TAPTCO re-creates the Paratransit Operator Development Course

Eight years ago, The Transit & Paratransit Company (TAPTCO) created the original Paratransit Operator Development Course.

“Everything can become outdated and everything can be improved,” said Jeff Cassell, President of TAPTCO. “We are increasing the content of the new course to 29 programs and switching out some of the programs to make it compliant with all the new operational FTA requirements.” This is not an update, but a complete re-creation involving new improved scripts, new filming, and new actors.

Paratransit operations have a high cost of risk. The only way to control these costs is by training, educating and persuading your operators to avoid all unsafe behaviors. This new course focuses on instilling the desired behaviors into your operators in a simple and easy to understand way.

The new FTA requirements for a Public Transit Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) include detailed requirements for following a Safety Management System. These desired behaviors overlap excellently with the actions to implement a safety culture.  As such, this new course has been designed to help operations comply with the new federal regulations and implement a safety culture, at the same time.

The new course is available on DVD, Thumb Drive or via the web on a Learning Management System.

“Our members have been using the TAPTCO training course for many years and really appreciate the quality and content of these materials,” said Chris DeVoll, TSSP, CSSO Transit Risk Consultant for the Risk Management Specialist for Washington State Transit Insurance Pool. “I have reviewed the new Paratransit Course and it really is a drastic improvement from the original course. The way TAPTCO has included all the new FTA requirements is a huge bonus. I would not hesitate in recommending it to all paratransit systems.” DeVoll is also a Senior Associate Instructor for the Transportation Safety Institute (TSI).

“The Ohio Transit Risk Pool is providing copies of this updated course to all our members. It is by far the most professional training course available for paratransit operations,” Said Kenneth F. Reed, ARM-P, AIC, Director of Risk Management, for the Ohio Transit Risk Pool. “It is comprehensive, systematic and every part integrates together to achieve the desired outcomes – changing operator’s behaviors to remove or reduce risk.”

“In May, we launched our new re-created 2020 Transit Operator Development Course and over 100 agencies and contractors are using this,” Cassell said. “They are so impressed; we already have 19 testimonials. Most users are rating it a ten out of ten. All the same concepts and techniques are included in this new paratransit course. If you want to improve performance, reduce accidents, and comply with the new regulations, you need to improve your people.  To do this, you need to improve the quality and content of your training to the best available.”