CyRide Signals February 2008

ADMINISTRATION:

Excellence Through People - Encouraging the Heart: Over the past several issues of Signals, the City of Ames’ Excellence Through People (ETP) culture has been highlighted including our thirteen values that every employee has a responsibility to bring to life each day AND our formal leaders’ ETP responsibilities including: modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process and enabling others to act. These articles were written to bring ETP into the forefront of your day. The definition of ETP is discussed with all employees upon their hire and posted on bulletin boards inside our employee entrance. My hope is that these articles give you more insight into our ETP culture and encourage you to practice these values as this article focuses on our last formal leader responsibility of “Encouraging the Heart.”

ETP efforts can be observed each day through the leadership from our dispatch, teaming of our customer driven drivers, excellence of our outstanding maintenance department in keeping our over 20 years old equipment operational and continuous improvement from all our employees. But then ETP also serves as a reminder to all of us to keep a positive attitude, respect one another, listen to our customers and be a leader within the organization. One aspect of CyRide that outshines all others is continuous improvement. Last fall, I asked operations and administrative staff how they rated us in “leading” this organization as a group. Both ratings were lower than I would have ranked our efforts, but both groups’ biggest acknowledgement was that “we can get better!” How great is excellence?

Do you often feel like, “I’ve done excellent work today…. And it wasn’t rewarded.” L In fact, you may not get that pat on the back each time you perform well at your job. But doing things correctly is an expectation of excellence…. right? As most of our employees can attest, if you work for CyRide, you are held to a high standard. A few of these expectations include driving safely, adhering to proper procedures as detailed in the driver manual, and living CyRide’s 4 principals – Safety First, Wave to others, Provide Value-Added Service to our Customers and Maintain the Schedule. The job that you do directly reflects on how the public perceives CyRide within the community. Perhaps it seems that doing your job with “excellence” is an expectation and that only the “extraordinary” efforts are rewarded. Is CyRide as an organization just that good where excellence is just average?

As part of creating the desired culture for CyRide, our leaders are responsible to reward, celebrate and appreciate those that do good work. However, we tend to be more gracious when “extraordinary results” occur. Unfortunately, that’s human nature. While we tend to formally recognize the unusual, we need to all recognize other members of the CyRide team. This means leaders as well as co-workers. When was the last time you told a co-worker that he/she did a great job? (drivers instructing doesn’t count, but thank you!) We all can work together to recognize the valuable job we contribute to this organization and to the residents of Ames. Just a few I’ve heard include…..

· “Thanks for your part in VEISHEA!” (replace underlined word with the “event” of your choice!)

· “Congratulations! You got that CDL!!!” (remember that one?)

· Good job on your braking – (instructor, commenting on your driving skills in pink sheets)

· “You have that radio 10-code down!”

· Graduation from CyRide training – means… you can now do it on your own (not that you’re entirely on your own without help.)

· Received thank you grill-out for reducing accidents by 38% and negative complaints by 20%!

· Congratulations Safety-Award achievers!

· Welcome aboard new hires!

· Transportation consultant acknowledged CyRide’s mobiling, “beyond what any regular transit system would provide for customer service” (guaranteeing transfers) – just a basic value added service here. What a compliment! Yet, our passengers expect these seamless transfers without much “thanks.”

· What makes CyRide’s passengers smile? Video – January 2008 Spring meeting

· Million (safe) Miles to Get There Video – January 2009 Spring Meeting; illustrating safe miles driven from ALL of our drivers

· No claims between June 1, 2007 – July 30, 2008 rewarded with catered meal. i.e. CyRide paid out $0 in insurance claims.

I hope that you know that many of the “formal” leaders at CyRide are also encouraged each day by the excellent work our drivers, maintenance and lane workers provide on a daily basis. We hear comments that fill us with pride to work for an organization that many rely on as their “choice” ride. Your “excellent” work makes us strive harder to better the organization to in turn provide you with the tools and resources you need. Just one less formal way we can say thanks for the excellent work you do day in and day out. (Sheri K.)

