People
Tom Cruikshank – Paula Mastey
Metro Bus
Tom Cruikshank has been promoted to managing director of operations and planning. Cruikshank has worked for Metro Bus since 1990 and was previously the director of planning and marketing. He will now oversee operations, maintenance, community outreach and planning.
Paul Mastey recently joined Metro Bus as director of finance. She will oversee finance, payroll and purchasing.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12041685
Steve Batho
MCI
MCI has named Steve Batho vice president of technical support. In this new position he will lead advances in MCI’s field support, technical training and roadside assistance. Batho joins MCI with a 17-year career at Daimler Buses North America, most recently as vice president of product support. He also served as director of plant and equipment at London Transit Commission, in London, Ontario. He reports to Wolfgang Winzer, MCI vice president and general manager of aftermarket.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12040718
Mortimer L. Downey III
Washington Area Transit Authority
Washington Area Transit Authority (Metro) has elected Mortimer L. Downey III as chair of the board of directors. Downey joined the board in January 2010 as the first member appointed by the federal government. He has previously been deputy secretary of transportation in the Clinton Administration, served on the Transportation Policy Committee for the Obama presidential campaign, was appointed leader of the Department of Transportation Agency Review Team during the 2008-2009 presidential transition and was executive director and chief financial officer of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12038089
Karen J. Hedlund
Parsons Brinckerhoff
Karen Hedlund, former deputy administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), has been named director of public-private partnerships (P3s) in the strategic consulting group of Parsons Brinckerhoff. In her new position she will work with federal, state and local transportation agencies as well as private companies to facilitate financing and development of transportation projects through P3s. She also previously served as chief counsel of the Federal Highway Administration in 2009-2010.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12036756
Derrick Breun – John King
Transdev
Derrick Breun has been promoted to regional vice president of the Southeastern Region. Previously he served as an area vice president for the same region of the transit division. He started his career with Transdev in 2005 as the general manager of the Jefferson Parish Transportation Operations.
John King has been promoted to regional vice president of the Northeastern Region. Prior to this King served as an area vice president for the transit division. In his role as regional vice president he is responsible for 21 different contracts in the Northeast with a wide range of operational scope.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12036620
www.MassTransitmag.com/12036608
News
MTS Upgrades Blue Line Trolleys
To mark the start of low-floor service on the Blue Line, the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) along with local dignitaries, community members and contractors held a celebration at the 8th Street Station in National City.
The launch of low-floor service on the Blue Line is part of a $600 million effort to modernize the entire trolley system. Trolley Renewal is funded primarily by California Proposition 1B bond funds and TransNet, the regional half-cent sales tax for transportation administered by SANDAG. In addition to low-floor cars, Trolley Renewal included new station platforms, next-arrival electronic signs, signaling systems, overhead catenary wires, larger shelters and track replacement.
Trolley Renewal began in fall 2010. All the station improvements are on track to be completed this spring. Additional track and signal work is expected to be finished later this year.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12039823
BYD Unveils Electric Coach Bus
BYD Motors Inc. has officially unveiled the world’s first long-range, 100 percent battery-electric over-the-road coach bus. This first electric coach, named the BYD C10, is a two-axle, 40-ft coach with the seating capacity to carry 47 people at highway speed for more than 190 miles.
The BYD C9 is the first of three 100 percent battery-electric coaches the company will launch globally this year. The other two, a 45-ft three-axle coach named the C9 and a 23-ft coach with executive and transport configurations named the C6 will be arriving by the end of 2015.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12038824
TMACC Rebrands the ChescoBus
The ChescoBus is the newly rebranded public transportation network managed by the Transportation Management Association of Chester County’s (TMACC). The service includes TMACC’s two routes: SCCOOT, serving Oxford to West Chester, and Coatesville Link, connecting Parkesburg to Coatesville.
With the new colorful bus designs and a simple new bus logo will be incorporated with coordinating bus stop signs along the two routes and a new bus tickets look.
The choice in design and color was a simple decision for TMACC; choose vibrant colors that represent sustainability and the environment.
