Groundbreaking for New Mobility Training Center
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) celebrated the groundbreaking of the RTC’s new Mobility Training Center (MTC).
At the MTC, the RTC will provide its Transit Mobility services, a free one-on-one or group training program, to local residents, especially persons with disabilities and senior citizens. The MTC will teach residents how to use the RTC fixed-route transit services safely and will provide them with the confidence necessary to travel independently.
The RTC’s ADA certification team currently sees 450 clients per month. At the new MTC, the RTC anticipates it will be able to serve an additional 150 clients per month.
Funding from the Federal Transit Administration will account for $5.4 million — approximately 80 percent — of the project’s $6.7 million cost. The RTC will fund the remaining 20 percent, $1.3 million.
The new 14,700-plus sq. ft. facility will be located next to the RTC’s Sunset Maintenance Facility and is expected to open in Fall 2015.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12011626
Sun Metro’s Brio Opens in El Paso
Sun Metro celebrated the grand opening of its 8.6-mile bus rapid transit system along the Mesa Corridor in El Paso, Texas. The new system provides a high-capacity transit service to El Paso for the first time. Planning, engineering and program management firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc. (LAN) led the design of the project.
“We have dedicated nearly 6 years to analyzing, designing and building what we believe will revolutionize public transportation in our community,” said Sun Metro Director Jay Banasiak. “Mesa Brio is just the beginning of what’s to come for El Paso. Our ongoing objective is provide a first-class transportation system that moves our family, friends and neighbors to get to work, to school, to visit each other and back. It is also a system that supports our economic development, reduces our traffic congestion and helps improve our community’s air quality.”
Uniquely branded 60-foot articulated buses with low-floor boarding will transport more than 70 passengers between the terminal stations every 10 minutes during peak period and 15 minutes during off‐peak period for 14 hours a day, Monday-Friday.
The Mesa Corridor is the first of four RTS corridors approved by the city of El Paso. The second corridor will be in Alameda. Construction on Alameda is tentatively scheduled to begin in spring 2015 with completion in 2016.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12014445
Sec. Foxx and Congressman Butterfield visit IMPulse
IMPulse NC LLC welcomed Secretary Anthony Foxx, U.S. Department of Transportation, and U.S.
Congressman G. K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) for a tour of its factory. The secretary and congressman met with IMPulse employees as part of a visit to eastern North Carolina.
IMPulse unveiled its latest innovative development for cable theft detection, as well as its White House Champion of Change technology for an overhead contact wire safety monitoring system. Both products are offered exclusively by IMPulse as an advanced technology for the transit market that improves safety,
security and reliability.
IMPulse employees learned more about the Secretary’s mission for transportation and the efforts being spearheaded by Congressman Butterfield in eastern North Carolina.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12014636
Top Public Transportation Organizations and Leaders Honored By APTA
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced the individual and organizational winners of the 2014 APTA Awards in Houston, Texas, during the APTA 2014 Annual Meeting/Expo. “The 2014 APTA Awards winners are exceptional examples of leadership, innovation and excellence in the public transportation industry in North America,” said APTA President and CEO Michael Melaniphy. “On behalf of the 1,500 member organizations that belong to APTA, I congratulate this year’s winners and thank them for their many significant contributions to the public transportation industry.”
