Transit at the Table III: A Guide to Effective Participation in Statewide Decisionmaking for Transit Agencies in Non-Urbanized Areas

This report draws upon eight State case studies to identify processes, experiences, and results of transit participation in statewide planning with a focus on non-urbanized or rural areas. Transit at the Table III is intended as a resource for organizations directly or indirectly involved in providing rural transit – state DOTs, regional planning organizations (RPOs), rural transit agencies, and their partners, including business, universities, Tribes, federal land management units, health care providers, and others. This study is the third in the “Transit at the Table” series on successful participation by transit agencies in federally-required metropolitan area and statewide transportation planning processes. This report consists of a synthesis of the case studies, a discussion of observations and challenges, a section on the role of transit in rural livability, a self-assessment checklist for transit operators, and a list of resources. This report is a product of the Federal Transit Administration and Federal Highway Administration Transportation Planning Capacity Building Program and can be found at www.planning.dot.gov along with case studies of each of the eight States.