Jonnie Kusek, CCTM/Chief Operations Officer for Panhandle Transit Services has been appointed to the National Rural Transit Assistance Program (NRTAP) Review Board. The review board is composed of rural and tribal operators and state transit officials. National RTAP is funded by the Federal Transit Administration to provide training and technical assistance resources to rural and tribal transit operators. Much of National RTAP’s work is overseen by a Review Board, whose experience helps inform the development of products and services. The Board provides expertise and local perspectives to ensure that National RTAP’s work is relevant, useful, and of the highest quality. Board members serve a term of three years, with the potential for longer terms.
Millions of rural and tribal citizens are unable to drive for health, economic or lifestyle reasons. Transit is a real solution to maintaining a high quality of life in rural areas—providing access to jobs, healthcare, education, shopping and numerous other activities utilizing public transportation. Since 1979, FTA has provided formula funding to states, under the Section 5311 Non-Urbanized Transit Program, to establish and maintain transit systems in communities with populations under 50,000.
Soon after, program founders recognized that community transit drivers, dispatchers, maintenance workers, managers and board members needed special skills and knowledge to provide quality service to their diverse customers across large service areas. As a result, the Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP) was created in 1987.
The goals of the RTAP program are to promote the safe and effective delivery of public transportation services in rural areas and to facilitate more efficient use of public transportation resources. To meet those goals, the program focuses on the following objectives:
• Improving the quality of training and technical assistance resources available to the rural transit industry
• Encouraging and assisting state, local, and peer networks to address training and technical assistance needs
• Promoting the coordination of transportation services
• Building a national database of information about the rural transit industry
Since its inception, National RTAP has contributed to the achievement of these objectives at the national level by developing and distributing training materials, providing technical assistance, creating web-based applications, producing reports, publishing best practices, conducting research, and offering peer assistance for rural and tribal transit providers and state RTAP programs. NRTAP offers a comprehensive set of free technical assistance programs and resources includes training materials, webinars, newsletters and technical briefs, peer resources, research, and innovative technology initiatives.
Panhandle Transit Services is a nonprofit organization is based in Alliance, that provides local demand response and regional intercity bus transportation services throughout the Nebraska Panhandle. For more information call 308-761-8747.