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AC Transit Gets new Buses
The transbay bus commute to San Francisco has now become smoother and more luxurious with the purchase of 54 state-of-the- art commuter-style coaches.
The dark green Gillig buses are the third in a series of locally-built coaches acquired as part of the agency’s “A Better Ride” campaign and its Buy American Goods policy. In March, 60 low-floor forty-foot Gillig buses were put into service. In June, 23 New Flyer 60-foot, articulated buses were added to the fleet. Now: the 16 commuter buses with 38 more due before spring.
The commuter bus’s low floor minimizes the potential for boarding missteps. Once aboard, passengers will enjoy high back upholstered seats, individual reading lamps, free WiFi, luggage racks and great views of the Bay.
www.MassTransitmag.com/11226490
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Omaha Metro Gets New Fareboxes
Metro Transit introduced new fare collection equipment on its bus and paratransit fleet on Nov 11.
The SPX Genfare Odyssey Fareboxes replace a 23 year-old onboard system that has outdated technology and increasing mechanical failures. The Odyssey provides Metro the ability to increase efficiency and on-time performance with improved boarding times, less maintenance and simplifies the process for the operator to confirm the correct fare was deposited.
www.MassTransitmag.com/11225360
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Arboc Specialty Vehicles Produces 1,500 Bus
Arboc Specialty Vehicles announced that it has recently reached the milestone of producing its 1,500th bus at the company’s Middlebury, Ind., facility.
As the 1,500th bus rolled out of the plant, Arboc’s dealer, Wes Woods of Crestline as well as representatives from the city of Calgary, Jim Walton, Ed Gajecki and Wayne South were on-site to accept the keys of their Spirit of Freedom Bus, a low-floor, ADA compliant bus.
www.MassTransitmag.com/11224234
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DART Starts D-Link Service
D-Link buses begin circulating through downtown Dallas and neighboring districts on Nov. 4. The free shuttle – a partnership among DART, the city of Dallas and Downtown Dallas Inc. – connects major tourist attractions and employment centers in the city center.
D-Link is designed to complement other current and future transit services, including the DART System, Trinity Railway Express and Amtrak. The Union Station to Oak Cliff Dallas Streetcar and the M-Line Urban Circulator projects both will be complete by 2015, and the D-Link route will adapt accordingly.
www.MassTransitmag.com/11222683
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CDTA Announces BRT Expansion
The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) was joined by Senator Charles Schumer to detail the development of its “40 miles of BRT” route network. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is one of the fastest-growing service categories in the country, and locally provides a transportation alternative that improves connections to jobs and stimulates the Capital Region’s economy.
BusPlus is a premium, limited-stop service that combines a quicker ride with enhanced customer amenities, such as large stations, real-time information, transit signal priority and security features. BusPlus has increased ridership on Route 5 to more than 4 million boardings.
www.MassTransitmag.com/11196436
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CAT Dedicates Bus Shelter to Local Activist
Capital Area Transit (CAT), along with Bismarck Early Childhood Education Program (BECEP), dedicated a bus shelter in honor of former Head Start teacher and director MaryAnn Anderson on Oct. 25,
More than 40 family members, friends, BECEP employees, CAT employees and community members gathered at BECEP for this historical event. This is the first CAT bus shelter to be dedicated. Just put up in September, MaryAnn’s shelter is new to the corner of Avenue C and 14th Street.
MaryAnn Anderson was a teacher, administrator, mentor and leader who began teaching at the Head Start program in Bismarck in 1970. In 1987, she was named director of the BECEP program in Bismarck. She retired in 2001, after 31 years of service dedicated to changing children’s lives. She continued to touch lives as a member of the Touch Board at BECEP. MaryAnn passed away on June 11, 2012.
www.MassTransitmag.com/11217569
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MTD Art Featured at Illinois Terminal
MTD's Illinois Terminal has a new installation featuring "MTD ART." MTD and 40 North 88 West partnered last year to begin a program called “MTD ART: Moving Pictures Through Your Neighborhood.”
The program features artwork on all MTD buses. Over the last year, riders have been treated to sixteen works of art from the area’s finest artists. The new installation on the first floor of Illinois Terminal features larger prints of the same works being showcased on buses each quarter.
The inclusion of art on all MTD buses was envisioned as a way to brighten riders' days by giving them lovely and inspiring works of arts to view on their bus trips. Now visitors to Illinois Terminal will have the same opportunity to enjoy the work of many talented artists.
www.MassTransitmag.com/11221500
IndyGo Adds Simme Seats to Stops
IndyGo installed 12 of its newest bus stop amenity — Simme Seats. These two-seater, bus stop signpost-mounted benches offer riders comfort in areas where a traditional bench or shelter may not be feasible.
