Resource Center

The Transit Workforce Center is pleased to host a curated collection of publications and other materials to assist stakeholders engaged in transit workforce development. The Resource Center includes case studies, training materials, research reports, and other materials of interest, including publications produced by federal government agencies, transit organizations, and independent research entities. Resources may be filtered by topic, resource type, and transit mode. This TWC blog post explains how to use the Resource Center.

We are continuing to update the Resource Center regularly. Please contact us via the Request Help menu option if you would like assistance using the Resource Center or are looking for resources on a particular topic. We also welcome suggestions of topics or specific resources to add.

Content in external resources linked from the Resource Center is solely the responsibility of the resource authors and does not necessarily reflect the perspectives of or endorsement by the Transit Workforce Center.

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Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs: Addition of Oral Fluid Specimen Testing for Drugs

This rule amends the U.S. Department of Transportation’s regulated industry drug testing program to include oral fluid testing. This additional methodology for drug testing will give employers a choice that will help combat employee cheating on urine drug tests and provide a less intrusive means of achieving the safety goals of the program.

Department of Transportation

May 2023

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Transit Workforce Shortage: Synthesis Report and Toolkit

The Transit Workforce Shortage Study builds a framework for APTA, its members, and its partner organizations to better understand the workforce shortage’s causes and provides best practices for recruiting, hiring, and retaining transit operations workers.

American Public Transportation Association

March 2023

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APTA’s Transit Workforce Shortage Study combines information from a survey of public transit workers and interviews with public transportation agencies to provide insight into ways to address the national shortage of transit workers. The report provides information on actions agencies have taken to address the workforce shortage, and the toolkit provides step-by-step answers to workforce shortage scenarios agencies are facing every day.

This report builds on findings from the first interim report.

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Assault Awareness and Prevention for Transit Operators (Direct Delivery)

This course provides transit bus operators with knowledge and skills to reduce the likelihood of assault incidents, including defining assault and types of incidents that could be considered assault, covering prevention strategies such as communication and response skills, and emphasizing the importance of reporting assault incidents and seeking recovery assistance.

National Transit Institute

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Assault Awareness and Prevention for Transit Operators (Train the Trainer)

This virtual course will provide transit agency instructional staff with the support necessary to deliver the Assault Awareness and Prevention course within their agencies. Each registered participant will receive an electronic instructor package that will include an instructor guide, course slides, instructor notes, and the participant workbook. Participants will be able to deliver the training to provide transit bus operators with knowledge and skills to reduce the likelihood of assault incidents.

National Transit Institute

January 2023

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You can register for the course with the Rutgers University Noncredit Course Catalog & Registration System. The direct delivery course for operators can be found here.

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Violence in the Transit Workplace – Prevention, Response and Recovery (Train the Trainer)

The goal of this course is to provide participants with knowledge and skills to deliver training to transit agency personnel on how to prevent, respond to, and recover from workplace violence. Prevention methods covered include implementing system and personal security measures, recognizing and reporting the warning signs of potentially violent behavior and using effective interpersonal skills for dealing with different, difficult and dangerous people.

National Transit Institute

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Making Connections 2022 – Conference Overview and Videos

The Transit Workforce Center hosted Making Connections 2022: The National Transit Workforce Conference in Washington, D.C. on December 13-14, 2022. This conference brought together participants from urban, suburban, rural, and tribal public transportation and industry stakeholders in plenaries, workshops, networking, and ongoing dialogue. Discussions and sessions featured topics including recruitment and retention, training, mentoring and apprenticeships, new technologies, and preparing today’s and tomorrow’s workforce.

Transit Workforce Center

December 2022

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Session materials from Making Connections 2022 are hosted on the TWC Resource Center. Please click here to view all related materials. A PDF copy of the conference schedule is linked below.

Opening Video: 

Recap Video: 

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Making Connections 2022 – Engines to Inverters: Preparing Technicians for ZEB Deployment

This session about working with ZEB technologies was presented as part of TWC’s Making Connections 2022 transit workforce conference in December, 2022.

Transit Workforce Center

December 2022

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Session Summary: As transit agencies integrate zero-emission technologies into their fleet, many are experiencing difficulties in preparing their frontline workforce to properly maintain and operate the equipment. In this workshop, panelists explored lessons learned, best practices, and available resources to upskill their technician and maintenance workforce and prepare the future frontline workers to safely and effectively work with ZEB technologies. Presentations by industry experts, early-adopters, and successful rollouts offered insight for an audience seeking guidance on first steps and follow-through.

Moderators
  • James Hall: Program Manager, Technical Training – International Transportation Learning Center/Transit Workforce Center
  • Lisa Jerram: Director of Bus Operations and New Vehicle Technologies – American Public Transportation Association
Speakers
  • Joseph Gamez: Assistant Chief Maintenance Officer Maintenance Training – New York City Transit, Department of Buses
  • Walter Kirkland: Service Manager – StarMetro Tallahassee
  • Obed Mejia: Senior Bus Equipment Instructor – Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

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Making Connections 2022 – Designing Safety: Bus of the Future and Beyond

This session about bus operator safety was presented as part of TWC’s Making Connections 2022 transit workforce conference in December, 2022.

Transit Workforce Center

December 2022

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Session Summary: In the hierarchy of health and safety protections, engineering controls are at the top. This session addressed the critical issues of operator assaults and operator safety through the lens of safety by design, with a major focus on the significant planning work that has been done to create an effective operator barrier against assault and respiratory hazards. Other advances in safety-related design, such as blind-spot elimination for protection of pedestrians, ergonomics and accessibility, were also reviewed.

Moderators
  • Jack Clark: Executive Director – International Transportation Learning Center/Transit Workforce Center
Speakers
  • Christy Campoll: Senior Associate – RLS & Associates Inc.
  • Brian Sherlock: Safety Specialist – Amalgamated Transit Union
  • Mohammed Yousuf: Director, Office of Infrastructure, Safety and Asset Innovation – Federal Transit Administration

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