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Capital Metro) in Austin, Texas, won an Innovation Award for its comprehensive Employee Wellness Program that was designed to address key aspects of employee health — nutrition, physical activity, safety, weight management, stress reduction strategies, and tobacco cessation. The Wellness Team works closely with the Safety Department to design and implement programs specifically tailored to the needs of each department. Presentations at safety meetings, safety-themed wellness challenges, and free CPR and automated external defibrillator classes (AED) are integrated into wellness operations.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12010848
The Regional Transportation District (RTD) in Denver, Colorado, won an Innovation Award for its in-depth, educational workforce development programs that not only train workers for today’s skills, but also anticipate future skills. RTD’s Strategic Leadership Development Program employs an integrated, highly structured five-step, custom-designed curriculum that identifies and develops qualified employees for senior management positions within RTD and public transit. RTD is meeting the challenges of innovation and developing its most important asset – human capital.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12010884
Eastern Contra Costa Transit Authority (Tri Delta Transit), Antioch, California, received the 2014 Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award (Category: Providing 4 million or fewer annual passenger trips). Serving the transportation needs of nearly 300,000 residents in a 225-square-mile area 40 miles east of San Francisco, Tri Delta Transit’s vision is to create an environment that encourages and rewards all employees to live a long, healthy and safe life. Proactive management in all departments has guided them to an impressive 42 percent decrease in preventable accidents, a 16 percent increase in ridership from 2011-2013, and record high levels in customer satisfaction, community support, and employee satisfaction.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12015385
Lane Transit District (LTD), Springfield, Oregon, received the 2014 Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award (Category: Providing more than 4 million but fewer than 20 million annual passenger trips). Covering a service area of nearly 500 square miles and providing service to a population of more than 300,000, LTD serves the greater Eugene-Springfield, Oregon, area in the southern Willamette Valley. LTD was one of the first public transit agencies to be fully accessible five years before the Americans with Disability Act deadline. LTD launched one of the nation’s first fully featured bus rapid transit systems, Emerald Express (EmX). LTD has implemented continuous improvement initiatives by instituting the TransitStat process and by aggressively targeting a reduction in accidents and injuries.
www.MassTransitmag.com/11656833
Utah Transit Authority (UTA), Salt Lake City, Utah, received the 2014 Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award (Category: Providing 20 million or more annual passenger trips). UTA provides bus, light rail, commuter rail, streetcar, bus rapid transit, vanpool, and bike and car share services to Salt Lake City and the surrounding five counties. Fifteen years ago, UTA had no rail transit. By the end of 2013, the agency opened its eleventh rail project — completing 140 miles of light rail, commuter rail and streetcar lines — and recorded the highest ridership in its history with more than 44 million boardings. In December 2013, UTA achieved the historic feat of opening four rail lines in 12 months, completing one of the most aggressive rail expansion programs in the country.
This year two individuals were inducted in to the APTA Hall of Fame. This award is reserved for individuals who have long and distinguished careers in the industry; who have made extraordinary contributions to public transportation, and who have actively participated in APTA activities. The two Hall of Fame recipients, Rod Diridon, Sr., and Ronald J. Tober, have a total of more than 80 years in the public transportation industry.
Rod Diridon, Sr., received the first 2014 Hall of Fame Award. During a more than 35-year career, Rod Diridon, Sr., appreciates rail’s linchpin niche in the nation’s transportation network. He began his elected career in 1971 as a 31-year-old city council member followed by 20 years, six times chair, of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and Transit Board. Diridon chaired APTA, the Bay area’s three regional agencies, and was UITP vice chair. He is especially proud of cofounding the APTA Diversity Council supporting women and minorities.
Ronald J. Tober received the second 2014 Hall of Fame Award. Ronald Tober has worked for 45 years in the field of public transportation as a planner, manager and chief executive. Tober started his public transit career in 1969, fresh out of engineering school, working in his hometown of Cleveland on a study of the first rail line serving a U.S. airport. From there he led public transit agencies in Miami, Boston, Seattle, Cleveland and Charlotte. Most recently he played a key role in helping the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) prepare to launch one of the most innovative public transit projects in the U.S. Tober was also received the 2005 Outstanding Public Transportation Manager of the Year Award.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12012871
Paul C. Jablonski, (chief executive officer, San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), San Diego, California) received the 2014 Outstanding Public Transportation Manager Award. This prestigious award is given to an APTA public transportation manager who has made outstanding contributions to the public transportation industry. Jablonski has been in the public transportation business for almost 45 years. His accomplishments span both the private and public sectors. He has had success all over the United States and even in places like Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. For the last 10 years he has been at the helm of MTS and, in that time, he has transformed it into one of the most efficient systems in the country. Under Jablonski’s leadership, ridership has steadily grown at MTS and more than 95 million trips were recorded last fiscal year. He has also worked hard to ensure that the operational perspective of public transportation is instilled in the planning of future services. This is already paying dividends with the launch of new BRT services and the work to add another 11 miles to the trolley network.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12015386
U.S. Representative Ed Pastor (D-AZ) received the 2014 Local Distinguished Service Award. This award is given to an individual who has made significant contributions at the local level to public transportation through policy, legislative initiative, and leadership. Since Pastor was elected to Congress in 1991, Arizona’s population has grown from 3.8 million to 6.5 million residents, resulting in transformational change in Arizona’s housing and economic climate. He has been a tremendous advocate for public transportation in Phoenix and even beyond his district in Mesa, by supporting public transit projects that get people to jobs, school, and vital services while generating a positive economic impact for the Valley of the Sun. Light rail and an expanded bus netwok have become reality due to his advocacy and ability to create partnerhsips. In 2005, Valley Metro Rail received a Full Funding Grant Agreement providing $587 million in federal funding for the 20-mile starter segment. Success of the light rail system is evident, with more than $7 billion in economic development generated since construction began and a ridership of 48,000 daily passengers, which approaches the ridership projections for 2020.
