Human Capacity Building

Capacity Building for U.S. Transit Professionals

The IPTP coordinates capacity building programs for U.S. transit professionals to learn from international transit agencies that are world leaders in areas relevant to U.S. transit operations such as bus rapid transit, fare collection, public private partnerships and safety and security. 

Capacity Building for Foreign Transit Professionals

The IPTP plans and develops capacity building programs for foreign transit professionals who seek to learn more about U.S. innovations and best practices.  As appropriate, participants take part in classroom instruction, teleconferences, practical training, and site visits drawing upon the resources and expertise of the public and private sectors.

Recent Human Capacity Building Programs include:

• IPTP Assists the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in Establishing a National Transit Institute.   Under a Cooperative Agreement between FTA and the Government of Maharashtra (Mumbai), FTA’s International Public Transportation Program (IPTP) is providing technical assistance to develop a specialized training institute with emphasis on urban mass transit development in Mumbai.  At the invitation of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, a delegation of U.S. experts traveled to Mumbai to present a Workshop on Integrated Ticketing and Seamless Travel, Intelligent Transportation Systems, Public Transport Security and Noise Pollution Abatement.  Again in 2010, a group of U.S. transit experts conducted a second Workshop. 
• Delegation from the Organization from Economic and Cooperative Development (OECD), Paris to Study Compact Development in Portland, OR.  A study team from OECD has selected Portland, OR as one of six cities worldwide to study compact development policies.  Other cities include Vancouver, Canada; Paris, France; London, England; Melbourne, Australia; and Toyama, Japan.  The purpose of the study is to better understand policy impacts from both an environmental and economic point of view, and to identify key issues for policymakers to develop efficient policy design and implementation.  They will be meeting with officials from Portland’s city government, planning, transit and academia.   Their visit will take place in March 2011.
• FTA Assists China in Developing a National Transit Database.   At the invitation of the Chinese Ministry of Transport, FTA’s technical expert, traveled to Beijing and Changzhou, China to participate in a series of meetings in April 2010 on the development of a national public transportation database. The Ministry was organized two years ago and recognizes the need for collecting and organizing transit data.  This project was carried out under the U.S.-China Transportation Forum. 
• FTA Participates in Peer Review Team of Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (MTR) in January 2010.  At the request of the Hong Kong MTR, APTA assembled a team of U.S. transit experts which included FTA Deputy Associate Administrator Sean Libberton, to review the effectiveness of passenger service delivery and reliability.   Input was gathered from key external stakeholders including members of the Transport Panel and Legislative Councils, representatives of concerned groups and NGOs.  The review provided MTR with observations and service delivery performance recommendations based on concerns and expectations of the external stakeholders.
• Sustainable Transportation Workshops Conducted in Tanzania and Namibia.  In August 2009, the IPTP conducted multi-modal transportation workshops, “Creating Sustainable Transportation Systems,” in Arusha, Tanzania and Windhoek, Namibia.  The East Africa Community (EAC) headquartered in Arusha, served as a partner for the first Workshop.  Windhoek was the site of the 4th African Transportation technology conference, and partnered with FTA on the second Workshop.  These capacity building workshops focused on reducing urban congestion, road and passenger safety, improving trans-shipment of goods from ports to rail to roadways, project financing and technology transfer.  Presentations from the Workshops are available.
• FTA and the National Transit Institute (NTI) at Rutgers University Provide Technical Assistance for a New Transit Training Institute in Lagos, Nigeria.  At the request of Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, in June 2009 FTA and NTI traveled to Lagos, Africa’s most populous city, to advise the Lagos State government on how to establish a program of continuing transit education.   Lagos has recently created a state regulated public bus network and has a critical need for trained personnel to manage and operate the system.  The team shared teaching materials, recommended course content, and proposed a partnership agreement with Rutgers University.
• FTA Participates in FHWA/AASHTO Sponsored Technology Scan on Congestion Pricing in December 2009.  A representative from FTA participated on the team organized by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) to develop an understanding of the political, institutional and technical factors that contributed to the success or failure of variable road pricing strategies.    The team visited cities where variable road pricing has been implemented on a broad basis including Stockholm, Berlin, Amsterdam, London and Singapore. A copy of the team report is available at http://international.fhwa.dot.gov/pubs/roadpricing/.
• United Kingdom Fact Finding Mission 2008.  FTA Administrator James Simpson led a fact-finding mission to London in May 2008.  The U.K. has emerged as one of the world’s great innovators in public transportation.  Some of the topic areas that were explored were security measures, congestion pricing, privatization and congestion mitigation.   Read More about the United Kingdom Fact Finding Mission (MS Word).
• France 2008 Public Private Partnerships.  FTA Deputy Administrator Sherry Little led a delegation to a U.S./France workshop on the financing and operation of transit projects through public private partnerships (PPP’s).  France is a world leader in PPP’s, local governments and transit authorities have extensive experience in public/private financing, leasing, concessioning, franchising, and contracting.  The workshop was held in St. Etienne, France and featured French and American experts discussing best practices in PPP’s. Read More about the First French - American Workshop on Public Transportation and Innovative Financing (PDF).