Signals will be published every other month.

Health Insurance: For employees with health insurance, there will be a change in the administration of the health plan on July 1. John Deere Health Plan will be the new administrator of the health plan. The City is self-insured for health coverage and hires an administrative company to process the claims. Everyone who is covered will receive a new insurance card by June 27.

The City webpage has the latest information regarding the health plan. Go to: www.cyride.com; then click on City logo; then News and Information button; then Reports. (Bob).

OPERATIONS:

On/Off Surveys: Thanks to all drivers for your help in filling out the on/off surveys this year. I know trying to keep track of how many passengers got on and off at every stop is nearly impossible on some trips. The surveys are one of many newly required things we must do since our population went over 50,000, but the good news is they only have to be done every 5 years, so we will be done with them as of June 30 until July 2007. (Tom D)

Odyssey of the Mind: Odyssey of the Mind was a big success once again. We carried 69,464 passengers on the shuttles (and 1101 on the fixed routes) over the five days they were in town. Janeen Witt and Barbie Hoskin were the drivers collecting the most pins (unofficially). (Tom D)

Wheelchair Lifts: We had hoped that the new Orions would allow us to have wheelchair lifts on all scheduled service except the parking lot shuttle. The delay in the delivery will make this very difficult. On days when we do not have enough lift equipped buses, we will run non-lift buses on Orange route. If a passenger needs a lift to board Orange, call your friendly dispatcher and a minibus will be sent out immediately to pick them up. (Bob)

New Dispatcher: With the start of the fall schedule Joni Etheredge will be going back to driving. Joel Minion will be our new Dispatcher and will begin training in mid-July. Thank you to Joni for her work in the Dispatch office and congratulations to Joel. (Karen)

Instructors: Thank you for your help training the 73 drivers we hired this year. We will again be hiring through the summer in preparation for fall semester. If there are any days or shifts you’d prefer not to train on this summer, please let Brent or Jenny know. Also, if you find yourself getting burned out on training or needing a break, PLEASE talk to Brent or Jenny. We would rather reduce your training hours than have you get to the point where you don’t want to train at all.

We hope to meet with all instructors this summer to discuss some ideas on how to improve training. One of the main themes will be improving consistency during In-Service training. If you have any suggestions or have an example of a training inconsistency, please make sure to write it down so you can remember it for your meeting. You can also talk to or email Brent or Jenny with your comments and suggestions.

Wheelchairs: We tend to get more wheelchair passengers in the summer than during the school year, so if anyone wants a refresher course on using the wheelchair lifts and/or the wheelchair tie-downs, please talk to Brent or Jenny (a.k.a. Brenny.) (Jenny)

Barb: Marketing news will be a little slow for a bit while Barb is on maternity leave. Gabrielle is at home and William is still in the hospital for a few more weeks. (Bob)

SHOP:

Garage: Door 6 and lane 6 will be closed starting May 12 for most of the summer. The concrete floor in the new building should be completed by the 9th of May. We will be move the fueling tanks to the east end of the building this summer to allow the new road to be constructed. During this time the road will be closed to all traffic. All bus traffic into the building will have to come though door 11.

Buses for Sale: 882, 883, 905, and 963 will go out to bid soon. We will be removing the radios, destination signs, and the CyRide markings. (Terry)

New Buses Delayed: The eight new Orion V's delivery date has been pushed back. We hope to have some of them in June. (Bob)