BYD SkyRail Monorail Product Manager Named a Co-Chair of BizFed Transportation Committee
BYD has announced Benjamin Jurjevich, Product Manager for BYD’s SkyRail Monorail program, was named as a co-chair for the transportation committee of Los Angeles County Business Federation (BizFed), a grassroots alliance that advocates for policies and projects that strengthen the regional economy. Joining Jurjevich as a co-chair on the committee are Hilary Norton, Fixing Angelenos Stuck in Traffic (FAST); David Grannis, Point C; and Michele Grubbs, Pacific Merchant Shipping Association.
With 180+ business organizations representing 400,000 employers and their employees in Los Angeles County, BizFed is strengthening its diverse, business voice. Jurjevich was among 60 new BizFed officers sworn in by Los Angeles City Attorney, Mike Feuer, with over half of the board identifying as women, Latino, African American, Asian Americans, or LGBTQ+.
“To confront LA County’s poverty crisis, we need to create more middle-class jobs, build more housing, continue our investment in regional transportation, and provide better job training/ education for our workforce,” said Steve Bullock, 2019 BizFed Chair. “Strong companies help accomplish those things. Business makes LA work, and BizFed fights to make LA a place where businesses can thrive and grow.” BizFed plays a major role in working with transportation agencies such as Metro, Metrolink, and Caltrans, and other industry entities on smart and efficient transportation infrastructure and services for our region.
“We are extremely pleased Ben will be serving on this diverse board, as we continue to support BizFed and its role as a key player in helping to resolve regional issues,” said Patrick Duan, Vice President of Operations and SkyRail for BYD’s North American practice. “BYD’s high-tech, battery-electric technology, such as our buses, trucks, and SkyRail Monorail system, are helping to not only deliver a cleaner, more efficient transportation system but also demonstrate that going green is good for the economy, workforce, communities and our nation. Together with BizFed we will achieve transportation and regional goals much faster.”
Jurjevich is responsible for leading the multidisciplinary development and engineering for SkyRail in North America, a fully integrated, driverless, state-of-the-art straddle type monorail system developed for rigorous line-haul urban transit applications. With an R&D team of 1,000+ engineers and investment of $700+ million over five years, SkyRail is the world’s most advanced monorail system, with 200+ miles of systems already in planning, design, construction, or operation. The BYD system can be constructed far faster, with far less impact, and less costly than any other grade-separated urban transit system. SkyRail systems can move 18,000+ people per hour per direction (at U.S. standing space standards), at speeds up to 75 mph and with trains operating on two-minute scheduled headways. SkyRail incorporates the 60 years of evolutionary improvements found in other forms of rail transit.
With an investment of $250+ million in North America, BYD continues its critical zero-emission initiatives working with organizations like BizFed and agencies across the U.S. In 2018 alone, BYD contributed $250,000+ in its local community, educational/workforce, environmental and regional/economic organizations and initiatives.
BYD’s North American workforce has grown from some 20 employees in 2013 to nearly 1,000 today, and is the only electric vehicle manufacturer in the U.S. to have an all-union workforce based at its Lancaster, California, manufacturing plant. The firm is extremely proud of its plant team which includes a growing number of women, veterans and second chance employees, and is comprised of 85% minorities. BYD was recently named to Bloomberg’s 2019 Gender-Equality Index (GEI), which “distinguishes companies committed to transparency in gender reporting and advancing women’s equality in the workplace.