TMACC Manager of Transportation Operations and Planning John Meisel said, “The new signs are the same color as the new bus designs. They’re bright and easy to spot. And most importantly, they will be located at all stops listed on the route. The installation of these signs is a huge upgrade to the service that will help riders.”
www.MassTransitmag.com/12040941
LAN Takes Gold for DART Project
The American Council of Engineering Co. (ACEC) Texas awarded civil engineering firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc. (LAN) a gold medal for its work on the DART Orange Line project.
The 14-mile, six-station, Orange Line, which was built months ahead of schedule and $22 million under budget, begins in northwest Dallas, goes through Irving and Las Colinas before ending at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Track3, a joint venture team led by LAN as its general engineering consultant, managed the project. The joint venture team of Kiewit, Stacy & Witbeck, Reyes, Parsons (KSWRP) built the project in three segments.
The Orange Line will benefit thousands of light-rail commuters and more than 165,000 passengers who fly in or out of the DFW Airport every day. It also will connect travelers to a variety of intermodal options, including DART’s other light rail lines and vast network of bus, vanpool and paratransit services, Denton County Transportation Authority’s A-Train, Trinity Railway Express, Amtrak, Greyhound, as well as the Las Colinas Area Personal Transit System.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12040370
Quebec City Tests Hybrid Buses
In collaboration with its business partners, Nova Bus is testing an LFS HEV hybrid bus with integrated E series propulsion system, which can switch from diesel operation to temporary fully electric mode. The demo bus will run in the streets of Quebec City in the coming months to collect data and optimize its performance for future routes.
The E series LFS HEV will be tested for six months to document the benefits of its green technology, under the various propulsion modes it offers – diesel, hybrid electric or fully electric.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12038083
LANta Partners with Community College
Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (LANta) and Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC) have entered into an agreement that will offer dramatic bus fare reductions for the college's 7,000 students, faculty and staff. The program, which begins with the current spring semester, was jointly announced by Owen P. O'Neil, LANta's executive director, and Ann Bieber, president of LCCC.
"With LCCC's campus in Schnecksville and busy Downtown Allentown Donley Center we believe there is a great potential for students and others on campus to take advantage of the convenience of public transit," said O'Neil.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12041459
DCTA Breaks Ground on Hike and Bike Trail
The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) has started construction on the Lewisville Hike and Bike trail, which is the second phase of the agency’s rail trail project.
In October 2012, DCTA was awarded funding through the Statewide Transportation Enhancement Program sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for Phase Two – the Lewisville portion of the DCTA Rail Trail. The agency is currently working on the first 3.3-mile portion of the Lewisville Hike and Bike Trail, which runs from the Hebron Station to Mills Street in Old Town Lewisville.
DCTA is seeking alternative funding to finish the remaining 3.2 miles of Phase Two which will run from College Street to the Highland Village/Lewisville Lake Station. Phase Two of the DCTA Rail Trail project (Lewisville Hike and Bike Trail) is estimated at $6.3 million and will consist of 6.5 miles of trail in total.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12040891
Events
2015 Bus Safety Seminar & Expo
April 22-23
Orlando, Fla.
The seminar brings together transportation safety experts, researchers, suppliers, and industry professionals in a comfortable educational environment.
MetroRail Europe 2015
March 9-11
London, U.K.
Digital Signage Expo 2015
March 10-12
Las Vegas, Nev.
PTC World Congress
March 10-12
Orlando, Fla.
Communications Based Train Control Conference 2015
March 10
London, U.K.
2015 Locus New England Leadership Summit
March 11
Boston, Mass.
COMTO Celebrating Women Who Move the Nation Breakfast Awards Ceremony
March 11
Washington, D.C.
Middle East Rail 2015
March 17-18
Dubai, UAE
Asia Pacific Rail 2015
March 30-April 1
Hong Kong
2015 AzTA/ADOT Annual Conference & Bus Roadeo
April 12-14
Phoenix, Ariz.
APA 2015 National Planning Conference
April 18-21
Seattle, Wash.
High Speed Rail Conference DC
April 21-23
Washington, D.C.
2015 International Rail Safety Seminar & Expo
April 20-22
Orlando, Fla.
