Small Urban and Rural Center on Mobility

Posts categorized under "Training"

Upcoming Course: Implementing Rural Transit Technology

The National Transit Institute (NTI) and SURTC are conducting a two-day course on implementing rural transit technology, October 25-26 in Fargo, ND. The course presents a structured approach for planning, implementing, and evaluating rural transit projects to help ensure that agency needs and expectations are met. Click below for more information or to register:

John Maxwell Leadership Training Being Conducted

Several of the John Maxwell leadership courses are now being offered by SURTC. Dr. John Maxwell is a highly acclaimed leadership speaker and author, having written nearly 80 books, and Dr. Jill Hough, SURTC director, is now a certified John Maxwell speaker, trainer, and coach. Dr. Hough is offering seven of his leadership courses, including "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership," "15 Invaluable Laws of Growth," and others. More information about these courses and other training opportunities currently being offered by SURTC are available on the SURTC website.

Transit ITS Seminar in Pasadena

The National Transit Institute (NTI) is hosting a Transit ITS Seminar on April 14-15 in Pasadena, California. This introductory-level seminar is geared for transit professionals, which include planners, engineers, operators, and individuals employed by MPOs, DOTs, and transportation agencies that will be involved in the planning, implementation, and ongoing management of transit data. The goal of the workshop is to discuss and discover best practices in data management for transit ridership and for open source data, for internal agency consumption and external partner usage. Rob Lynch, SURTC training coordinator, and Mohammad Smadi, associate research fellow with the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, will be teaching the class. To register or find more information, go to the NTI website.

Webinar: Ethics in Transit Decision-Making

Jill Hough, SURTC director, will be conducting a webinar titled "Ethics in Transit Decision-Making" on March 18 at 2:00 p.m. central time. The webinar, which is being hosted by the National Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP), will examine various decision-making tests for ethics, while exploring this hot topic in transit. Register for the webinar at the following link: 101 Webinar: Ethics in Transit Decision-Making.

Transit ITS Seminar

The National Transit Institute is hosting a Transit ITS Seminar on March 4-5 in Salt Lake City, Utah. This introductory-level seminar is geared for transit professionals, which include planners, engineers, operators, and individuals employed by MPOs, DOTs, and transportation agencies that will be involved in the planning, implementation, and ongoing management of transit data. The goal of the workshop is to discuss and discover best practices in data management for transit ridership and for open source data, for internal agency consumption and external partner usage. See the link below for more information.

UPDATE: The seminar in Salt Lake City has been cancelled due to not having enough participants.

FTA 101 – Online Course

FTA 101 is a new online course designed to educate public transportation staff about federal programs, grant management, and the functions of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).  SURTC developed the course for AASHTO's Multi-State Technical Assistance Program (MTAP). FTA 101 is free, and it provides an easy-to-follow curriculum that serves to inform or refresh new or seasoned staff on the role of the FTA in public transit. The course takes less than two hours to complete and can be paused between chapters.

SURTC at CTAA EXPO

SURTC staff will be participating in this year's Community Transportation EXPO, being held June 8-13 in St. Paul, MN. Jill Hough, SURTC director, will be presenting "Ethics in Decision Making," and SURTC researcher Del Peterson will be presenting results from a recent study on veterans transportation. Details about their presentations are below:

Speaker: Jill Hough
Presentation title: Ethics in Decision Making
Session: Professional Development Leadership Sessions
Date and time: Wed. June 11, 3:15 pm
Location: RiverCentre, Meeting Room 2

Speaker: Del Peterson
Presentation title: Improving Veteran Mobility in Small Urban and Rural Areas
Session: Veterans Mobility: How VTCLI Has Helped Us Serve our Veterans
Date and time: Wed. June 11, 3:15 pm
Location: RiverCentre, Meeting Room 12

SURTC will also have a booth at the EXPO. Stop by our booth and visit with Rob Lynch, SURTC's training coordinator, and other SURTC staff. Summaries of recent research projects and other SURTC material will be available.

Upcoming Transit ITS Workshop on Data Management

SURTC director Dr. Jill Hough will be facilitating an upcoming Transit ITS Workshop focusing on data management. This workshop is being conducted by the National Transit Institute and will be held July 9-10 in Newark, NJ. The goal of the workshop is to discuss and discover best practices in data management for transit ridership and for open source data, for internal agency consumption and external partner usage.

The workshop will convene three expert panels that will examine "Management of Ridership Data" and "Management of Open Source Data" and will conclude with a roundtable discussion on "Data Management Best Practices." The keynote speaker will be John Inglish, former general manager of the Utah Transit Authority. Additionally, two tour options will provide attendees with access to a special tour of NJ Transit's Newark-Penn Station and the Newark Light Rail Line and Maintenance Facility.

For more details and to register, click on the following link: Transit ITS Workshop – Data Management

Rob Lynch Joins SURTC as Training Coordinator

Rob Lynch joined the Small Urban and Rural Transit Center (SURTC) in January, 2014, as its new training coordinator. Most recently, Rob held the position of transportation manager for North Dakota State University (NDSU), where he managed transit, parking, bicycle, and pedestrian functions for a growing campus community of over 16,000. Rob is a member of the Metro Area Transit Coordinating Board for Fargo, ND, and Moorhead, MN, and serves on many local transportation and corridor study groups. Prior to this, he managed two non-profit organizations and worked in the hospitality industry for over 25 years. During this period, he developed and conducted specialized management and team training for two national restaurant chains. Rob was elected to the Fargo City Commission in 2000 and served as chairman of the city’s Parking Commission, Transportation Technical Committee and the Fargo/Cass Board of Health. Rob is a graduate of NDSU earning a B.U.S. in emergency management and industrial engineering. He can be reached at rob.lynch@ndsu.edu.

Participation at Louisiana Public Transit Conference

Keven Anderson, coordinator of training and outreach, and researcher Jeremy Mattson are participating in the 2013 Louisiana Public Transit Conference in New Orleans, LA, Nov. 20-22.

Anderson is conducting a session on succession planning and mentoring. Many of the transit managers currently in the industry are at or near retirement age, and most systems have no plans for future managers. In his presentation, Anderson will discuss how to run your transit system as a business and how to grow your current employees through mentor programs to take on more responsibility and continue to grow.

Mattson is giving a presentation on the use of alternative fuels and hybrid vehicles by small urban and rural transit systems. His presentation will be based on a previous study he conducted which involved a survey of small urban and rural transit operators. This research examined the use of alternative fuels and hybrids by these agencies, satisfaction with these alternatives, problems encountered, reasons for adoption, and deterrents, both perceived and real. Click here to access the report.