Culture of Progressive Longitudinal Training in the Public Transit Industry

Abstract

Professional and workforce development is important to maintaining the safe and reliable operational integrity of the public transportation industry in the United States. This paper discusses a new concept of professional and workforce development called longitudinal training and its benefits, influences, challenges, examples, and culture. Additionally, these factors are directly associated with new advances in technology, educational techniques, paradigms, and strategies for workforce and professional development.

Redesign of Curricula in Transit Systems Planning to Meet Data-Driven Challenges

“…Dietz (1995), speaking generally of training engineers in this digital age, believes that teaching the basics, or fundamentals, along with the skills to learn can be an effective way of preparing engineers for the modern industry. This is similar to the model suggested by Bart and Reep (2013), who also advocate teaching fundamental skills which can be built upon during one's career.…”

“…Not all courses listed are dedicated solely to transit; there are 'urban transport systems' and simply 'transportation systems' courses which cover transit peripherally. Of course, this survey is only an overview based on course descriptions, but the conclusions reinforce the literature (SR 275, 2003;Bart and Reep, 2013). Table 2 illustrates a selection of current research (not meant to be comprehensive) that can be categorized by these areas that connect with technological trends observed in society.…”

“…Unfortunately, this challenge towards educators has largely been unanswered. A number of recent studies already agree that there are insufficient training mechanisms to meet these new ICT challenges (SR 275, 2003; Bart and Reep, 2013). In contemporary graduate programs, even among the top transportation research programs, advanced data-driven transit modeling is not very evident.…”

Development and Assessment of a Connected Vehicle Training Program for Truck Drivers

“…However, the computer-based training has the potential to provide new ways to deliver advanced driving skills such as hazard cognitive skills to the driver. After investigating the benefits of longitudinal training style in the public transit industry, Bart and Reep suggested that with the rapid upgrading of technologies, it is crucial to involve new educational technologies and updated training theories to facilitate employees’ transfer of new knowledge ( 30 ).…”