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| October 1, 2001 |
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| October 1, 2001 |
OPERATIONS
:Gold Route: The long awaited Gold route is scheduled to start on Oct. 15. With the high ridership on the Orange, we are looking into moving one bus off Orange and start the Gold route early. Your friendly dispatcher will have more details if Gold route starts before Oct. 15. (Bob)
Bluebird Sighting at CyRide:
Look for a Blue Bird bus (similar to the one depicted in the photo at left) to arrive at CyRide this month. Manufactured by the Blue Bird Corporation of Fort Valley, Georgia, this medium duty bus is 29 feet long and has the capability of transporting 25 passengers. It will also be capable of transporting 5 wheelchairs. Larger than a mini-bus and smaller than a 35-foot bus, this new addition to the fleet fills an important niche. Look for this bus to see service primarily on the Yellow, Gold, and Green routes. It may also be used as an airport shuttle. Familiarization on and training for drivers with this vehicle will be announced. (George)Lane 6 Garage Door Cold Weather Procedure: Now that colder weather is approaching, garage doors will be closed to keep the building warm. If the garage door for lane 6 is closed, drivers should park in front of the door and enter the building through the small door to the right of the garage door. Pressing the OPEN button located on the control panel next to the small door activates the garage door. Once the garage door is fully open and stopped, drivers should bring their bus into the garage until they are even with the 3 m.p.h. speed limit sign (this distance ensures that their bus will not be struck by the descending garage door). Drivers should close the garage door unless there is another bus immediately behind them. Pressing the CLOSE button on the right side of the garage door closes the door. The driver of the last bus through the garage door should make sure that the door is closed before parking in the garage. (George)
Alumni Note: Eric Biga, former driver, dispatcher, senior operations assistant (94-00), has been keeping our seas safe from his desk with the Coast Guard in Hawaii. He will now take to the air and is enrolled in flight training. (Bob)
The Art of Moving Back: As the weather gets cooler and cooler, we will need to ask our passengers to move back on the bus so more people can board. Making a request to your passenger is an ART.
Attention
Getter
Request
Politely
Thank
your passengers for their cooperation
Here are some sample announcements:
"May I have your attention, I have just a few more people to board if you would please move back in the aisle a few steps…Thank you."
"Good Morning, we have a lot of passengers travelling with us this morning if everyone would move back a step or two we will have room for everyone…Thank you."
Morning Orange route drivers should make this announcement after they leave the parking lot, so there is room for passengers boarding at Maple Hall. (Barb)
HIRING AND TRAINING: Hiring and training went very well this past spring and summer. We started the fall schedule with less than 100 hours open. The hours are opening up again now so a new driver recruitment was started and a test will be given on Tuesday, October 2, 2001 at 8:00am and 1:30pm. However, if anyone is interested in extra hours see Karen. (Karen)
MARKETING:
Ridership Trends: We are off to a great start this year. Ridership is up about 7% for the first two weeks of classes. The Orange route is now carrying over 7,000 passengers per day and the total system ridership is exceeding 18,000 almost every day. We are at our normal winter ridership levels. We need twelve buses just for the Orange route and it is operating at two to three minute intervals in the busy times. Other routes have also increased except for the Green route and Brown route. (Bob)
SHOP:
Used Buses: We are working with PACE, the suburban Chicago bus operator, to transfer five of their 1987 Orion I buses to Ames. These are 40 feet long, 102 inches wide and have been well maintained during their service life. They will have about 40 buses available after they receive their next order of buses this fall. We hope to be able to purchase five of their used buses. (Bob)
New Buses: We have started the bidding process for new buses. We will be purchasing a minimum of four with an option to add four more next year. The specification is written to be similar to our current Orion V buses, but bidding will be competitive and several manufacturers build a similar bus. Bids should be opened in December. Delivery will be 12 to 18 months after the bids are opened. (Bob)
New Garage: The architect has refined the design and received detailed cost estimates for the new garage. The estimates exceed the amount of money available for the project. Back to the drawing board. (Bob)
Mirrors: The new mirrors are all installed on the Orion Vs. We hope they will make you feel more comfortable behind the wheel. (Terry)\
926: Unit 926 has started its rehabilitation. The motor has been removed and sent out to be rebuilt. The new lift is expected soon and the bodywork has begun. We expect this bus to be down 4 to 6 weeks. (Terry)
Shelters: We have made arrangements with Klean-Rite to power wash our shelters. This will include the roof and sides, inside and out. (Terry)