AP055 Committee Updates

TRB '25 Posters

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 19:26:07 GMT

Poster Session 2053

Rural and Demand Response Transit

This session explored innovative strategies for enhancing user satisfaction and equity in transit systems. Insights provided by presentations in this session can offer valuable guidance for transit planners and policymaker.

Five posters visually summarizes the detailed research findings of corresponding research papers, available to Annual Meeting registrants via the online program.

The posters are available in the Public Files in our Google Drive.

TRB '25 Microtransit Workshop

trbap055@gmail.com (Jonathan Brooks) — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 19:07:44 GMT

WORKSHOP:

Enhancing Suburban, Rural, Tribal, and Island Mobility: The Role of Microtransit, Mobility Hubs, Placemaking, and Emerging Innovations

Google Drive - Folder

Open an online folder to view all workshop materials: FOLDER WITH MATERIALS .

Workshop Purpose

This workshop will delve into the potential of on-demand microtransit, mobility hubs, and other transit innovations to enhance mobility in suburban, rural, tribal, and island communities. It will cover opportunities, challenges, emerging practices, and innovative approaches. Additionally, the workshop will discuss operational models, funding, and policy considerations.

Learning Objectives

Introduce key terms and use cases for microtransit in varying non-urban environments
Explore current challenges within the on-demand microtransit industry
Collaborate with peer planners to workshop potential solutions and industry practices
Introduce key terms and considerations for placemaking and intermodal mobility hubs
Learn from examples of recent efforts to combine placemaking with mobility
Participate in a design charrette to apply material alongside peers from the U.S. and abroad

Sponsoring Committees

We encourage you join a meeting associated with one of our supporting committees:

Primary Sponsoring Committee

Standing Committee on Rural, Intercity Bus, and Specialized Transportation (AP055)

Co-Sponsoring Committees

Standing Committee on Passenger Intermodal Facilities (AP045)

Standing Committee on Innovative Public Transportation Services and Technologies (AP020)

Rural Transportation Issues Coordinating Council (RTICC/A0040C)

Standing Committee on Ferry Transportation (AW050)

Standing Committee on Pedestrians (ACH10)

International Coordinating Council (ICC/A0020C)

Other Supportive Committees

Standing Committee on Accessible Transportation and Mobility (AME50)

2024 Mid-year Meeting Minutes

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 19:28:25 GMT

Meeting minutes available now

Thank you to everyone who joined the meeting on August 20th. The meeting minutes are in the corresponding folder in our shared files, link on the "Resources" page, and also linked directly here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NUd6dIgBHWLSpMFH8N4eSsigFJf0Ebp5iDJo_KjT7-0/edit?usp=sharing

TCRP - Your Insight Needed

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 13:56:52 GMT

Members and Friends,

Below is another opportunity to make sure rural public, intercity bus, or paratransit expertise informs upcoming TCRP synthesis panels. A TCRP Synthesis study is usually a year long, or less, and scans existing practices to assemble information in an industry-friendly format.

TCRP Synthesis Panel Submissions

TCRP is seeking nominations for panel members for seven (7) new synthesis topics (see below). The due date is August 30, 2024.

This time, if you are interested, please submit your name via the Online Panel Nominations in MyTRB.

The new project numbers, titles, and preliminary scopes of work are available at this link: TCRP Synthesis FY 2024 Topics . Note that the last one specifically calls out rural but rural should be represented in all of the synthesis.

TCRP J-07/Topic SA-63: How Transit Operator Health and Wellbeing Affects Workforce Strength
TCRP J-07/Topic SA-64: Transit Scheduling and Dispatch Practice that Increase Operator Quality of Life
TCRP J-07/Topic SB-43: Transit Agency Responses to Serving Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities on ADA Paratransit
TCRP J-07/Topic SB-44: The State of Art in Transit
TCRP J-07/Topic SB-45: Synthesis of Transit Agency Customer Experience Programs
TCRP J-07/Topic SE-08: Defining and Measuring “State of Good Repair” for Public Transit Assets and Infrastructure
TCRP J-07/Topic SH-25: Building Safe, Quality Access to Bus Stops for Rural and Exurban Communities

TCRP Synthesis PI's

Additionally, they are seeking principal investigators for seven (7) new synthesis topics. Fixed fee is $55,000. If you are interested, a two-page cover letter and professional resume or CV are required to formally express interest in authoring a topic. and can be submitted here: Letters of Interest Submission Portal .

