This year’s Transportation Research Board (TRB) 96th annual meeting will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Join FTA staff at several informative sessions.
Every year, FTA sponsors technical sessions that reflect some of the agency's priorities and important themes, such as safety and oversight, research and innovation, and transit asset management. Stop by these these sessions to learn more.
The Role of Employee Safety Reporting in an Effective Transit Safety Management System (Session 251), Mon., Jan 9, 8– 9:45 a.m., Room 143C
This panel will discuss employee safety reporting programs for public transportation systems. The session will focus on how to develop, implement and operate a robust effective program and will provide insights into the benefits of a safety reporting program for public transportation systems as well as the role of labor unions in such programs. Panelists will also offer strategies to encourage employee use of a reporting program and discuss the role of discipline in an employee reporting program.
State of Good Repair – It Matters! How Transit Asset Management Can Improve SGR/Transit Performance (Session 334)
Mon., Jan 9, 10:15 a.m.–noon, Room 147B
This panel will:
- Examine the impacts of the nation’s State of Good Repair (SGR) backlog and the performance of an transit operator;
- Identify what it means to be in a state of disrepair and its impacts
- Correlate the impacts of disrepair on transit performance, safety, and revenues
- Explore new ways of describing the relationship and how to achieve a State of Good Repair, including using the new federal transit asset management (TAM) rulemaking requirements as a framework.
No One Left at the Curb: How Advances in Technology Could Be Used to Realize a Vision for Fully Accessible, Equitable Public Transportation (Session 594) Tue., Jan 10, 10:15 a.m.–noon, Room 145B
This panel will explore the impact of advanced and emerging technologies on transit. The effect of developments in Big Data, high-speed mobile communications, and automation will be examined in light of trends in shared use transportation operating models and the evolving “Smart City” environments.
How FTA’s SMS Approach and its Research Investments are Shaping Transit Safety (Session 747), Tue., Jan 10, 3:45–5:30 p.m., Room 147A
This panel will discuss FTA’s current safety-related research activities linking FTA’s overarching SMS approach to its safety research program. This session will also provide an overview of available safety-related technical assistance and updates on safety rules and regulations, all under way in support of transit safety.
ALSO DON'T MISS FTA's pre- and post-meeting special off-site workshops, including:
Safety Culture Assessment and Improvement Experiences Across Modes: Case Studies and Lessons Learned (Workshop #149I), Sunday, January 8, 9 a.m.–5 p.m, Ballroom Salon 14, Marriott Marquis Hotel, 901 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. Separate registration required.
In-depth assessment of an organization’s level of safety culture is becoming more common. This workshop will share case studies from different transportation modes on assessment methodologies along with approaches to strengthen assessment and improvement implementation for higher levels of safety culture.
Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox 2.0 Listening Session, Wed., January 11, 2:30-4:30 p.m., Renaissance DC Downtown Hotel, 999 9th Street NW, Mt. Vernon Square Room, Washington, D.C.
This listening session will feature FTA’s Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox program, which supports transit agencies and communities as they integrate MOD solutions to enhance the quality, accessibility, and equity of mobility in their communities. In October 2016, FTA announced 11 MOD Sandbox projects totaling $8 million. Join the session to learn about lessons learned from MOD Sandbox 1.0 and shape the future of the program.
