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“Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11.” — President Barack Obama
 For the third year, CDTA is partnering with the American Cancer Society on its Real Men Wear Pink Campaign. As part of the initiative, pink buses will be rolled out on Capital Region Streets to raise awareness and support the campaign. Materials and decals to transform the city buses were generously donated by NAPA Auto Parts and Lamar Advertising.
Last year, CDTA employees helped raise nearly $16,000 for Real Men Wear Pink. Overall, the 2017 Capital Region campaign raised more than $146,000, ranking 4th in the nation after Atlanta, Boston, and Pittsburgh.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced last week New York will utilize the $127.7 million received from the 2016 Volkswagen settlement to dramatically increase the number of electric vehicles and other clean vehicles in the state. Covered vehicles include new buses, trucks, locomotives, ferries, tugboats and cargo-handling equipment, as well as the availability of electric vehicle charging equipment statewide.
At the governor's direction, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, in concert with the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority, New York Power Authority, state Department of Transportation, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and others, developed "Clean Transportation NY" - New York's plan to strategically invest settlement resources for maximum benefit and to build on New York's national leadership on clean energy and climate change.
The Metro Safety Commission is moving closer to taking back local oversight of the Washington, DC, rail system’s safety from the Federal Transit Administration.
In a memo Thursday, the FTA laid out the steps needed for the new commission to take over lead oversight responsibilities.
The commission could submit its application package to the FTA this month, which commissioners previously said would allow for federal certification ahead of a nationwide April deadline for the establishment of local state safety oversight agencies.
“FTA is ready to initiate the formal transition process and the MSC is nearing completion of the work it needs to do before the process can begin,” FTA Executive Director Matthew J. Welbes said in a statement.
Bus ridership has plunged nationwide since ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft appeared, but about 30 cities have found ways to partner with the new companies to reach their transit goals in cheaper and easier ways.
It may be too early to say whether these partnerships can stop riders from fleeing public transit, but transportation experts say the partnerships offer a glimpse into transit's very-different future.
"Given the magnitude of the declines across the industry, millions and millions of trips per year, I don't think we're at a point yet where the partnerships—still limited to thirty or so examples that you all have found around the country—are yet reversing that," said Christopher Kopp of the transportation planning firm HTNB. "However, I think the potential here is that they're a way forward.”
A grant of almost $410,000 will be used to buy electric buses that will be used by Green Mountain Transit in the Montpelier area.
The Vermont Agency of Transportation received the grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to buy the vehicles.
The Low or No Emission Program provides state and local funds to purchase low-emission transit buses and necessary infrastructure updates needed to electrify them.
Green Mountain Transit General Manager Mark Sousa says the organization is working on a similar pilot project in Chittenden County.
Hear the latest from the NYSDOT's Public Transportation Safety Board (PTSB) officials on requirements for Bus Accident Investigation Training For Identifying Safety Hazards (BAITFISH), System Safety Program Plan (SSPP) Guidelines and Bus Inspections.
Register by September 14 to save $100!
Attend our robust educational sessions, mingle with fellow transit professionals and network with our knowledgable business partners at the 2018 NYPTA Conference in Albany, NY! See you at the Albany Marriott October 23-25. You're sure to be sold once you see our full schedule.
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