The meeting will be held November 10 from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the Arkansas Transit Association Center.

At this meeting we will present an estimate of unmet transit need for the state, based on populations in need of public transit and the amount of public transit service currently being provided. We will also be discussing options to begin to meet that need that have arisen from our discussions with each of the eight Regional Advisory Committees.

7th Annual Federal Transit Adminstration (FTA) Drug and Alcohol Program National Conference

April 10-12, 2012

Hyatt Regency Miami

400 SE 2nd Ave.

Miami, FL 33131

To register please visit:

http://transit-safety.fta.dot.gov/DrugAndAlcohol

The Mile High City…Beautiful Denver, Colorado and the Denver RTD will host SWTA’s 32nd Annual Conference and Expo.

When: February 12-15, 2012

Overview Agenda:

Pre-conference Ski Trip is planned for Sunday morning, February 12.

The Annual conference begins with a Meet-n-Greet on Sunday afternoon, February 12, sponsored by Veolia.

Training sessions, technical tours and the opening general session are planned for Monday, February 13. The day will end with an Opening Reception in the EXPO hall.

On Tuesday, February 14, we will mix general sessions in the morning and afternoon with dedicated Expo time, then end the day with our annual Awards Dinner and evening of entertainment. Don’t forget that February 14 is I love Transit Day!!

Wednesday, February 15 will feature a morning with FTA and we’ll hear from the 8 SWTA state’s Executive Directors. We’ll end before noon.

Location: Sheraton Denver Downtown

SWTA has negotiated a room rate of $109 until January 22, 2012. The link will be provided once you have registered. Don’t wait, reserve your room today, as soon as you register for the conference.

Special Information about making the most out of your trip to Denver:

• Whether you have a few hours, a few days or a week in the Mile High City, here are some suggested itineraries & trips

• For those who like to do your homework before you travel, take a look at Denver in Depth

• High Altitude Tips for Denver

Register NOW

Attendees Register Now: registration is in Early Bird mode. Only $249 until December 5th. Group registration is available. After December 5th all registrations will be $299 for members and $399 for non-members

Exhibitors: registration and expo registration will be available November 15. Email SWTA today to be included in informational updates.

Sponsors: we are taking sponsorship applications now. You must be a member to be a sponsor. Email Kristen at kjoyner@swta.org or call 615.390.6863 if you’d like to sponsor the conference and expo.

Transportation Training Opportunities November, 2011 – February, 2012

All "OPEN" classes will be held at the Arkansas Transit Association’s Training Center in North Little Rock.

Please register for classes on our website by clicking the link here, "Open" Class Registration.

You can also check out the descriptions of all classes (Class Descriptions) or see if and when the Training Coordinator is in your part of the state by clicking on the Calendar (Russ' Training Calendar).

Effective March 2, 2009, ATA has implemented a new invoicing policy for all “open” classes. Agencies will now be invoiced for ALL employees registered for such classes. Exceptions will be made when a representative from the organization calls to cancel the registration BEFORE the class begins.

* WHILE SUPPLIES LAST… Any agency that sends staff to an “Open” Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Class or that sets up a CPS class at your facility will receive a FREE copy of Simple Steps to Child Passenger Safety DVD.

Bill to allow city, county to use funds for non-profit transportation

[Article from the Log Cabin Democrat - LINK]

Gov. Mike Beebe signed House Bill 1774 on Monday, perhaps solving transportation funding problems for the Senior Citizens Centers, Boys and Girls Clubs and the Faulkner County Council on Developmental Disabilities.

The bill, sponsored by Linda Tyler, D-Conway, defines public transportation in a way that state turnback funds may be used for more than street projects and allows those funds to be used to provide transportation for the general public or selected groups.

Tyler, in the governor’s office with other supporters of the bill as it was being signed, said the act does three things:

• It allows the cities and the counties to contract or sign an agreement with agencies such as FCCDD, Senior Citizens and Boys and Girls Club to provide transportation services.

• It raises the maximum amount that cities greater than 50,000 can spend on public transportation.

• It adopts the latest definitions of public transportation.

“I know that cities like Conway can benefit from the potential of financing public transit through our street budget, and it will certainly benefit our community by providing needed funds for non-profits who transport many of our citizens for services,” Tyler said.

Also attending the bill-signing in the governor’s office were Debra Robinson, executive director of the Faulkner County Senior Citizens Program, and Jackie Fliss, executive director of Independent Living Services and a member of the board of Faulkner County Council on Developmental Disabilities.

The bill passed without a “no” vote in both the House (95-0) and Senate (35-0), 

“It was a delight to work with Rep. Tyler on the bill,” said Ann Gilbert, executive director of the Arkansas Transit Association. 

The act will take effect 90 days after the Legislative session ends this week.

The ATA is a non-profit association with almost 240 members, including 14 urban and rural transit agencies, community services organizations transporting the elderly or people with developmental disabilities, private passenger carriers, state agencies and industry vendors.

ATA provides training in transportation safety and oversees the Department of Transportation program that provides vans for non-profit organizations.

County Judge Preston Scroggin said he was pleased that counties and cities will have the option of using road funds for transportation.

“It’s permissive legislation,” he said. “There are no guarantees that the Quorum Court will choose to use some of the funds that way, but we know the agencies need help.”

Rinnia Johnston, executive director of FCCDD’s Supported Work program, said that agency has been in dire straits regarding transportation since it learned that the City of Conway could no longer assist with transportation funding for local agencies.

“We received a mid-year allocation from United Way of Central Arkansas which completed our 2010-2011 original request. We didn’t get anything extra,” she said. “That has helped us to sustain right now, but if things continue and we cannot get other funding, we’ll have to make drastic transportation cuts by May 1. We were trying to wait until we could help our clients find other ways to get to work, but we haven’t had any luck, because there are no other ways.”

The news from the Legislature was good news indeed for Johnston.

“Funding losses would be devastating to the community of disabled,” she said. 

The agency transports 10-15 clients a day.

“We take them to jobs, to doctors’ appointments, pharmacies, grocery stores, to CARTI, to dialysis,” Johnston said. “It’s an essential service for these clients who have no other way to get around.”

A campaign to help the Faulkner County Senior Citizens keep its transportation program rolling was successful, raising $45,000 in one week.

The Boys and Girls Club also has been searching for other funding avenues to help transport the 190 children that are picked up each day from 12 elementary schools.

(Staff writer Becky Harris can be reached at becky.harris@thecabin.net or 505-1234.)