Texas Transit Association Statewide Training Initiative
TTA is now expanding access to educational resources by launching a Statewide training initiative covering the many obstacles that transit staff face, including funding, procurement, and regulatory compliance. This training opportunity is made possible with a grant through TxDOT.
To administer this program, TTA will work closely with Easterseals, which has over 34 years of experience developing and implementing training programs and workshops for rural, suburban, and urban transit agencies. This training curriculum will be designed and delivered to be relevant to transit providers at various levels of management, accounting, and procurement professionals, front-line supervisors, dispatchers/ call center staff, and drivers. It will incorporate best practices from both the public and the private sector.
All courses, workshops, and webinars, in-person or virtual, are designed to be interactive and participatory. These courses will be offered to Transit agencies in Texas at no cost, but space is limited, so make sure that you and your staff don’t miss out on this great opportunity.
Training Calendar
Regulatory Compliance and Equitable Transit Through Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (In-Person/McAllen TX)
March 28-29, 2023 All day each day
Cost: (Free to Transit Agencies in Texas)
Trainer: Kelly Shawn
Training Location: McAllen Convention Center, Meeting Room-102-ABC, 700 Convention Center Blvd, McAllen, TX 78501
Hotel: Cambria Hotel McAllen Convention Center (Rate $119 per night) 701 S Ware Rd, McAllen, TX 78501
Session Description:
This two-day training program will provide participants with tools, ideas, and concepts to reach areas of your community that may be underrepresented in your ridership or employment and gain an understanding of barriers created to prevent equal access to your system you may not have noticed or thought about. The program will focus on how to advance diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible policies, behaviors, and culture throughout the transit system. It will clarify and explain Federal compliance requirements which continue to evolve to ensure civil rights are protected, and fair and equal treatment of others is practiced. Compliance topics will include Civil Rights, Title VI, Limited English Proficiency (LEP), ADA (Complementary Paratransit Services and Equivalent Demand Responsive Services), and EEO. Discussion topics also will focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).
With the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), opportunities have increased to improve transit services for all Americans through outreach and engagement to build reliable, safe, equitable services that don’t disenfranchise parts of the community who may need transit services the most. In doing so, transit needs to recognize past practices that restricted access to healthcare, education, employment, human and social services for many underserved communities. Participants will learn ways to use data, community partnerships, and employee engagement to enhance transit’s role as a community partner.
Participants will learn about the importance of history in shaping today’s societal diversity through legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Equal Employment Opportunity Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, and their impact on today’s society. The session will help you look at your existing services with a critical eye to objectively evaluate your policies, procedures, service designs, and operational practices to identify potential/inadvertent discriminatory practices. Attendees will be afforded the opportunity to discuss and formulate corrective actions to address the issues identified. Additionally, the session will address methods to build coalitions to educate and improve transit system decision-making with equitable fares, service planning, infrastructure, service reach, and diversity representation. The discussion will include required activities and how to document them to achieve FTA regulatory compliance in each of the topic areas. The session will conclude with a discussion on creating an inclusive culture through employees, policies, facilities, and leadership.
De-Escalation Training
April 25, 1:30-3 PM
Trainer: Lenzy Williams, Crown Consulting
Transit professionals are in the relationship business, which at times can present challenges. Practicing positive communication can help avoid conflicts before they start. Recognizing the signs of escalating emotions will allow for more successful resolutions when issues arise. This webinar highlights topics like the power of a compliment, maintaining emotional control, and having the mindset needed to turn the negative into a positive for both you and your customer.
Agencies interested in hosting future training classes can contact Allen@TxTransit.org for details.
- Host agencies are expected to provide the following:
- Training Room with a projector that can accommodate up to 35 individuals classroom style.
- Refreshments and coffee for morning and afternoon breaks.
- Please note that the training location must be in close proximity to dining establishments to allow participants to leave and return within one hour.
- Host agencies may also provide lunch if there are no dining establishments nearby.
- The host agency is encouraged to offer tours of their facility.