www.MassTransitmag.com/11621964
This year two individuals received the 2014 National Distinguished Service Award. This award is given to an individual who has made significant contributions at the national level to public transportation through policy, legislative initiative, and leadership. The two recipients of the National Distinguished Award are, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and U.S. Representative Tom Petri (R-WI).
Boxer received the first 2014 National Distinguished Service Award. She has a distinguished record of public service that spans nearly 38 years. She has served the residents of California as a local government elected official, in the U.S. House of Representatives, and currently as a powerful voice in the United States Senate. As the first woman to chair the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, she has been a tireless advocate for the environment and infrastructure and a true ambassador on transportation issues.
Petri received the second 2014 National Distinguished Service Award. His professional life has been dedicated to public service, from his work in Somalia as a young Peace Corps volunteer to his current position as an 18-term member of the House of Representatives. During his three decades as a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Congressman Petri served as chairman of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee for two major surface transportation reauthorization bills and as chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee where he oversaw the 2012 FAA reauthorization effort. Under his leadership, Congress passed the last fully funded, long-term surface transportation bill we have seen in a decade: SAFETEA-LU.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12015387
This year APTA gave a new special one-time award called the Lifetime of Academic Distinction Award, which honors two renowned educators, Dr. George M. Smerk, Jr. and Dr. Vukan R. Vuchic, who have had a tremendous influence on the public transportation industry.
Smerk received the first Lifetime of Academic Distinction Award. He earned a B.S. in 1955 and a M.B.A. in 1957 from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. In 1963, he earned his doctorate in business administration from Indiana University, Bloomington. He was professor of Transportation at Indiana University for almost 40 years, producing a steady stream of transit management graduates who went on to careers at transit agencies and businesses across the nation. At IU he founded the Institute for Urban Transportation and its training programs attracted professionals from 169 transit agencies.
Vuchic received the second Lifetime of Academic Distinction Award. During his 54-year career, he introduced many new concepts and processes in urban and particularly public transit systems planning and operations, lifting them from practice into an applied science and bridging the gap between academics working on theoretical models and public transit operations. Vukan’s focus on public transit systems and highway traffic engineering has broadened to the role of intermodal transportation in livable cities, transport policies and high-speed rail systems.
Pasquale (Pat) T. Deon, Sr. (board chairman, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) received the 2014 Outstanding Public Transportation Board Member Award. Deon has served as chairman of the SEPTA Board of Directors since 1999. He first joined the SEPTA board in 1996. During Deon’s tenure as board chairman, the organization has been able to advance key improvements by guiding more than $3.5 billion in capital investments for short- and long- term projects aimed at restoring SEPTA’s aging infrastructure to a state of good repair. This has included — and will continue to focus on — replacements and reconstruction of track, bridges, catenary, and train stations, as well as acquiring new vehicles to upgrade SEPTA’s fleet.
