June 9, 2009

ADMINISTRATION:

Record Ridership Achieved in 2009:  On Saturday, May 30^th prior to the noon hour, CyRide surpassed its highest annual ridership ever of 4,787,637.  Every passenger since that time is an all time record!  We anticipate 4,950,000 riders by the end of June 30, 2009.  Congratulations to all CyRide employees in attaining a record performance and be sure to take pride in all your hard work over the past year!  (Sheri K/Tom D.)

APTA Bus Safety Certificate of Merit:  CyRide was one of twelve public transit agencies nationally recognized at the 2009 Bus Safety Awards ceremony held at the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) conference in Seattle, Washington on May 3, 2009.  APTA awarded CyRide with a Certificate of Merit recognizing CyRide for their positive safety record and dedication to improving safety.  While the top honor is the GOLD Award, CyRide achieved the Certificate of Merit to recognize “exceptional achievement” in bus safety.  This year, APTA based the awards not on mere statistics but upon safety programs developed due to a recognized safety issue and the ability to transfer a successful program to another transit system.  CyRide focused this year’s nomination form application upon reducing accidents (in particular the severity of the accident) and the efforts of the training department towards this goal resulting in $0 insurance claims for 2008.   If you recall, training staff focused their training efforts towards setting mirrors and usage, dangers of driving in the garage and dangers of driving in crosswalks.  CyRide was judged on its safety record, its success in building a safety-oriented culture within its organization and its strategic safety initiatives.  To view APTA’s press release regarding the awards, go to the following website:

 http://www.apta.com/media/releases/090504_bus_safety.cfm

Congratulations to our employees for always thinking “Safety First” and in particular to our training and operations staff for initiatives in making safety a priority through various methods including: video, potty training, vignettes, radio 10 codes illustrations, accident pinhead board and other interactive boards.  Your work exemplifies why CyRide has one of the best safety cultures nationally within the transit industry!  (Sheri K/Shari A.)

Executive Express:  In December 2008, Executive Express, a private transportation company, approached CyRide’s staff in regard to starting a private airport shuttle service between Ames and the Des Moines International Airport.  The concept involved operating a reservation service, 6-8 trips a day, 7 days a week at approximately $26/trip/person.  Those interested in traveling via Executive Express could book and pay for their trip online or call Executive Express directly.  Pick up within Ames would be at one or two locations such as an area hotel and the Memorial Union.  The company would also house a location at the Des Moines International Airport similar to Hertz in the baggage claim area so walk-ons could be considered if seats were available.  Larry Logeman, owner of Executive Express, discussed this concept with CyRide’s board at their June 2009 meeting.  As a result, CyRide’s board voted to discontinue CyRide’s Airport Shuttle service and turn this service over to Executive Express operating a more frequent, higher level of service to the Ames community beginning as early as August 2009!  CyRide will post more information on this exciting new service as it becomes available on our “Outside Ames” link at www.cyride.com.  (Sheri K./Shari A.)

Grants Update:  CyRide staff has been extremely busy over the past few months submitting numerous grant applications.  Just when we think we are done, another grant comes along!  American’s Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has provided many grant opportunities of which CyRide is eligible for 100% federal funding.  These opportunities are extremely competitive with communities and transit agencies around the nation applying for their share.  The following summarizes the federal funding awarded and/or pending:

Staff has yet to submit the following two grant applications available through ARRA funding as described below:

RIDE Grant (Submission Deadline: June 29, 2009) – The Reduce Iowa’s Diesel Emissions (RIDE) grant has $1.73 million (ARRA) funding available through Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources department for reducing diesel emissions.  CyRide will be submitting a grant application for 2 hybrid bus upgrades (in the likelihood that TIGGER funding above does not materialize) and the incremental cost of upgrading biodiesel fuel for CyRide.  This grant would subsidize the cost of CyRide implementing B20 fuel in the summer and B5 fuel in the winter as opposed to B5 and B2 respectively.

TIGER Grant (Submission Deadline: September 15, 2009) – Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) funds has $1.5 billion (ARRA) available nationally though the Federal Transit Administration for capital projects serving several transportation modes.  One project that has been discussed between ISU, the City of Ames and CyRide since 2006 has been the Intermodal Facility.  This facility would house the intercity carriers currently at CIT, parking for ISU, ISU campus security and a CyRide station.  The location of this facility has yet to be resolved, but discussion to-date includes near ISU campustown, north of ISU campus near 13^th Street or the Iowa State Center near CyRide’s Orange Route.  The TIGER grants are evaluated on job creation/economic stimulus and a series of defined long term outcomes.  Secondary evaluations for the project include determining the innovativeness of the project and strong collaboration between partners.  CyRide staff began discussions with ISU Facilities Planning and Management to determine if a project could be developed by the submission deadline.  CyRide’s board agreed that a study effort should be developed and $100,000 in funding is needed to begin these efforts for grant submission.  Therefore, staff will begin obtaining and developing information for an Intermodal Facility to submit this grant by mid-September or earlier.