The new pint-sized, yet heavy-duty benches add to IndyGo’s transit stop amenity offerings. In addition to having space-saving advantages in tight quarters, the patented two-seaters are a bargain and help IndyGo stretch its budget for bus stop improvements. While a typical shelter can cost around $15,000, the Simme-Seats are about $600 a piece.
In addition to the installation of Simme-Seats, IndyGo also recently worked with People for Urban Progress (PUP) to nearly double the number of PUPstops. PUPstops are a collaboration between PUP and IndyGo to refurbish and repurpose historic Bush Stadium seats as benches at bus stops.
www.MassTransitmag.com/11226528
Palm Tran Recognized for safety record
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Palm Tran received the first-place Unit Safety Award for transit systems operating more than 100 buses at the Florida Public Transportation Association's (FPTA)annual conference held Oct. 27-29 in Clearwater Beach, Fla.
This is the fourth consecutive year that Palm Tran has been recognized by its peers as having the safest transit system in the state. Over the past 10 years, Palm Tran has won the first-place award seven times and placed second twice.
www.MassTransitmag.com/11233072
TTC Welcomes 29 Billionth Rider
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The Toronto Transit Commission on Nov. 13, officially welcomed its 29 billionth customer since the TTC was established in 1921. The 29 billionth customer is Robert Kinsey of Leaside, who was selected as a long-time subscriber to the TTC’s Metropass Discount Plan.
The TTC continues to set record ridership records. In 2014, the TTC expects to carry 540 million riders. So far this year, daily ridership has surpassed 2012’s single-day record of 1,795,009 riders five times.
TTC Chair Karen Stintz, CEO Andy Byford and Chief Customer Officer Chris Upfold presented Robert Kinsey with a free Metropass for one year.
www.MassTransitmag.com/11232085
MTA Unveils Veteran’s Bus
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In honor and gratitude to the men and women of the armed forces, Flint’s Mass Transportation Authority on Nov. 11 unveiled a fully wrapped veteran’s bus.
The interior of the bus has bus placards showing the history of wars the United States has fought in from the Revolutionary war to the Afghanistan War. The cards were sponsored by National Fleet Services of Michigan and Ohio and Mobility Transportation Services.
The veteran’s bus will be on the road full year, on various routes throughout the community.
www.MassTransitmag.com/11231749
OCTA Honors Veterans
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The Orange County Transportation Authority recognized the service of employees who are military veterans during OCTA’s fourth annual Veterans Day Appreciation event.
OCTA employs 120 veterans from the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard, representing nearly 10 percent of the workforce. OCTA has been recognized by military organizations as a military-friendly employer for its efforts to actively recruit veterans..
OCTA Chairman Greg Winterbottom and CEO Darrell Johnson presented the veterans with a special pin, adorned with the United States flag, the OCTA logo and the employee’s branch of military service, along with the word “Veteran.”
www.MassTransitmag.com/11232223
Franklin Transit Introduces Girl Scouts Transit Patch in Tennessee
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On Nov. 12, Preston Elliott, chairman of the Franklin Transit Authority along with Debbie Henry, executive director of the TMA Group, presented a framed Girl Scout Transportation Patch to the city of Franklin. Agenia Clark, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, and Girl Scouts were on hand for the presentation at the Board of Mayor and Alderman meeting.
The Transportation Patch was developed by the Franklin Transit Authority’s board members and the Girl Scouts Middle Tennessee Council. This is the first partnership between Franklin Transit Authority and Girl Scouts making this the first transportation patch available for Girl Scouts in the state of Tennessee.
The Transportation Patch teaches and celebrates alternative methods of transportation, such as walking, bicycling, and using mass transit.
www.MassTransitmag.com/11237241
PTC Systems Commissioned for Long Island and Metro-North Railroads
Siemens and Bombardier will develop, test and commission a new Positive Train Control (PTC) system for the MTA Metro-North Railroad and MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) commuter lines. These improvements will increase efficiency on lines that carry around 80 million passengers per year.
The project will be delivered in phases on approximately 1100 km (700 miles) of track and 1500 vehicles across the two railroads. Siemens work scope for this project includes development, modification, design, delivery, provisioning, and supervision of testing and commissioning of the new Positive Train Control (PTC) carborne system. The scope also includes modifications and revision to existing railroads’ wayside signal in order to upgrade and add ACSES II-related hardware for the two complete PTC systems, one configured for Metro-North Railroad and one configured for Long Island Rail Road.
