Houston Metro Wins APTA Top Honors
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Metro) is the recipient of the 2015 Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).
Metro competed and won in the category for largest transit agencies, those which provide 20 million or more passenger trips annually. The award acknowledges transit accomplishments over the past three years.
"We're being recognized by our peers nationally for all our hard work and progress in all areas," said Metro Chairman Gilbert Garcia. "I'm so excited that this will be the hallmark of the New Metro and it's a team effort."
www.MassTransitmag.com/12087499
NJ Transit Orders 772 MCI Coaches
New Jersey’s public transportation board of directors authorized the purchase of 772 MCI 45-foot Commuter Coaches for New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit).
The $395 million order for clean diesel, cruiser-style coaches will offer NJ Transit riders three-point seatbelts, forward-facing seating for 57 passengers, as well as individual airflow controls and reading lights. The six-year delivery schedule for the new commuter coaches will begin in 2016.
NJ Transit will use this order to replace older 2000-2008 models.
NJ Transit estimates the new MCI Commuter Coaches will allow the agency to boost seating capacity by six percent.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12093088
CityLynx Gold Line Opens in Charlotte
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx joined Charlotte Mayor and Metropolitan Transit Commission Chair Daniel Clodfelter July 14 to open the CityLynx Gold Line service.
“This project is the next step in Charlotte's march to a 21st century transportation network and is an example of the action-based dialogue necessary to connect underserved areas,” Foxx said. “In the process of making it happen, Charlotte has a chance to better manage its growth and deliver new housing stock, new jobs and new economic opportunities for parts of the city that badly need them.”
The CityLynx Gold Line is the first 1.5-mile segment of a 10-mile streetcar system.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12092148
Sound Transit Finishes Second Light Rail Tunnel
Sound Transit’s second tunnel boring machine for the Northgate Link light rail extension reached the wall of the future Roosevelt light rail station July 13, completing a 1.5-mile segment of a 3.4-mile tunnel that will serve light rail trains from Northgate Mall to the University of Washington starting in 2021.
It’s the second of six tunnels being mined by Sound Transit tunneling contractors as part of the extension.
Another TBM launched from the Maple Leaf Portal in July 2014 will reach the Roosevelt site in March.
Both tunnels are expected to be complete by mid-2016.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12092069
Sun Van Introduces New Vehicles
The city of Tucson and Sun Van introduced 35 new vehicles, which will replace aging vehicles and improve the overall fleet.
The vehicles were received at the end of June, decreasing the average age of the fleet from 2.47 years to 2.1 years.
Funded by the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) and city of Tucson, Sun Van received 35 cut-away vehicles built by Glaval at a cost of $90,000 per vehicle.
“With the addition of 35 new vehicles we will be able to enhance our service and outreach into the community,” said Kate Riley, general manager of Sun Van.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12091343
Maurice Brown
Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority
Maurice Brown, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers Local 250, has been appointed to the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority’s board of trustees.
He has been an employee with the city of Cincinnati since 2007 and was a minority small business owner for 15 years.
He is a board member of the city of Cincinnati’s Community Development Advisory Board. Previously, he served as a social service worker and mentor for the “Friends of the Children” program.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12088699
Bill Burke
San Diego Metropolitan Transit System
Bill Burke, the chief of police for the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), passed away June 29. He was 68 years old.
Burke started with MTS in 2001, was promoted to director of security in 2004 and became its first chief of police in 2011. Prior to working with MTS, Burke was the chief of police for the Cook County Sheriff’s Department.
Burke is survived by his wife Janice, three children and five grandchildren. Deputy Director of Transit Security Manuel Guaderrama was named the acting director of security for MTS.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12088699
David Nichols
Parsons Brinckerhoff
Parsons announced that David Nichols, former director of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), has joined the corporation as vice president, transportation program director.
He will serve as a senior executive on major projects while also assisting Parsons with relationship development in national and international strategic markets.
Nichols has more than 30 years of professional engineering experience with MoDOT. Nichols developed Missouri’s comprehensive transportation long-range plan and served as a liaison with the governor of Missouri on transportation-related issues.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12089163
Jeff Mann
GoTriangle
Jeff Mann was named general manager of GoTriangle.
Mann previously was a deputy secretary with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). He joined NCDOT in 2014.
He previously was with Amtrak, Parsons Brinkerhoff and the N. C. Railroad Co. He is a graduate of the Babcock School of Business at Wake Forest University and holds an undergraduate degree from UNC-Wilmington.
Mann will replace David King who served as general manager since 2006.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12087520
Marcus Peoples
Via Metropolitan Transit
The United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County has presented the Corporate-Individual Volunteer of the Year award to Marcus Peoples, Via Metropolitan Transit’s vice president of human resources, for his volunteerism throughout the community and his efforts to raise funds for the charitable organization.
Peoples serves as the executive management representative for Via’s United Way Charitable Campaign. Under his leadership, Via had both the highest amount of contributions raised and the largest number of donors in the organization’s history of United Way campaigns.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12087155
SECURITY
TTC Awarded for Court Advocate Program
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) won the Canadian Urban Transit Association's (CUTA) 2015 Leadership Award for Safety and Security for its innovative Court Advocate program.
TTC introduced the program to help reduce the number of assaults on employees. The program provides assistance to employees who have been victims of crime and works to educate court officials on the impact on the employee.
In the five years since the program began, the two court advocates assisted more than 2,000 TTC employees. The number of assaults on TTC employees has been reduced from 345 victims in 2010 to 180 victims in 2014.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12090991
UTA Expands its Security
Until recently, the Utah Transit Authority’s (UTA) video security system was limited by the capacities of its servers. In 2013, it had reached the maximum of 500 cameras operating on three servers (one for management, two for recording), which made it impossible to expand the system by bringing additional cameras online. In addition, UTA was in the midst of building a new line out to the airport, and was eager to display an improved surveillance system to state dignitaries. What UTA needed was a much larger video surveillance system that would also be more efficient.
UTA enlisted Utah-based Stone Security to help choose a security system that best met its specifications. Together, they determined that Milestone XProtect video management software (VMS) best suited the UTA’s needs.
As of early 2015 UTA has deployed more than 1,000 cameras from a mix of vendors: Axis, Panasonic, IQEye and Digital Watchdog. The system runs on nine HP servers provided by BCDVideo (eight for recording and one for management). With this system in place, UTA can expand to 2,000 cameras or more. The security cameras are accessible by dispatch, commuter and rail control centers and other authorized users.
As an organization committed to providing passengers with an optimal riding experience, switching to the Milestone system allowed UTA to put more cameras on platforms while centralizing the control system. Milestone reduces the time spent by UTA employees attending to security issues without burdening riders. In addition, the significant improvement in video quality makes it easier to monitor and investigate incidents.
See the entire story in an upcoming edition of the Mass Transit Security Newsletter.
