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"Our mission is to support providers
of travel instruction for the purpose of
teaching people with disabilities and seniors
to travel safely and independently."
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IN THIS ISSUE: |
1. 2009 Conference Registration
2. Grant Application 1
3. Grant Application 2
4. Smaller Accessible Vehicle On The Way
5. Forward this Newsletter |
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2009 CONFERENCE
REGISTRATION
ATI’s 2009 Continuing
Education Conference, to be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel-St. Louis
Downtown, from Friday, July 31 to Sunday, August 2, 2009.
Please
note that the Conference Registration packet is in the mail to all
current ATI members. Hotel reservations must be made by July 6th in
order to receive the $111 per night, plus applicable state and local
taxes, ATI Conference room rate. The Conference Registration packet
also includes the Preliminary Conference Agenda.
CLICK HERE for
PDF version. |
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GRANT APPLICATION 1
Near the end of March, ATI president Terence Moakley submitted an
application for a $147,100 New Freedom Program grant on behalf of
ATI to the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, which is
the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) in the New York City
region.
The title of
the project is “Mobility Management in New York City, with an
Emphasis on Group Travel Training Events.” If funded, this one year
grant would offer three different travel training experiences: a
series of half-day workshops to enable individuals with disabilities
to become familiar with the accessibility features on buses and
within accessible subway stations; a number of “train the trainer”
workshops through which disability agency personnel would be taught
basic travel training skills such as environmental assessment and
trip planning; and, a “bus buddy” program through which an
accomplished accessible bus rider would accompany a first-time
accessible bus rider with a disability on the new rider’s first
trip. Look for the next issue of this newsletter to learn if our
application succeeded or failed. |
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GRANT APPLICATION 2
ATI Board of Directors
member Peggy Schmidt located and researched an American Public
Transportation Association (APTA) grant program, then wrote the
narrative for the scope of a grant application of $5,000 under this
program for a short film about how travel training can emancipate
disabled and aging persons, a “best practices” booklet, and a small
regional ATI conference.
ATI president Moakley picked up the ball by completing the
application form, writing the application section concerning our
capacity to fulfill the grant elements if awarded, and obtaining a
terrific required letter of recommendation from the president of New
York City Transit. The goal of this grant is to educate as many APTA
members as possible about the benefits of travel training. We should
know by mid-May if this grant will be funded. |
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SMALLER ACCESSIBLE
VEHICLE ON THE WAY
It can be used as
an accessible taxi or an accessible ADA paratransit vehicle, and the
company that plans to build it starting about a year from now will
also manufacture a version for sale to individuals
Formerly known as the Standard Taxi, the MV-1 was unveiled on April
19th at the 2009 Alternative Fuels and Vehicles Conference in
Orlando. The MV-1 will also be displayed at the upcoming APTA Bus
and Paratransit Conference in Seattle. It will be manufactured as an
accessible vehicle, and it also will be available with a compressed
natural gas powertrain. The ADA paratransit version of the MV-1 will
accommodate two passengers who use wheelchairs. For further
information, go to
www.vpgautos.com. |
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FORWARD THIS NEWSLETTER
Know other travel trainers who are
not ATI members, or other persons simply interested in ATI’s
mission?
If so, please forward this issue
to them. Help ATI build our membership and attract new sponsors! |
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P.O. Box 2042 - Madison Square Station
- New York, NY 10159 |
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