Dec/Jan People & Places

Dec. 12, 2016

Mario Peloquin

Vice President, Business Line

Nova Bus

Nova Bus announced Mario Peloquin has been appointed as new vice president, business line for Nova Bus. With more than 30 years of experience in the transportation and transit industries, his arrival will trigger strategic growth for Nova Bus. During his career, he has led business development activities as well as business lines at renowned North American companies like Siemens Canada and Thales Canada.

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Susan Schruth

National Transit Practice Consultant

HNTB Corp.

Susan Schruth joined HNTB Corp. as national transit practice consultant. She is a senior technical resource for the firm, located in Arlington, Virginia. She has nearly 30 years of experience in the transportation industry in both the public and private sector. Prior to her recent experience with another consulting firm, she served in the Federal Transit Administration senior executive service.

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Kate Mattice

Executive Director

Northern Virginia Transportation Commission

The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission announced the appointment of Kate Mattice as executive director of the transit organization. Mattice has served as NVTC’s acting executive director since May 2016. Mattice joined NVTC in 2014 as director of transit programs and policy. She spent 13 years at the Federal Transit Administration, ultimately serving as deputy associate administrator for budget and policy/deputy chief financial officer.

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Rob Gannon

General Manager

Metro

Rob Gannon was named general manager of King County Metro. Gannon served as interim general manager from March 2016 until now. He was Metro deputy general manager from 2013 to 2016, and human resources manager for the King County Department of Transportation from 2011 to 2013. He previously oversaw budget and labor relations at the University of Montana.

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Bryan Mitchell

Master Technician of the Year

First Transit

Bryan Mitchell is being recognized as the Cengage Learning and Automotive Safety Excellence (ASE) Master Technician of the Year. The Master Technician of the Year honors those who promote a culture of continuous service excellence within their companies. Mitchell began his career with First Transit in 2016 as a maintenance technician. He currently serves as maintenance technician for three First Transit operations in the Rochester area.

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Ellen Greenberg

Deputy Director for Sustainability

Caltrans

Caltrans announced the appointment of Ellen Greenberg as its new deputy director for sustainability, who will oversee Caltrans’ continued efforts to shift and align its policies and practices to improve the environment, the economy and social equity for all Californians. Greenberg has more than 30 years’ experience working with cities, transportation agencies and non-governmental organizations to guide development, conservation and transportation decisions.

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Hyperloop One Defines The Future Of Transport In Dubai

Hyperloop One and the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) agreed to evaluate a Hyperloop One system in greater Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. Hyperloop One will work with McKinsey & Co. and the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) on a detailed feasibility study sponsored by the RTA. The agreement moves the company into its next stage of progress in Dubai following a successful engagement in the Dubai Future Accelerators, which culminated in a presentation of Hyperloop One's value proposition to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Hyperloop One unveiled an original concept for autonomous transportation in the UAE, including designs for the world's first Hyperloop One Portals (the equivalent of a station or airport) and Hyperloop One Pods that can take passengers from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in 12 minutes, compared to a two-hour drive. 

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San Diego MTS Orders 45 New Light Rail Vehicles

The new order of low-floor light rail vehicles from Siemens for the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) will feature a redesigned middle section of the vehicle to improve passenger flow including greater wheelchair accessibility and bicycle storage. MTS will use 36 of the 45 new LRVs on its Mid-Coast Trolley expansion, a new service to help manage current and future travel demand to and from the University City community. The additional nine vehicles will be used to increase frequency on the UC San Diego Blue and Orange lines.

The first vehicles are expected to arrive in late 2018.

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Capital Metro to Launch Double-Decker Bus Pilot Program

Capital Metro will test a double-decker bus as a part of its regular MetroExpress service beginning Monday, Oct. 31 through Friday, Nov 11. The bus, built by British bus manufacturing company Alexander Dennis, is already on the road in other U.S. cities, including Seattle and Las Vegas.

The new bus seats 89 riders and can accommodate up to 100 total. Capital Metro’s typical buses seat 36 riders and can carry 15 more standing passengers. The 42-foot double decker bus is 13 feet 6 inches tall, as compared to 9 feet 6 inches for Local buses and 11 feet 5 inches for MetroExpress buses.