Grants Submitted: Over the past few months, staff has feverously submitting grant applications and planning documents to place our organization in the best light to receive future state and/or federal funding. As a result, CyRide received a little over $3 million in 100% federal funding for 7 buses, replacement of 949 and rehabilitation of our Steam Cleaning area. The state has yet to allocate the 2009 statewide discretionary funding which could afford CyRide additional funding for bus expansion/replacement. We should know the outcome by the end of April. Grant submittals will continue through the end of May as CyRide applies for its annual state grant funding for 2010 with yet more stimulus funding regulations being released from the federal government. Two stimulus grants that CyRide may still submit are the Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) Program and Clean Air Attainment. Hybrid buses, hybrid upgrades or articulated buses could be possible submissions for these energy saving grants. We are still working out the details but will inform you of our submittal in the next Signals issue. (Shari A.)

OPERATIONS:

Driver Run Pick Dates: Summer and Fall 2009 run picks will be on the following dates:

· Fare Free – CyRide will be fare free for everyone from May 15 to August 15. May and August monthly passes will be sold for $15 in case a passenger needs a pass for half the month.

· Rotation between routes – Red, Blue, Green, and Brown route will rotate on weekdays like they do on weekends. Red and Blue will alternate and Green and Brown will alternate.

· 1A – Two extra 1A trips eastbound have been added between 8:30am and 9:30am so that 1A will keep a 10-minute interval until 9:30am.

· Yellow – Weekday afternoon Yellow will run every 40 minutes.

· Brown – Weeknight and Saturday Brown times have been moved back 3 minutes to give extra time at the Mall.

· Sunday – Sunday times have been adjusted so the routes run at the same as the Saturday times (Sunday still starts later and ends earlier than Saturday).

· Bike Racks – Depending on when the shop gets more racks installed all the buses newer than 944 will have racks sometime this summer.

· Aquatic Center – The Furman Aquatic Center is scheduled to open sometime in July. When it opens, we will run the #8 Aqua route. It will operate between City Hall-Aquatics Center-Beyer Hall from 12:30pm to 8:00pm seven days per week until August 19^th.

· Run Pick – Part time drivers will be able to pick and choose different shifts on different days like summer. To ensure we cover all shifts, there will be rules as to required shifts and days off. The rules will be posted prior to the beginning of the part time fall run pick.

· Rotation between routes – Red, Blue, Green, and Brown route will rotate on weekdays like they do on weekends. Red and Blue will alternate and Green and Brown will alternate.

· Weekday Red/Blue – Weekday Red and Blue will have a 15-minute headway from 2:00pm to 6:00pm to give an extra 5 minutes every trip. Green and Brown will stay at 20 minute headways, so transfers between Red/Blue and Green/Brown will only meet up once per hour (the busy times on campus). At other times, there will be a 5-10 minute wait between buses. This should give Red and Blue enough time to make their trips safely.

· Brown – Weeknight and Saturday Brown times have been moved back 3 minutes to give extra time at the Mall.

· Sunday – Sunday times have been adjusted so the routes run at the same as the Saturday times (Sunday still starts later and ends earlier than Saturday).

· Holiday Break Schedule – Break schedule between the days of Christmas and New Years will operate a “weekday” break schedule. Therefore, all weekday shifts except ISU Only shifts will be scheduled to work. This is to accommodate those passengers that still work over the holidays.

School Tours: It is that time of year, CyRide will be helping pre-school and grade school students become better bus riders.

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 Tom B or George know.

VEISHEA: VEISHEA 2009 is Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18 where CyRide is expecting heavy ridership throughout those days and evenings. As opposed to previous years, CyRide will not be providing a free shuttle between Iowa State Center and campus prior to the parade and after the parade. Parade attendees can catch CyRide’s regular #1 Red or #3 Blue routes by paying the regular fare to the Memorial Union. Information has been added to CyRide’s website for additional information to our patrons. So keep a watch out especially on Saturday for passengers that may have caught the “free” shuttle to the parade in years past that are first time CyRide riders.

