Happy Valentine's Day

Transit is not just for policy geeks and people who need a ride. Transit, according to the Valentine's Day post on the CityFix blog, is for lovers and lovers of transit.

Read about romantic encounters and creative transit promotions. Honestly, the marriage of transit and love could put Valentine's Day ahead of Halloween.

Resources

National Head Start Association (NHSA)
NHSA has posted a national map of Head Start investments by state.

National Governors' Association (NGA)
NGA released an analysis of the state-of-the-state addresses from the nation's governors. Read about priorities and challenges across the nation.

Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Rail Transit: FTA Programs Are Helping Address Transit Agencies’ Safety Challenges, but Improved Performance Goals and Measures Could Better Focus Efforts may say "rail" in the title, but the discussion of a "safety culture," seems to apply to transit and transportation services of all types. The GAO report states:

One expert in particular said that all the other safety challenges transit agencies faced flow from safety culture issues. Some experts we interviewed identified the importance of training to help instill a safety culture at all levels of a transit agency.

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) officials used qualitative language to describe the attributes of a safety culture, including non-punitive reporting. But they also cited quantifiable measures of cost, hiring challenges, old infrastructure and other issues that impact safety.

FTA efforts include an FTA-produced video, “A Knock at Your Door,” which re-enacts fatal rail transit accidents to underscore the importance of safety procedures. FTA officials also mentioned that they have encouraged discussions about the importance of safety culture at roundtable meetings with transit agency management and other officials, teleconferences, and training classes.

Safety Courses

Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA)
CTAA has a course to train Certified Safety and Security Managers. The training offers a protocol for on-site assessments by Certified Safety and Security Managers of their respective transit systems preparedness in the critical components and core elements of the Federal Transit Administration's Bus Safety and Security Program.

American Public Transportation Association (APTA)
Information about APTA's safety resources and training can be located at http://www.apta.com/resources/safetyandsecurity/Pages/default.aspx.