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October 3, 2005

ADMINISTRATION: Part of the new Transportation Bill (SAFETEA-LU) provided money for small cities with high bus ridership. CyRide will receive approximately $700,000 per year for the next four years. The money that will be available in early 2006 will be used to buy one new bus; maintenance software for the shop; and eleven electronic destination signs. A consultant will also be hired to study the feasibility of reviving the Dinkey, an electric trolley to run between campus and downtown and possibly to the Iowa State Center (Bob).

Three new buses will be ordered in October. The procurement process is just about finished and Orion is the preferred vendor. The buses will be forty foot low floor Orion VII buses. Delivery is expected in August or September, 2006. (Bob)

Fuel prices continue to be a major budget problem. I have noticed several drivers idling their buses for more than ten minutes at end points. Please shut your bus down in nice weather if you have three or more minutes during your lay over. (Bob)

OPERATIONS:

Parking Buses Outside during Nice Weather: We are having many buses left outside with the front doors open. When buses are parked outside the front doors should be closed. Please remember to close windows and roof vents also. (Karen)

Parking Buses Outside during Cold Weather: When parking buses outside the garage in cold weather, the following procedures must be done:

Leave the transmission in neutral.
Set the parking brake (do not use the rear door interlock as a parking brake).
Close all windows and roof vents.
Turn off all interior lights and fans.
Turn off the 4-way flashers.
Close the front door by reaching through the driver’s window
Close the driver’s window.

When parking a big bus outside and the outside temperature is 20 degrees or below, do not turn off the bus engine. When parking a minibus outside and the outside temperature is 0 degrees or below, do not turn off the bus engine. The high idle and front heat or defrost should be left on all buses. This procedure will prevent the front windows from frosting over and diesel fuel from gelling and clogging both fuel lines and filters. (Barb & Jenny)

The Art of Moving Back: With our increase in ridership and as the weather gets cooler and cooler, it is imperative 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 traveling 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 and Jenny)

Health Screening Information: The City’s biannual health screening program is approaching. The screening includes a health risk assessment questionnaire, 12-hours fasting blood profile, colorectal cancer take home kit and other biometric measures. This service is provided free of charge to employees, family members, and retirees on City insurance (providing you complete both the HRA and the blood test). The charge for the blood test is $25 if you do not fill out the HRA.

A sign up sheet with the date and time noted is posted by the time clock. If you are interested in participating please sign up. (Karen)

 

My Bus is Where? Starting October 1 when you asked the dispatchers where your bus is you may have no clue where to go (or at least for awhile until you get use to the new numbering system). We are changing the numbering of lanes and doors in the garage to reflect the new building expansion. The newest doors on the south side of the building will become lanes 1 and 2, thus making the old lane 1 now the new lane three, old lane 2 now the new lane four, and so on. This will be confusing for a while; however, we are optimistic that you will figure it out before Jenny and Barb do. To ease the confusion a little the shop will be painting numbers on the floor to make finding and parking your bus easier. (Jenny and Barb)

Lane 8 (the lane formerly known as 6) Garage Door Cold Weather Procedure: Colder weather is on its way and garage doors should be closed to help keep the building warm. If the garage door for lane 8 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 three M.P.H. speed limit sign (this distance ensures that your bus will not be struck by the door closing). 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. (Barb and Jenny)

Upcoming Holidays: November and December have many holidays affecting CyRide Service. Below is a summary of what we will be running:

 

HIRING AND TRAINING:

Snow and Slide Training: Drivers who started at CyRide after March will be receiving both snow and slide training. Snow training is classroom instruction highlighting proper vehicle handling techniques on ice and snow. Slide training is conducted when weather conditions permit at the Hilton Coliseum (ISC) parking lot. Drivers will attain speeds of 30 mph (or greater) and purposely slide (skid) their bus to experience the "feel" of winter driving conditions. These "skid drills" will help build confidence in your ability to handle anything an Iowa winter can produce. Sara and George will be contacting you if you need this training. (Sara and George)

Spring Run Pick: We will hold Spring Run Pick in late November or early December (after students have had a chance to pick their spring classes). This run pick is only for drivers who will have conflicts with their current work schedule due to spring semester classes. Runs from drivers that have conflicts as well as all runs that are currently open will be made available in the run pick. You will be able to choose new runs from these available runs. You can only drop runs that conflict with a new spring classes. If anyone wants to drop a run that doesn’t conflict, they should utilize the Drop/Swap board. Drivers will choose their new runs based on seniority as of October 31, 2005. (Sara and George)

Wheelchair Refresher Training: This is a reminder to all drivers that we will be requiring everyone to complete wheelchair refresher training and competency again. Drivers will demonstrate the proper loading and securing of wheelchair passengers onto a bus. As all drivers will be tested twice a year, expect to see us soon. (Sara and George)

 

SHOP: In order to standardize 994-997 with the rest of the fleet, the wiring has been changed so that the day run headlights are the two outer lamps. The lamps will now operate at reduced intensity as well. Radio wiring has been modified so the radio remains on in the park position.

Interior center view mirrors have been relocated 7" to the left to provide a better view down the aisle. The front mirror has been relocated to provide an unobstructed view of the rear stepwell mirror. (Jon and Rich)

A couple of maintenance cards have been received requesting the removal of old Blue and Brown South destination signs since they are still mistakenly being used. Since electronic destination signs are on the horizon, it is not cost effective for the shop to invest a lot of labor in the mylar signs. However, in the coming weeks we’ll attempt to place a "Do Not Use" sticker on the rear of the obsolete signs. (Rich)

Chad’s Maintenance Tip: The manufacturer of the new electronic destination signs cautions drivers to use their fingers instead of a pencil or pen on the keypad of the control module. Sharp objects tend to make the buttons stick.

In the past it was normal to see camera error messages on the SafetyVision LCD screen. However, all known problems have been fixed recently and therefore it should no longer display any error messages. Please continue to check the LCD for errors and report any problems with a Maintenance Card. (Chad)

 

HISTORY: 635 West Lincolnway was the temporary CyRide garage from May, 1981 to August, 1984. Twelve large buses and a few minibuses fit inside the building. Other buses were stored outside at the City Warehouse on Edison St. Most of the building was torn down for the new Culver’s. A small portion of it remains for Skei Coal. March, 1983 picture.