workforce development environments, and knowledgeable about client transportation needs. Through Joblinks, communities can receive access to technical assistance and training specialists who pro¬vide solid problem-solving technical support, particularly in the areas of coordinating client transportation resources and operations, marketing, system start-up and financing, human resource management, and developing accessible services. Joblinks also supports an online information center that connects you with employment transportation news, resources and ideas.

 

Multi-State Technical Assistance Program C/O American Assosciation of Highway and Transportation Officials 444 North Capitol Street NW Suite 249 Washington, DC 20001 Tel: (202) 624-3625 Fax: (202) 624-3625 www.transportation.org

The purpose of the Multi-State Technical Assistance Pro¬gram (MTAP) is to provide a forum through which state-level public transportation departments can communicate with each other about federal transit regulations, grant program management, and technical issues pertaining to everyday administration of public transportation service. MTAP was developed to benefit the member states as well as their federal program counterparts and local transit operators. Networking among the states is conducted through two annual meetings, peer-to-peer assistance, conference calls, and electronic communication. Currently, 44 states are members of the MTAP program.

 

National Transit Institute 120 Albany Street 7th Floor New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901 732-932-1700 http://www.ntionline.com/

The National Transit Institute (NTI) at Rutgers University was established in 1992 to conduct training and educational programs related to public transportation. Funded by the Federal Transit Administration, NTI’s mission is to provide training, education, and clearinghouse services in support of public transportation and quality of life in the United States. Training is available to public transporta¬tion agencies, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, state departments of transportation and other agencies providing transportation services. NTI also hosts a clearinghouse for information and assistance. For more than a decade, NTI has developed and delivered training programs of instruction on a broad range of subjects to over 25,000 persons in the transportation industry.

 

Transit Cooperative Research Program C/O American Public Transportation Association 1666 K Street, NW, 11th Floor Washington, DC 20006 202.496.4883 www.tcrponline.org

The Transportation Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) is your ticket to information central. Practical research that yields near term results can do much to help - by solving operational problems, adoptions useful technologies from related industries and, in general, finding ways for public transportation to be innovative. Funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, TCRP is a key instrument for carrying out such useful research. The program places primary emphasis on putting the results in the hands of organizations and individuals that can use them to solve problems. Whether you are a service provider, consultant or supplier, TCRP provides the tools you need to innovate and solve problems in the transportation industry. The information you need is easily accessible through print, web documents, CD ROMS and diskettes. And best of all it's free through the American Public Transportation Association's TCRP Dissemination Center.

 

Rural Passenger and Tribal Passenger Transportation Technical Assistance Programs Community Transportation Association of America 800.527.8279 www.ctaa.org

The Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) administers these two programs to provide transit planning assistance to rural and tribal areas. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the two programs are designed to assist rural and American Indian communities in enhancing economic growth and develop¬ment by improving community transportation services. The programs do not provide funding, but rather, direct planning assistance for facility development, transit service improvements and expansion, new system start-up, policy and procedure development, marketing, transportation coordination, training and public transit problem solving activities.

 

Transportation Planning Capacity Building Peer Program Federal Highway Administration/ Federal Transit Administration 202.366.1944 www.planning.dot.gov

By providing opportunities for sharing solution-based experiences throughout the professional planning community, the Transportation Planning Capacity Building Peer Program seeks to recognize, support, and promote good statewide, metropolitan, and rural transportation planning practices nationwide. Sharing ideas, noteworthy and solution-based experiences between Metropolitan Planning Organizations, regional planning organizations, transit operators, state departments of transportation, and tribal governments not only strengthens transportation planning practices, but also builds relationships and reinforces co¬operation between these agencies. The people who depend on the transportation system ultimately benefit from this peer exchange in the form of a more efficient multi-modal system that provides mobility and access for passengers and freight.