Conference Registration Packet Here!

REGISTER HERE! (by mail or online)

It will be “Meet ATI in St. Louis” from Friday, July 31^st to Sunday, August 2^nd, 2009, as the Association of Travel Instruction holds its Ninth Annual Continuing Education Conference in the Show Me state. ATI members will be convening at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in the heart of downtown St. Louis, right next to the spectacular Gateway Arch and within a few blocks of a Metro light rail station.

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2010 ATI Conference Host Proposal
Now available here!

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Transportation News:

The Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009 – On June 18th, the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, released the Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009. Read the 17 page Executive Summary in PDF format HERE, or for more detailed information, go to the Home page of the American Public Transportation Association at www.apta.com. If enacted, this proposed bill would authorize $500 billion over a six year period for highway, transit, and high-speed rail programs. It is inaccurate to think of this proposal as a replacement of the current SAFETEA-LU federal surface transportation program, because as stated in the Executive Summary, it “will transform Federal surface transportation from an amalgamation of prescriptive programs to a performance-based framework for intermodal transportation investment.”

Washington, DC, Metro System Awarded Travel Training Grant – On June 17th, the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board announced that it had awarded nearly $1 million in federal funds to Metro to expand its travel training program. The funds were awarded under the Federal Transit Administration’s Jobs Access Reverse Commute and New Freedom Programs. To implement this two-year pilot project, Metro will partner with independent living centers in the District, Maryland, and Virginia, as well as other local disability groups. This grant will enable Metro to move beyond its current travel training “familiarization” sessions to more intensive travel trainings for persons who need them, and to “teach the travel trainers” within the participating disability groups. Read the full Metro press release HERE.

New Freedom Scope Expanded, Questions and Answers Document Updated – On April 29th, the Federal Transit Administration published in the Federal Register a new policy statement that expands the type of projects it considers “beyond the ADA.” This action makes more projects eligible for New Freedom funding. CLICK HERE to read this brief regulatory change. On the same day, the FTA also updated its Questions and Answers: Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities (Section 5310), JARC & New Freedom Programs document, which can be reviewed by CLICKING HERE. Remember, travel training and mobility management services are “eligible activities” for funding under the New Freedom grant program.

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Who We Are and What We Do

The Association of Travel Instruction (ATI) is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit corporation that provides continuing education and professional development opportunities for travel instructors and travel trainers. Our members teach individuals with various types of disabilities and seniors to use public transportation safely and independently in their communities. Travel trainers truly give “the gift of freedom” of mobility to their students, young or aging.

ATI's members nationwide and in Canada are employed by, or contract with, public transportation agencies, ADA paratransit services, school districts, adult service providers, community rehabilitation agencies, mobility management companies, transportation management associations, independent living centers and other disability groups, and senior citizens programs.

ATI provides continuing education for its members primarily through publishing a quarterly newsletter, planning and executing an annual three day-long travel training “best practices” conference, and updated website content. ATI’s professional development goal is a certification program for travel instructors and travel trainers, commencing with a regionally-organized Registry of our members posted on this website.

For additional information about the work of ATI, please contact any individual listed on this website’s Board Members page.

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The ATI Code of Ethics

The Association of Travel Instruction Code of Ethics is intended as a guide for the professional conduct of persons providing travel instruction. The profession has an obligation to define, articulate and adhere to its basic values, ethical principles and standards. The ATI Code of Ethics sets forth these values, principles and standards to guide travel instruction practitioners. The Code is relevant and applicable to all who provide instruction as well as to students of the profession in all instructional settings and for all who receive training.

Entire document and form here.

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2008 Conference Presentations

Below are links to view presentations from the annual conference
held in Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 15-17, 2008: 

The Future of ATI  (PDF Format)

An Update on the Federal Transit Administration's New Freedom Program
and Funding of Travel Training Programs  (PowerPoint Presentation)

The Substance of the New Easter Seals Project ACTION
"Introduction to Travel Training" Course  (PDF Format)

"Stranger/Danger" Issues Faced by Individuals
with Various Disabilities and Seniors  (PDF Format)

VA Polytrauma Traumatic Brain Injury  (PowerPoint Presentation)

Partnership for Promotion and Sustainability of Travel Training Programs  (PDF Format)

The Travel Assistant Device (TAD)  (PowerPoint Presentation)

Tools For Growing a High School Travel Training Program  (PowerPoint Presentation)

Click here to review the 2007 ATI Conference Presentation