Director Candidates: 29 people applied for the Transit Director position. Nine people were chosen for telephone interviews in March and four finalists have been selected. As you read this, Pam Freet and Sheri Kyras has been interviewed. Ryan Larsen and Jude Kiah will come to Ames in April for their interviews.

Pam Freet is a former CyRide driver and dispatcher who has been working for the Jacksonville (Florida) Transit Authority. Sheri Kyras is the Assistant General Manager at the Des Moines MTA. Ryan Larsen is currently a consultant, but worked for CAMBUS in Iowa City and the Madison (Wisconsin) Transit Department. Jude Kiah is the manager GoWest, the transit service at Western Illinois University that also serves all of Macomb, Illinois.

The Transit Board is scheduled to choose the preferred candidate by the end of April. An offer will be made and hopefully accepted by the middle of May. The new director is expected to arrive in Ames in the middle of July. (Bob)

#1 Red Route Change: With the changes in residential housing in West Ames, the ridership on eastbound #1 Red Route has decreased on Todd, Abraham, and Lincoln Swing. When the summer schedule starts, the route will be changed to operate on S. Dakota to Lincolnway. There will be two new stops. One will be on S. Dakota at Todd and the current #7 Purple route stop will be moved east of Beedle to serve both routes. (Bob)

Help a Laneworker: Now that the weather is warming, when you return to base to park your bus at the end of your shift, please close all windows and roof vents. Also walk through your bus and pick-up any rubbish or lost items. Doing the above will make the laneworker’s life easier when they clean and refuel your bus. (Jenny and Barb)

Window to Window: All Drivers and Dispatchers should be wearing only their CyRide issued uniform when they report for duty. It is fine to wear your own coats, jackets, etc to and from work. However, when you report to the Dispatch window and go out to your bus you should have only your CyRide uniform on. If you would like uniform shorts or any other items and do not have them please let Joanne know and she will order them for you. (Jenny and Barb)

New Instructors: With the students on break and a majority of the buses in the garage, four drivers took the opportunity to enroll in the Instructor Training Program offered over spring break. The group participated in classroom sessions and on-the-road training. We want to welcome and congratulate Mario Rocha, Jason Bollman, Ted Nellesen, and Jon Rosengren on their completion and new positions as New Driver Instructors. (Tom and George)

Thunderstorms and Tornadoes: Late spring in Iowa heralds the arrival of severe weather. During severe weather, the dispatcher will monitor radio and television broadcasts and will notify drivers of dangerous conditions. Drivers should notify the dispatcher if they must stop due to poor visibility caused by heavy rain or hail. Drivers should also call the dispatcher for instructions if a detour is required due to street flooding.

In the event of a tornado warning, drivers should stop the bus in a safe location. Drivers should then direct their passengers to the nearest building for shelter. If no building is available, drivers should instruct their passengers to stay on the bus and remain below window level. Once the sirens have stopped, drivers should contact the dispatcher for further instructions. (Dorothy and Toto)

Busy Summer Ahead: The Human Resources Office is accepting applications for transit driver through the first of August. We are testing approximately every two weeks (with tests on April 3rd and 17th). If you know someone who is interested in working here, tell them and have them go fill out the application at Human Resources or on-line (see cyride.com). Referring them can result in a referral bonus of fifty dollars. Currently, we have projected 400 open hours for this fall. This number will drop with each new person hired. With all the new people here this summer, please be sure to give them all a warm welcome to our team. (Tom and George)

Can you train a lot? Instructors, if you are willing to train more than three shifts per week, please let me know so we can plan accordingly before we get lots of new trainees in the door over the next 3 months. (Tom and George)

Electronic Destination Signs: Proposals from electronic destination sign manufacturers are currently being evaluated to equip 28 buses with electronic signs. The two manufacturers that responded have very similar systems. An order for new signs should be placed by the end of April.

Soy Diesel: Warm weather has brought the return of soy diesel. As temperatures increase, plans call for using up to 10% soy diesel or B10 this year. We will continue to use soy as long as costs remain in line with straight diesel.

VEISHEA: VEISHEA is Thursday, April 20 through Saturday, April 22. We will NOT be providing the free shuttle service (parade shuttle for those of you have been through VEISHEA’s before) between Iowa State Center and campus on Saturday, April 22, before the parade and after the parade.

There will be numerous road closings for the festivities. Tentatively, they are planning on close Union Drive (by Lake LaVerne) and Lower Friley on Friday, April 21 through Sunday, April 23. On Saturday, most of campus will be closed for the parade. We will post information on the window between the office and garage, as it becomes available. (Barb and Tom)

School Tours: It is that time of year, CyRide will be helping pre-school and grade school students become better bus riders. We charge a $20 user free. This fee can be applied toward ticket booklets.

CyRide offers two individual programs: a Pre-Riders program designed for younger children and an Independent Riders program designed for older children. Each program includes a bus wash, safety talk, and several promotional items. If you are interested in being involved in school tours, please let George or Tom B know. (Barb and Tom)

The Odyssey Returns! Odyssey of the Mind (OM), an educational program that fosters creative thinking and problem solving competitions from elementary through university level students worldwide will be in Ames May 23, 2006 through May 27, 2006. So, mark your calendars. This worldwide event is expecting approximately 10,000 people to attend. Last time this event was in town we carried 78,313 passengers on shuttles. We will again provide shuttle service for this event. Additional information about OM will be posted in May. Normal guaranteed vacation time off for full-time and part-time drivers will apply. (Barb and Tom)

HISTORY: Ridership on buses in Ames
    1960: Midwest Transportation – 228,661
    1970: Midwest Transportation -- 105,517
    1980: Cy-Ride – 236,359
    1990: CyRide – 2,505,707
    2000: CyRide – 3,016,409
    2005: CyRide – 4,787,637