“By developing a sound plan with room for flexibility that has the input of the local emergency operations officials; by regularly going through training exercises with both emergency command personnel and transit staff; and by developing a communications strategy to allow for the quick exchange of vital information, a public and community transportation operation can play a pivotal role in an emergency.”
-- John Sorrel, Alabama Winegrass Transit Authority, ‘Transit’s Role in an Emergency,’ Community Transportation Magazine, Winter 2001-2002

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Workshop Goals and Overview

The goal of the Connecting Communities Public Transportation Emergency Preparedness Workshop is to improve public agency interoperability during incidents. The workshop is designed specifically to foster dialogue and planning efforts between transit systems, emergency service agencies, and other emergency management partners. Connecting Communities opens the line of communication among agencies to ensure a streamlined, efficient response to all levels of emergency.

Connecting Communities’ content is catered each time to address potential emergencies specific to the location of the workshop. Upon completion, participants will have established professional relationships spanning across agencies and will know the most effective ways to keep communication open after the workshop and, especially, during an array of incidents. Each participant will be able to identify how each agency contributes to emergency situations specific to their area, and how to best utilize each agency’s resources during catastrophic events.

The workshop addresses five major areas:

• Finance and Administration covers areas such as personnel salaries and overtime, resource acquisition, training program development and delivery, and other administrative issues that need to be addressed prior to an incident.
• Logistics addresses how agencies can improve internal and interagency communication through both technological and procedural enhancements and upgrades. This module also examines incident support such as what facilities and resources may be needed.
• Planning focuses on resources: who has them, where they are, who releases them, how they are transported, and how they are returned. This module also addresses documentation.
• Operations will define the role of each participating agency during an incident and how resources will be organized and managed.
• Command Staff describes the hierarchy of command during an incident in addition to the management of public information and communication with the media.

Connecting Communities is a two-day workshop recommended for transit personnel and their surrounding law enforcement, emergency medical, and fire agencies, as well as local, state, and federal government representatives.