We will keep you posted on the delivery of buses, construction efforts, and when/if CyRide receives any additional ARRA funding through these grants.  In addition, CyRide has also requested a $6 million congressional earmark for additional storage/maintenance expansion of CyRide’s facility in lieu of the current transportation bill’s (SAFETEA-LU’s) reauthorization.  This funding could be utilized to expand on our current property, although physical space is minimal, or at a yet-to-be determined off-site satellite location.  (Shari A.)

OPERATIONS:

Odyssey of the Mind 2009:  As you know, Odyssey of the Mind (OM) 2009 hit Ames in the last week of May.  CyRide carried 72,343 passengers on all our regular routes during this large four-day event, over 18,000 passengers a day, held on Iowa State University campus.  In 2006, CyRide had carried 79,552 passengers but the beautiful weather may have encouraged more walkers for 2009.  Thanks to everyone for making OM transportation in Ames a success. (Sheri K.)

Air-conditioning Duct Temperatures:  All the air-conditioned buses are equipped with a duct temperature gauge located behind the driver’s modesty panel in the air conditioning duct.  This gauge will determine if the air-conditioning system is cooling properly.  The temperature on the duct gauge should be approximately 20 degrees below the outside ambient temperature.  This reading will vary slightly due to humidity or high temperatures (above 90 degrees F).  The duct temperature may not necessarily be the same as the interior cabin temperature of the bus.  If the duct temperature is not at least 20 degrees below the outside ambient temperature, the dispatcher should be notified (along with the current duct temperature reading).  (Rob and Jenny)

Saving Fuel:  With fuel prices up we want to remind everyone to help us save fuel by shutting down your bus when you can.  If you do not need to keep the bus running for AC and you have more than 3 minutes at your end point please remember to shut your bus off. 
(Rob and Jenny)

Windows and Roof Vents:  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.  (Rob and Jenny)

HIRING AND TRAINING:

Perfecting Your Skills “Setup Turns”

Setting up turns is an important skill at CyRide.  It allows us to make tight turns while keeping our right side protected from vehicle intrusions.  Most of us know the mechanics of a setup turn:  checking our mirror before setting up, starting the setup 25’ from the intersection, turning the wheel back when you can see down the curb line.  What is easy to forget is the critical role that speed plays in a setup turn.  To be done effectively, they must be done SLOWLY.  If a setup turn is done too quickly, the right side of the bus is moved away from the curb line as though you were performing a lane change.  As you can imagine, if you allow enough room for a car to enter the space between you and the curb as you are proceeding around the corner, a serious collision can result.  Next time you do a setup turn; carefully watch your right mirror to see how far away from the curb your rear tire travels.  If you find yourself to far from the curb, try slowing down your turn.  (Tom and George)

Don’t Block the Crosswalk:  Drivers, when multiple buses are pulling up to Gilman Hall (Green East, Blue South, Brown South, 1A Red, Purple, etc.), please do not block the crosswalk.  If the first bus is occupying the bus stop at Gilman, the trailing second bus should stop before the crosswalk at this location.  Blocking the crosswalk at Gilman, or any other location, presents a safety hazard for pedestrians and increases the likelihood that your bus will contact a pedestrian.  (Tom B and George)

Signal Your Intentions:  Drivers, when merging left while crossing an intersection, always use your left turn signal.  Using your left turn signal communicates your intentions to traffic traveling behind you and reduces the risk of collision.  Always use your turn signal when crossing the following intersections:  (Tom B and George)

            -Union Drive and Sheldon Ave  (Red & Green West, Purple)

            -Welch Ave and Lincolnway  (Brown South)

            -Beach and Lincolnway  (V/M and ISC Orange)

FLEET AND FACILITIES

CyRide’s Achieves GOLD LEED Award:  Last month, CyRide notified you that the US Green Building Council was reviewing CyRide’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) documentation for the new administrative office building.  In mid-May, CyRide achieved Gold LEED status!  (Rich L.)

Wireless Building Status:  When CyRide staff finalized the administrative portion of the facility building, one of the outcomes was to have internet capabilities for our employees’ laptops.  The City of Ames has been working on a project to develop wireless capabilities within Brookside Park and would include CyRide’s campus with this upgrade.  The project has been delayed once again due to City of Ames’ procurement issues and no expected date for wireless capabilities is known at this time. (Rich L.)

Bus Procurement:  CyRide currently has the following procurement efforts pending with delivery expected after July 2010! (Rich L.)

Procurement                                                              Delivery Date

2 Gillig 40-foot low-floor HYBRID buses                 July 2010

7 Gillig 40-foot low-floor buses                                July 2010

5 Gillig 40-foot low-floor buses                                September 2010

(replaces 926, 980, 927, 983, 981)

3 minibuses (replaces 949, 960, 961)                   Working with Mason City towards   combined procurement