MPTA Members attend Crisis Communication Training for Transit Employees

On Wednesday, May 17, 2017, MPTA members and staff from member organizations participated in a training by the National Transit Institute (NTI) on “Crisis Communication for Transit Employees.” This event was part of the MPTA Educational Series.

 Chris Boyler from NTI lead the training which focused equipping frontline and supervisory transit personnel with the skills and techniques they need to communicate effectively within their organizations and with passengers throughout a crisis to enable successful response and recovery.

Boyler’s training emphasized that effective communication is essential to the management of any transit crisis—whether it is a catastrophic event such as derailment or terrorist attack, or a more mundane one such as a power outage or prolonged service delay. The training covered why people react the way they do, how transit employees can effectively communicate with passengers through words and non-verbal communication, and how to de-escalate potentially dangerous situations with passengers and manage non-compliant individuals on the system.

The training was held at the MoDOT facilities at 1511 Missouri Blvd. in Jefferson City, MO. Attendees included representatives from OATS, City Utilities, JeffTran, SMTS, COMO Connect, KCATA, MoDOT, EITAS, and others.

MPTA members who were unable to attend the training but interested in what was covered can view the Crisis Communication presentation slides and notes here..