CyRide will also be participating in the parade this year and will be marketing Summer Fare Free beginning May 15^th. There will also be numerous road closings for the festivities. Typically, Welch Avenue and Lower Friley are closed Friday, April 17 through Sunday, April 19. On Saturday, most of campus will be closed for the parade. We will post information at dispatch as it becomes available. (Barb)

Fare Free Summer – “Be a part of something BIG”: Between May 15 and August 15, CyRide will be providing free service to everyone that boards our buses which also includes our ADA Dial-A-Ride service operated by Heartland Senior Services. Staff has already started marketing the program with the development of a fare free logo. The concept behind “Be a part of something BIG” is that everyone can contribute to fare free summer and in varying intensities. Some will just help fund the program with a few will try transit once a week while yet several others will ride it regularly throughout the day into the weekend! The point being is that everyone has an opportunity to be part of something BIGGER in order to reduce carbon emissions within the Ames community. Just one ride will make a BIG impact on the environment and perhaps the size of a rider’s wallet! Other marketing efforts to take place include: interior/exterior bus signage; utility bill flyer; major employer promotions; press releases; KASI morning breakfast show; farebox covers; inflatable beach balls to give away during VEISHEA parade and July 4^th parade; digital video of “How to Ride CyRide” and a Carbon Footprint Calculator.

Rob and Jenny are also working on developing procedures to address any operational concerns we may encounter. Staff will be evaluating the program after the summer concludes with ridership performance, actual program costs, program impact to the community through surveys and an overall survey to the community in the 2010 City of Ames resident survey. (Barb)

New Instructors: With the students on break and a majority of the buses in the garage, two 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 Brian Carroll and Paul Johnson.

Thunderstorms and Tornadoes: Late spring in Iowa heralds the arrival of severe weather. During severe weather, the dispatcher will monitor weather radio, internet, 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, downed tree limbs, etc.

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; aka Tom and George)

Garage Door Safety Reminder: Drivers, when pulling a bus out of the garage on the east end of the building (doors 1-7), stop in front of the open door, exit the bus, and walk over to the door control poles to close the door. Do not drive over to the door controls to activate the garage door. Doing this blocks other buses from safely exiting other garage doors and increases the likelihood that you could inadvertently close a garage door on a bus exiting out of the door you originally came out of.

CyRide’s LEED Certification Status: The US Green Building Council is currently in the process of reviewing CyRide’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) documentation for the new administrative office building. Certification level depends on the amount of points garnered for efficiencies made to reduce energy and emissions. Certification ranges are as follows:

Certified (26-32 pts.) à Silver (33-38 pts.) à Gold (39-51 pts.) à Platinum (52-69 pts.)

The council has accepted 36 points guaranteeing CyRide a Silver certification level. However they have requested additional clarification on 4 points and if 3 of those points pass through, then CyRide would receive a Gold LEED Certification rating! CyRide should be notified within the next few weeks of its status. (Rich)

Make Green Your Daily Routine: The Mayor and Council have set a goal of reducing by 15% the carbon emissions generated from non-utility City operations by 2014. A “Cool City” committee has been formed to help accomplish this objective. Each city department is represented on the committee and Rich L. is the current representative for CyRide. Some steps already taken by CyRide to help meet this goal include: constructing a LEED building, garage door hose openers and pull rope closers, and purchasing a Prius relief vehicle. Look for more information regarding Cool Cities and the slogan, “Make Green Your Daily Routine” in upcoming City and CyRide publications. In the meantime, please be thinking about what you can do to help reduce the department’s energy consumption and carbon footprint. (Rich)

Fleet Maintenance: In the fall 2008 driver meetings, commitments were made to start providing feedback on energy usage and mechanical problems. However due to recent priority projects that have taken my attention, I have temporarily put this feedback on hold. One priority has been the federal guidelines to immediately obligate the stimulus funding received from the federal government requiring my attention. Therefore, I’ve been working to get bus purchase orders issued and architectural work completed to be in position to secure construction bids as soon as able so that we are not in risk of losing the federal funding. The commitment still remains to post relevant data after the $3 million in 100% federal funding is secured. Another effort requiring considerable time has been working with the city’s purchasing department towards a “futures” fuel contract in an effort to keep CyRide’s fuel budget line under budget for this year. This will hopefully allow CyRide to build a positive ending balance at the end of this year that can be utilized towards future operating or capital projects.

However, data available to share now is an increase in the number of switch-outs and associated road calls starting in October. If you’ll recall, we started the fall with hose failures being our most significant problem. Failures related to charging and starting eclipsed hose failures during the last three months of 2008. Doors became the most significant cause of problems starting in January. It seems like we get one area (hoses) under control and another system (starting & charging) starts to fail. The good news is that we finally have some reliable maintenance software and we’re now able to dig in and solve these problems before they get too out of hand. (Rich)


	April 10, 2009