CTAA’s customized classroom training courses are tailored to meet your organization’s specific needs. Whether you sponsor the training or are joining an already scheduled session.

All one-day sponsored (by organization, transit association or state DOT) classes include travel, per diem and workshop materials. The cost is $3,500 for members and $4,000for non-members.

All two-day sponsored (by organization, transit association or state DOT) classes include travel, per diem and workshop materials. The cost is $6,500for members and $7,000 for non-members.

One-Day Classroom Training

Recruiting, Hiring, Building, Developing and Retaining a Sustainable Driver Workforce

You know that drivers are the front-line representatives for your agency. So what can transit leaders do to address the current driver shortage? Organizational awareness, executive support, and effective employee relations are critical factors impacting your service and are key in any effort to address driver shortages.

The effort and attention that’s put into all aspects of employee retention has a direct correlation to the need for driver recruitment. Throughout this interactive one-day session, you’ll learn about all aspects of driver recruitment and retention with the focus on building a sustainable driver workforce that engages the best people with the right attitude, which ultimately leads to job satisfaction and reduced employee turnover.

Course Outline:

• Evidence Based Leadership
• Recruitment
• Selection Guidelines
• Onboarding
• Reward sand Recognition
• Training and Development
• Performance Improvement and Individual Development Plans
• Performance Appraisals
• Developing and Implementation Plan for Driver Recruitment and Retention

Senior Instructor: Caryn Souza

Effective Documentation Strategies

As a transit professional do you face extreme liability at every turn? Although it’s impossible to completely eliminate liability and risk, we can remarkably reduce exposure by the timely and accurate submission of documentation to address safety and security concerns. Proper documentation is not only critical in reducing liability, but is also an extremely vital form of communication between bus drivers and management. Accurate and timely documentation will create an environment that encourages open communication. This in turn will unify your team’s efforts and greatly assist your agency in reaching the goal of providing safe and reliable transportation to the passengers you serve.

Subjects covered include:

• Pre and Post Trip Inspection Review and Forms
• Mobility Device Documentation Templates
• Passenger Documentation Templates
• Pick Up and Drop Off Locations Document Templates
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) updates to Ensure Compliance
• Blood Borne Pathogen Awareness

Instructor: Lenzy Wlliams

Two-Day Classroom Training

An Introduction to Human-Centered Design and Its Application to Transportation

Human-centered design (a.k.a., “design thinking”) is a systematic approach to creating solutions to seemingly intractable challenges. It starts with an in-depth understanding of customers’, then leads us in developing potential solutions, and finally guides us through a process for testing those potential solutions to find the best one. In that testing phase, we determine if our chosen solution meets these criteria: it is operationally feasible, financially viable, and, most importantly, responsive to the customer needs we have identified. Once these criteria are satisfied, we can then move forward to implement the solution.

During this two-day training, participants will be introduced to and given the opportunity to practice the application of several design thinking tools and strategies. To maximize participants’ capacity to understand and be able to replicate these strategies, the training is usually framed using a non-transportation problem. The last quarter of the training is then dedicated to a discussion of how to apply the tools and strategies to transportation problems.

Course Outline

• Introduction to design thinking
• “What Is” Phase – defining the “customer(s),” understanding how to do a “deep dive” into the customer’s needs, developing insights grounded in customer needs to inform a solution(s)
• “What If” Phase – using insights to spark ideas, combining ideas into concepts, then narrowing down to the three concepts with the most potential
• “What Wows” Phase – developing prototypes of concepts to share back with customers to get their input; testing concepts to ensure they are operationally feasible, financially viable, and responsive to customer needs; revising initial concepts based on what is learned through the testing phase; and then narrowing down to one solution that has the most potential to succeed
• “What Works” Phase – designing and implementing a “limited launch” of the solution to identify areas to strengthen, developing a business plan for the solution
• Application of design thinking to transportation

Senior Instructor: Amy Conrick

The Keys to NEMT Success

This course is for transportation providers and/or transportation brokers new to the non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) business segment or new to the industry.  Professionals with experience in other areas and entering transportation will also benefit from the course.  The goal of this course is to show you how to be competitive and profitable as a provider or broker of non-emergency medical transportation.  We focus on understanding the NEMT setting; the importance of having a well-trained staff; knowing your cost of service and properly setting a price that is both fair and competitive and finally a focus on becoming a skilled negotiator, a must to be successful.

Role playing is an important component of the participants hands on course.  This interactive approach embraces full participation from each attendee sharing experiences and lessons the group can utilize throughout the sessions.  Workshop materials include use of recent reports from the Transportation Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) as well as health related publications on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Harvard Business Essentials pertaining to negotiations and a variety of Cost Allocation and Pricing Model sources.    Each participant is provided a Participants Guide making it easier to follow along with the course.

Examples of training subjects include:

• Value: Determining the true cost of service
• Pricing: Lowering your costs to be competitive
• Negotiation: Winning through persuasion
• Accountability: Building a recordkeeping and reporting process
• Training: Focusing on the patient

Senior Instructor: Rex Knowlton, CCTM

Professional Transportation Grant Development

Navigating the world of grants and grant development can be daunting. Learn how to convert your concepts and ideas into fundable projects. Pursuit of grants can be highly competitive, and this training can help enhance your prospect for grant approval.

The training will address the overall strategic plan for writing grants, including: needs statement, goals and objectives, activities, strategies, evaluation, personnel and budgets. You will also learn about key elements of successful proposals as well as what to avoid in your proposals. Whether you are new to the field of grant development or a seasoned veteran, this course will enhance the skills you need to succeed in your search for funding.

Acquire the skills needed to:

• Identify the key elements of successful proposals.
• Recognize what the granting organization is seeking.
• Identify innovative sources of funding.
• Write a convincing argument for funding.

Senior Instructor: Charles Rutkowski

Financial Management for Transit Agencies

In today’s financial management you cannot afford to be without top-notch financial management skills. You must know your true costs of providing service and be able to track those costs and manage your cash flow. Learn how to use financial information, operations data, and proven financial strategies to plan, develop, and implement your transit system objectives. Learn what data to collect and monitor to ensure success and to evaluate potential changes in service – whether it is new service, service enhancements, or reductions in service. This two-day session will provide tools that any transit manager or supervisor can use with existing data and financial reports.

Examples of training subjects include:

• Customer-Oriented Service
• Cost Data and Cost Accounting for Management
• Relationship Between Performance Measures Operating Data and Financial Reports
• Revenues
• Developing Transit System Budget
• Cash Flow
• Developing a Fully-Allocated Cost Model
• Cost Model for Performance, Monitoring and Management

Senior Instructor: A.T. Stoddard