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| Volume 16, Issue 3 | Fall 2004 |
Cline Chairs National RTAP Board
RTAP was created by Congress in 1986 to provide training, technical assistance and research activities that will improve rural transit. Specific goals of RTAP are to identify and disseminate information and training to rural transit operators who receive federal funding and to provide technical assistance services and materials to state programs. The result is sustained improvement and standardization of local service delivery to transit members of rural communities, many of whom are elderly and/or disabled, and require special equipment and assistance. Cline says the national RTAP program exemplifies the type of federal-state-local partnership that is essential to the success of local programs. Funded by the Federal Transit Administration, the national RTAP program is administered by the American Public Works Association in a consortium arrangement with the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA). Cline also serves as the South Dakota delegate of CTAA. RTAP was established to fit the uniqueness of rural transit systems. For example: one-third of all rural systems have less than four vehicles. Nearly half of the passengers are elderly and/or disabled. Fifty-two percent of the systems cover entire counties; while 21 percent are multi-county systems like Prairie Hills Transit in Spearfish, SD. Specially developed training and information is needed to help these systems provide professional, safe and dependable service. Cline's three year term began in 2001 and will run through 2005. As chair she has been part of the national "United We Ride" coordination effort, participated in the recent National Public Works week in Washington, DC, as a speaker for "Transit in Rural Communities: The Rural Transit Assistance Program," and serves on the Transportation Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Committee "Cost Benefit Analysis of Providing Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Benefits." Cline says, one of the most interesting projects was to develop the new RTAP training tool-"Roles and Responsibilities of Transit Managers-Leading the Rural Transit Agency." The three-video training module was developed in Washington, DC, when a film company set up an actual sound and filming studio at the hotel. An outside moderator worked with two separate groups to encompass the three central themes: Leadership: "Knowing Your Values and Living Them," "Hiring, Training and Keeping the Best People," and "Effective and Efficient Operations." 2004-05 DTA Board of Directors The 2004 - 2005 Dakota Transit Association board of directors from left to right: Joan Campbell, South Central Adult Services Council, Valley City, ND; Jacqueline Senger, North Central Planning Council, Devils Lake, ND; Peggy L. Morris, Spink County Public Transit & Senior Center, Redfield, SD; Ron Baumgart, River Cities Public Transit, Pierre, SD; Brenda Schweitzer, Arrow Public Transit, Lemmon, SD; Carol Wright, James River Transit, Jamestown, ND; and Barb Ballensky, Vermillion Public Transit, Vermillion, SD. For the minutes from the DTA board meetings during the 2004 conference, go to the Members Only page at www.dakotatransit.org.
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In this issue...
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Barbara Cline, serves as Chair of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP) National Program Review Board. The Review Board was established in 1987 to provide guidance to the RTAP National Program in the development of its products and services to support the RTAP State Program. The Board has 11 members: five state transit officials and six rural transit operators from across the United States. Cline is director of Prairie Hills Transit in Spearfish, SD.