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Blue Line Extension Reenergizes Dallas’s South Oak Cliff Community

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) added three miles and opened new stations at Camp Wisdom and UNT Dallas on its Blue Line on October 24.

DART opened the first section of the Blue Line’s southern corridor with the opening of DART Rail in 1996. A three-mile extension was added in 1997. Nearly 20 years later, the extension project completes both the alignment and the entire rail network outlined in DART’s 1995 Transit System Plan.

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Camira Refurbishes Virgin Train Seats

As part of a £140m project to improve its’ customer experience, the recent and ongoing refurbishment of the 45-strong Virgin fleet means passengers can now travel with an improved service, in comfort and style. The trains and carriages feature new exteriors, engines and interiors, including new carpets, lighting and seating.

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CCW Begins Deliveries of Buses to Foothill Transit for Rehab and Repaint Project

Complete Coach Works (CCW) has begun bus deliveries of rehabilitated articulated buses to Foothill Transit in Los Angeles County. The contract, which includes repowering and repainting 30 artic buses, is expected to be completed this winter. The buses are being repainted with Foothill’s new logo and paint scheme. 

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Solar Energy to Power Valley Metro Transit Facility

The East Valley Bus Operations and Maintenance Facility in Tempe will soon be soaking up the sun as crews work to complete a 537 kW solar project that will provide 33 percent of its power needs. When completed, Tempe will be 1.5 percent closer to reaching its 20 percent renewable energy goal, with 8 percent of the city’s operations powered by renewable energy.

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Cubs Victory Celebration Sets Records for Metra

Metra experienced the busiest day in its history on Friday, November 4, as Chicago Cubs fans celebrated the team’s first World Series win in more than a century. Metra carried more than 460,000 passengers the day of the Cubs victory parade and rally, shattering the record of 430,488 passengers previously set on July 3, 2007, based on preliminary numbers. The Ventra App also proved popular for celebration-goers, with new users up nearly 290 percent the day of the rally.

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UTA Transit Police Serve the Homeless

When Utah Transit Authority (UTA) Transit Police Department officers aren’t patrolling the system, they can be found serving the community — literally. Every month, officers serve dinner at the St. Vincent de Paul Dining Hall run by Catholic Community Services of Utah. On October 24, a dozen UTA Transit Police Officers donned gloves and aprons to serve food to hundreds of men and women who had lined up in the rain.

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TARC Adds More EV Buses to its Fleet

The Transit Authority of River City (TARC) in Louisville recently added six zero-emission, battery-electric Proterra Catalyst buses to their fleet. Now with a total of 15 ZEV buses on the road, the Bluegrass State's largest city has the biggest deployment of Proterra transit vehicles east of the Rockies.

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BAE Systems recently celebrated its 7,000th delivery of a series hybrid-electric system for buses by meeting orders from a transit agency in Canada. 

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Metro Transit introduced an app, developed in partnership with Moovel, which includes a mobile ticketing feature that allows users to purchase fares in advance and to display their fares on their smartphone as proof of payment.

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Sound Transit selected HDR to complete final design of an urban rail-transit project known as the Tacoma Link Expansion. 

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On Saturday, October 22nd, TransIT Services of Frederick County (TransIT) hosted the onboard bus training for the Go Team, the Therapy/Crisis/Service Dog Training organization for the second year. 

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The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) is expanding its partnership with Uber from the initial pilot area to span across Pinellas County.The 6-month program will officially launch in mid-December. 

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Cubic Transportation Systems was awarded a $12.7 million, two-year contract extension from the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority for automated fare collection maintenance services and options for an upgrade path to support future updates.

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Transdev will begin paratransit operations for the Fulton County Department of Aging and Youth Services, expanding the scope of the company’s involvement in transportation networks in the Atlanta Metro region.

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National Express Transit will begin operating Kern Transit in January 2017. Kern County is the third area of operations in California for the organization, including the cities of Vallejo and Merced.

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