Upcoming Spring Transit Workshop 2026
- Spring Transit Workshop 2026
May 5, 2026 - May 7, 2026
1:00 pm - 12:00 pm
This year’s workshop has a special focus on service planning — along with sessions to help you streamline your operations and information about helpful resources like mobility managers.
The draft agenda and session details have been published below. The break times, session descriptions and titles are subject to minor changes, but the sessions should stay on the same days so you can plan who to attend from your agencies.
Join us at the end of day 2 of the Spring Transit Workshop for tours at the St. Cloud Metro Bus Mobility Training Center and the St. Cloud Metro Bus CNG Fueling Facility (Operations Facility). You may sign up for one or both facility tours. There are two time slots available for each location. There will also be sign-ups available in-person at the Spring Transit Workshop!
On Day 3, we have a special interactive training session on De-Escalation Tips & Tricks. This mini-workshop will also provide you with resources you can bring back to your agencies. We strongly encourage you to plan to stay for this session!
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Reserve your spot at the workshop today!
Sign up for a St. Cloud Metro Bus Facility tour: St. Cloud Metro Bus Tours
View Agenda as a PDF: Spring Transit Workshop Agenda
Hotel blocks are now closed.
If you have any accessibility needs or dietary requirements, please contact jaycie.kratky@drbteam.com.
| Spring Transit Workshop Draft Agenda | |||||
| Last Updated 4/21/2026 | |||||
| Day 1 (Tuesday, May 5) | Day 2 (Wednesday, May 6) | Day 3 (Thursday, May 7) | |||
| 7:45–8 | -breakfast, registration, and networking- | -breakfast and networking- | |||
| 8-8:15 |
Introductions & Welcome
|
Welcome, Regroup, Questions,
and Puzzle Picture Activity |
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| 8:15-8:30 | |||||
| 8:30-8:45 |
Budgeting: Continuous Improvement
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You Can Have It Both Ways: How Transit Technology Can Improve Customer and Operator Experience
|
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| 8:45-9 | |||||
| 9-9:15 | |||||
| 9:15-9:30 | |||||
| 9:30-9:45 | -break- |
MPTA Legislative Update
|
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| 9:45-10 |
Transit Superlatives
|
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| 10-10:15 | -break- | ||||
| 10:15-10:30 |
Staff Wages/Benefits Small Group Discussion/Panel
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De-Escalation Tips & Tricks
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| 10:30-10:45 | |||||
| 10:45-11 | |||||
| 11-11:15 | -Puzzle Picture Activity- | ||||
| 11:15-11:30 | RTAP Information | ||||
| 11:30-11:45 |
-lunch-
|
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| 11:45-12 | |||||
| 12-12:15 | |||||
| 12:15-12:30 |
Service Planning Roll-Out
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Closing Remarks | |||
| 12:30-12:45 |
-registration and networking-
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| 12:45-1 | |||||
| 1-1:15 |
Introductions & Welcome
|
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| 1:15-1:30 | |||||
| 1:30-1:45 |
Presentation and Deep Dive on the 2027 Rural/Urbanized Operating Grant (Includes Webinar)
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| 1:45-2 | |||||
| 2-2:15 | |||||
| 2:15-2:30 | -break- | -break- | |||
| 2:30-2:45 |
Presentation and Deep Dive on the 2027 Rural/Urbanized Operating Grant (Includes Webinar)
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Publishing Your Service
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| 2:45-3 | |||||
| 3-3:15 |
Mobility Management Shuffle
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| 3:15-3:30 | -Puzzle Picture Activity- | ||||
| 3:30-3:45 |
Federal Fund Braiding
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| 3:45-4 | |||||
| 4-4:15 |
Jeopardy & Closing Announcements (including dinner plans)
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| 4:15-4:30 | |||||
| 4:30-4:45 | -travel time for tours- | ||||
| 4:45-5 |
Hold for Tours of St. Cloud Metro Bus Mobility Training Center and CNG Fueling Facility (4:45, 5:15)
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| 5-5:15 | Dinner Plan Organizing | ||||
| 5:15-5:30 | |||||
| 5:30-5:45 | |||||
| Session Title & Description | Presenter(s) | Session Length |
| Presentation and Deep Dive on the 2027 Rural/Urbanized Operating Grant Melinda Estey will walk through the Solicitation Instructions and highlight key changes an applicant must understand. The presentation will include a deep dive into the documents, forms, templates, and guides that comprise this solicitation, focusing on changes from prior solicitations. Finally, we expect to have time for questions. A formal written response will be posted online.This session will be recorded and posted online as well. |
Melinda Estey and Glenn Gadbois | 90 min. |
| Federal Fund Braiding | Kelly Shawn (CTAA) | 90 min. |
| Budgeting: Continuous Improvement | Randy Jahnke and Tina Neary | 1 hr. |
| Staff Wages/Benefits Small Group Discussion/Panel | TBD | 45 min. |
| RTAP Information | Cathleen Amick, Jaycie Kratky, and Mariah Kathan | 15 min. |
| Service Planning Roll-Out | Matti Gurney and Ben Tomhave | 2 hrs. |
| Publishing Your Service | Cathleen Amick & Jean Meyer | 30 min. |
| Mobility Management Shuffle How Mobility Managers (RTCCs and TCAPs) can help transit agencies. |
Tammi Hagen, Tony Klaers, Alan Herrmann, Terry Smith | 1 hr. |
| Tours of St. Cloud Metro Bus Mobility Training Center and CNG Fueling Facility | Off-Site at St. Cloud Metro Bus | after sessions |
| You Can Have It Both Ways: How Transit Technology Can Improve Customer and Operator Experience For many transit professionals, technology can feel like one more thing on an already full plate. With limited staff capacity and competing priorities, finding time to learn new tools can be an intimidating task—and sometimes it feels like more work than it’s worth. Meanwhile, riders increasingly expect real-time information and seamless connections in a world where everything else is just a tap away. The good news? The transit technology that you’re already investing in can be thoughtfully paired with future investments to meet these expectations while saving time and reducing complexity for operators. This workshop explores how interoperable, standardized data and emerging solutions can support both operators and travelers.Join us to discuss how the operational and informational technology that you are already investing in (AVL, APC, dispatch/routing software, websites and mobile applications) can do more than you even thought, and how GTFS, GTFS-Flex, and other data standards enable interoperability across systems, reduce duplication, and support innovation, so that no matter what vendor you might have now or have in the future, you won’t be locked into increasing costs because open-source data gives you flexibility now and in the future.Whether you’re focused on improving trip planning, streamlining operations, or preparing for future mobility trends, this session will provide practical strategies and real-world examples of how technology can make transit more efficient, equitable, and rider-friendly—without sacrificing operator needs.Key Takeaways: +Practical steps to improve both customer and operator experience through technology. +How standardized data unlocks interoperability and innovation. +Minnesota’s Mobility as a Service effort: goals, progress, and lessons learnedCommunicating to customers about using new technology (trip planning, booking, and payment) |
Kristina Heggedal and Kathy Schultz | 1 hr. |
| MPTA Legislative Update | Margaret Donahoe, MPTA | 30 min. |
| De-Escalation Tips & Tricks | The De-Escalation Team | 2 hrs. |
Venue: Park Event Center
Venue Website: https://theparkeventcenter.com/
Address:Login to request a different date or venue for this course — or request a new course entirely.