SURTC to House Regional RTAP Library

With the idea that one good library is better than three mediocre ones, SURTC will establish a regional library of transit-related training materials for North Dakota, Montana and South Dakota.

In the past, each individual state has supported its own library, often within the state's department of transportation or within a transit organization in the state. The libraries are affiliated with the FTA's Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP).

"With each state having its own, much of the material was old and often there were no convenient procedures for checking it out or reviewing the inventory to see what was available," notes Gary Hegland, who is coordinating the effort for SURTC.

"We don't have enough money to do a good job with the libraries," notes Bruce Fuchs, transit coordinator with the North Dakota DOT. "Consequently, they tend to get overlooked and the transit assistance they can provide doesn't get where it needs to go."

Fuchs suggested consolidating the libraries at SURTC's last steering committee meeting. SURTC began exploring the regional library concept and now the three states have pledged support for the first year of the consolidated effort. Most of the first year's contributions will be used to purchase updated materials for the library.

"So far, our efforts have focused on collecting the existing material in one place and providing an online inventory," Hegland says.

A committee with representatives from each state is being formed to guide the development of the library, evaluate old materials to decide what to keep, evaluate new materials to decide what to purchase and set policies, Hegland says.

"There are several benefits to consolidating these libraries," Fuchs says. "We can improve consistency; everybody will have access to the same material in the same way. We have the opportunity to take resources from each state and invest them in quality training materials. Finally, there's expertise in training and technical assistance at SURTC and I'd like to tap into that with a consolidated library."

Staff

SURTC Staff are Presenters at Transportation Research Forum

Three researchers from SURTC presented papers at the Transportation Research Forum's annual meeting March 6-8 at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Gary Hegland outlined a SURTC study that identified ways to increase coordination of North Dakota transportation services among traditional transit providers as well as human service agencies and other organizations that provide transportation for their clients. The study was commissioned by the North Dakota Department of Transportation.

Del Peterson presented a study analyzing transit trends in Jamestown, N.D. The local transit provider, James River Transit, is using the study to evaluate changes to its services including the possible addition of a fixed-route service.

David Ripplinger described his preliminary work on improving school bus routing software to better account for uncertainties such as bad weather and road conditions, absent students and other factors.

The Transportation Research Forum is a professional transportation organization dedicated to providing an impartial forum for the exchange of ideas among practitioners, researchers and government officials regarding all aspects of logistics. The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute is the administrative home of the Forum and its journal.