Mid-year committee meeting August 20, 2024

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 21:47:07 GMT

The AP055 mid-year committee meeting will be on Tuesday, 20 August, from 10-11:30 AM Central Time via Zoom. Everyone is welcome to participate.

A calendar hold with Zoom details will be sent separately to committee members and friends. Register as a friend of the committee on Zoom to get meeting notifications
Additional meetings may be organized in the fall by the Paratransit or Intercity Bus Subcommittees, or by our illustrious research coordinators (thank you Krista and Will)

AP055 to cosponsor the National RTAP 6th Biennial Conference for Rural, Tribal, and Intercity Bus in November 2025

trbap055@gmail.com (Jonathan Brooks) — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 21:44:03 GMT

We are pleased to announce that, as of 24 June 2024, the TRB Executive Committee approved our committee’s request to cosponsor the National RTAP 6th Biennial Training, Technical Assistance, and Research Conference for Rural, Tribal, and Intercity Bus – to be held October-November 2025. Our committee’s primary role will be to support RTAP to solicit, select, and organize breakout session content. Some readers may be less aware of the long history of Rural and Intercity Bus Conferences (i.e., RIBTC): 1st held in 1976 in Greensboro, North Carolina; 24th, most recent, held virtually in October 2021; and the 2025 cosponsor conference will mark the 25th iteration. As plans formalize we will solicit for committee member and friends interested in helping develop and facilitate conference content. Details forthcoming.

Microtransit - Innovation in Rural Mobility - TRB Webinar by AP055

trbap055@gmail.com (Jonathan Brooks) — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 20:42:58 GMT

Microtransit is increasingly normalized in urban areas but is still a relatively new model for services in rural context.

Rural communities seek ways to expand affordable travel options for residents and possess challenging, disparate community characteristics which may pose a challenge to sustaining traditional fixed route transit. TRB will host a webinar on Thursday, October 20, 2022 from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM Eastern that will explore this innovative solution to help move residents more efficiently and effectively. Presenters will share experiences from several agencies that are currently implementing microtransit

APO55 in COMTO's Accelerate

trbap055@gmail.com (Jonathan Brooks) — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 14:34:25 GMT

We are in COMTO's Annual Magazine

TRB supports the work of COMTO as a leading voice for equity in transportation, specifically by resourcing minority race/ethnicity transportation professionals. APO55 responded to their invitation to provide an article for the Accelerate magazine's summer 2022 issue. We write about how the work of our two groups is related and invite COMTO members whose work coincides to dive into helping guide research.

Our article is found on pages 51-52, but of course you should also check out the rest of the issue:

https://issuu.com/comto/docs/accelerate_spring_2022

AP055 Mid-Year Committee Meeting

trbap055@gmail.com (Jonathan Brooks) — Fri, 15 Jul 2022 21:17:41 GMT

Join us on August 9, 2022 for a virtual meeting

We hope you are available to join us on August 9 ^th from 1-3 p.m. U.S. Central Time for our AP055 Rural, Intercity Bus and Specialized Transportation Standing Committee's virtual meeting. The link to the meeting agenda, which is a work-in-progress, is below. Please let Jill Hough (jill.hough@ndsu.edu) or Jonathan Brooks (jonathanbrooks@linkhouston.org) know if you have something that you want to add to the agenda.

DRAFT Agenda: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13nIXNII7kj4rbF8S05lcB1mJai6hkYcI3qFFIitIwBg/edit?usp=sharing

Chaddick Institute's Routes to Recovery 2022

trbap055@gmail.com (Jonathan Brooks) — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 16:33:53 GMT

2022 Intercity Bus Report...

Routes to Recovery --designed for easy browsing--features timely analysis, major initiatives sorted by region , and bold prognostications. You’ll be surprised how much is happening in the sector, which has long been known for Greyhound, Megabus, Peter Pan, and other carriers. Among the highlights:

Expansion by RedCoach, FlixBus, Salt Lake Express, and Tufesa, in response to the continuing recovery in customer demand and the permanent shutdown of BoltBus.
Important new services on state-supported routes, including Coach USA, Bustang, Greyhound, and Virginia Breeze offerings.
The rollout of new first- and business-class services by The Jet, Rapid Overland Express, and RedCoach
The return of most--but not all—of the pre-pandemic services plus a prediction that traffic will reach three-quarters pre-pandemic levels this summer and made further gains in 2024.

