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The Rural Transportation Assistance Program (RTAP) provides funding from the Federal Transit Administration 5311(b)(3) program to assist with design and implementation of training and technical assistance projects and other support services for transportation operators in non-urbanized areas. Rural public transportation operators receive training and technical assistance through the program.
WSDOT’s Public Transportation Division provides resources for training and technical assistance to rural transportation providers through the Rural Transportation Assistance Program.
Training courses for rural transportation providers are currently developed and facilitated by WSDOT, Washington State Transit Insurance Pool, Community Transportation Association Northwest, and Washington State Transit Association.
The WSDOT Public Transportation Division directly provides training to agencies and organizations that are interested in applying for state and federal grants, managing their WSDOT grant, and more.
Types of the technical assistance WSDOT provides include but are not limited to:
This Rural Transportation Assistance Program is available to all rural transportation providers in Washington state. Funds may be available to cover the cost incurred by the rural agency for the peer review. Potential recommendations during the review could relate to safety and training, maintenance shop efficiency, or revisions to the organizational chart and job descriptions. The peer review can focus on the entire agency or one element of an agency. A rural agency initiates the request, which includes a specific problem statement, for a peer review by the Public Transportation Division.
We administer Rural Transportation Assistance Program scholarships to help cover registration and travel expenses for training courses, workshops and conferences for rural transportation providers. Refer to the RTAP scholarship application form for more information about the scholarship program. Use the RTAP scholarship application form (pdf 156 kb).
Eligibility requires the following:
The Rural Transportation Assistance Program manager reviews each application and awards the scholarships based on the following criteria:
Exceptions to these limits and maximum funding are at the discretion of the Rural Transportation Assistance Program manager and must be applied for in writing at the time the scholarships are requested.
We will provide scholarships to reimburse the traveler or agency for the following expenses:
However, scholarships may not be used for meal reimbursement.
The Rural Transportation Assistance Program will reimburse for approved scholarships based upon these guidelines:
If you have additional questions or need assistance, contact Marianna Hanefeld at marianna.hanefeld@wsdot.wa.gov or 425-777-0557.