Raul V. Bravo (president, Raul Bravo + Associates Inc., Reston, Virginia) received the 2014 Outstanding Public Transportation Business Member Award. This award is given to an APTA public transportation business member who has made outstanding contributions to the public transportation industry. Bravo was born in Argentina and driven by a dream to be an automotive engineer in Detroit, but in 1974 a friend offered him a job with the public transportation industry. This was the beginning of a long and successful career in an industry which he embraced with great passion and dedication always looking for better, safer, and more efficient solutions. Along the way, Raul was awarded design and engineering patents for his creative work. He has been a steadfast champion for rail transportation and a visionary for innovative business and technical approaches.
[[[PEOPLE in the News]]]
Terry Nash has joined HNTB Corp. as senior project manager for transit and rail and associate vice president. He brings 18 years of project management experience, specializing in the rail transit industry for the past 13 years. Nash’s experience includes managing and coordinating all aspects of design, including conceptual layout, alternatives development, capital and operating costs, final design and systems integration.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12015252
Adrian Ruiz, retired Phoenix Police Lieutenant, joins Valley Metro as the new director of Safety and Security for the metropolitan Phoenix regional transit system. In her 23 years of experience as a Phoenix Police officer, Ruiz spent seven years as a Lieutenant with the Phoenix Police Transit Enforcement Unit. She retired from the Violent Crimes Bureau as the Lieutenant in Assaults/Gun Enforcement-Intelligence Unit.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12012646
Total Transit has hired C. Mikel Oglesby as its new national public transportation business development manager. Oglesby will be the lead of the Public Transportation Division, which provides fixed and flex route, express and other public transit-related services for transit authorities. Oglesby brings 24 years of public transportation leadership experience gained at both large and small agencies while directing the full gambit of agency functions at a senior management level.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12007754
Periklis Papadopoulos has been named a supervising communications systems engineer in the New York City office of Parsons Brinckerhoff. In his new position, Papadopoulos is responsible for the conceptual development and design of large-scale communications and security projects for rail and transit infrastructure. He has more than 20 years of security systems design and engineering experience, with expertise in physical security, access control systems, video surveillance systems, and perimeter radar detection systems for transportation and security infrastructure projects.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12013771
Ray Akkawi has joined Hatch Mott MacDonald as senior project manager. He has 17 years of experience with Caltrans, five years with the Alameda County Transportation Commission, and three years as a consulting engineer. Skilled in all phases of project development for major transportation and Intelligent Transportation Systems facilities, he has worked on projects including the Route 80 East and West approaches to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the I-85 Express Lane in Santa Clara County, and various mobility improvement projects in Alameda County.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12012891
Vince Alvino has joined Hatch Mott MacDonald as senior project controls & technology services manager. He has 20 years of experience as a project controls and technology management consultant, and five years working with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. His projects include the Toll Bridge Seismic Retrofit Program and Regional Measures 1 Program for the SFO Bay Area Toll Authority, the Measure B Rail and Highway Capital Improvement Program, and Amtrak’s Folsom Light Rail Extension.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12012891
Crosspoint Kinetics announced the appointment of Amy Dobrikova as director of Strategy and Business Development. Dobrikova brings years of sales and marketing experience to Crosspoint Kinetics. Prior to joining Crosspoint Kinetics, she was vice president of sales and business development for Echo Automotive, where she utilized her automotive industry acumen and understanding of hybrid and electrification technologies to advance awareness and adoption of Echo¹s hybrid products within the commercial fleet market.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12012458
Metro bus operator Jontay Love assisted an individual shot in Avondale on Oct. 13. Love was driving Cincinnati Metro’s Rt. 43 in Avondale around 10:15 p.m. when he heard gunshots. He stopped his bus and saw an injured person lying on the ground calling for help. He followed Metro protocol to alert the authorities, and he got off the bus to assist the victim. Love stayed with the injured individual and talked to him until authorities arrived. SORTA presented him with Metro’s STAR Award, which stands for “Service That Attracts Recognition,” on Oct. 21.
www.MassTransitmag.com/12011920