Please share Routes to Recovery (17 pages, free download) with your colleagues and friends. Check out today's coverage in Metro and BusRide :

Also, join us for our free, one-hour webinar featuring study highlights at noon CT on April 14, 2022. To register, click here .

Joseph Schwieterman, Abby Mader, and Allison Woodward

Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development, DePaul University

TRB 2022 - Minutes & Files

trbap055@gmail.com (Jonathan Brooks) — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 20:56:03 GMT

TRB 2022 - Links to Files and Minutes

AP055 held three in-person committee meetings during TRB's 2022 Annual Meeting:

The Subcommittee on Paratransit met Monday morning
The Subcommittee on Intercity Bus Transportation met Monday afternoon
The Standing Committee met Tuesday afternoon

The on-going COVID-19 pandemic meant many of committee members and friends were unable to safely participate in-person. Participation in meetings was lighter than normal. The conversations turned to current challenges, research needs, and updates on various activities (such as Transit Cooperative Research Program).

Minutes and various relevant files are available in the committee's shared files: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1W0SKRPyAYwg3wgYk4q4Pv7CapC90M3UA?usp=sharing .

TRB 2022 - Poster Session a Success

trbap055@gmail.com (Jonathan Brooks) — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 20:47:17 GMT

COVID-19 and More: Examinations of Intercity, Rural Public, and Paratransit Bus Today

AP055 invited several researchers to present their research in a poster - and most were able to be present in-person. Many people wandered through to speak with the researchers' about their work. Learn more about each of the papers or posters here: https://annualmeeting.mytrb.org/OnlineProgram/Details/17286 .

RIBTC 2021 - Recordings Available

trbap055@gmail.com (Jonathan Brooks) — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 19:12:55 GMT

Thank you for attending the virtual 24th National Conference on Rural Public & Intercity Bus Transportation

Session recordings are now available on the virtual event platform for persons who registered for the conference.

Click here to log in as you did during the event (be entering your registration email address)
You will receive an email from noreply@secure-platform.com .
Click the unique URL in the email to access the meeting.
Browse the sessions on the "Sessions" tab to view the recordings.

Recordings will be available until October 2022.

Propose New Topics for the FY 2023 NCHRP Synthesis Program

trbap055@gmail.com (Jonathan Brooks) — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 18:00:57 GMT

Got an idea with national implications and support from State DOT leaders?

You are invited to propose a new NCHRP Synthesis topic. Upload your synthesis topic statement in a Word document to the NCHRP Synthesis Topic Submission Portal by February 17, 2022. An outline to guide you in creating your synthesis topic statement is available here: Synthesis Topic Outline .

A synthesis study documents current practice for specific highway topics. The following factors are considered in the selection of a synthesis topic:

The objective of the scope of work is to document current highway practice in state departments of transportation (DOTs);
The synthesis documents current practice not best practice; it is not a research project or a guidebook;
The topic addresses an area of practice that is widespread and of general interest to state DOTs; and
The topic should be timely and critical for expediting delivery, improving the quality, or lowering the cost of highway programs.

New topics will be selected in May 2022 and will be posted on the NCHRP website.

https://www.trb.org/NCHRP/NCHRP.aspx

Call for Abstracts - TRANSED 2022

trbap055@gmail.com (Jonathan Brooks) — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 17:57:21 GMT

Call for Abstracts - Papers, Slideshows, and Posters - Deadline extended to 1 March 2022

Abstracts can be submitted for presentations at the TRANSED-DRT 2022 conference as a paper, poster and/or slideshow. The abstract deadline has been extended to 1 March 2022. Abstracts may cover core research, practical experiences, or policy issues.

https://trb.secure-platform.com/a/page/TRANSED2022/TRANSEDAbstractCall