Being There
Posted by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit
I admit I am an Internet junkie. I have alerts set up on my computer to let me know when new e-mails show up in my inbox. I have news alerts set up to let me know when any public transit news breaks. And I spend more time surfing the Net than I care to admit to myself. Heck, we’ve even started hosting videos on the Mass Transit Web site, but there is still no alternative to being somewhere in person.
As I write this I am getting back into the swing of things after spending a few days in Washington, D.C., at the APTA Legislative Conference. Every APTA event is a whirlwind, but the Legislative Conference is double that because of all the people you see there. I counted at least half of our previous year’s cover stories at the show (most of which I got to speak with again) and I spoke with the agency heads from several of our upcoming covers as well. And it was great!
Despite appearances to the contrary, this industry is more close knit than people imagine. It is also very inclusive. Being able to travel to agencies and see what they are doing firsthand is key. Sure, we could interview our cover stories over the phone, but then you get those question/answer type stories. I’ll admit that I often go into agencies with less knowledge about them than I should — but that is by intent. I love going to an agency and finding out all about them. That’s what drives our stories. Finding out those little nuances each agency has. Those little things they do that make them so successful. Every agency has them and that’s what makes this job so fun.
And traveling to those agencies has added benefits. We don’t just get the story, we make friends. Sure, that sounds corny, but it’s true. This industry is built on partnerships. It’s built on friendships. I don’t know how many times I’ve had agency directors tell me that they rely on the knowledge and wisdom of other agencies to help guide them.
How many agency directors reading this have mentors? From former agency heads to just long-term agency employees. I would hazard a guess that list is pretty long. And it should be. This industry has a wealth of experience and knowledge built up in its people and you would be a fool not to tap into that.
Attending APTA shows brings all of these resources into the same room, and it’s great to be able to see all of those friendly faces again. To be able to keep in touch with those friends you’ve drifted from because, frankly, we’re all working so hard it’s no surprise that we don’t keep in touch more often.
Thanks for reading the MT Position, updated every Thursday.
Fred
March 15th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
Just a note to thank you for your weekly updates. I always enjoy reading them. Nearly all of my responsibilities deal with school buses, but I oversee one management & maintenance contract with up and coming small transit operation that over the past 9 years has grown from a 3-bus campus shuttle to a 14-route, 7-day per week rural transit agency. I have the priviledge of workin with a hard working, dedicated director who literally eats, sleeps, and breaths transit, and through him I’ve met some terrific transit people. Please keep up the great job you’re doing.
March 15th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Quote: “This industry is more close-knit than people imagine.”
This one sentence caught my interest as I read your op-ed piece this afternoon.
When I left SORTA/Metro up in Cincinnati, Ohio to return to Louisville, Kentucky as the scheduler for the Transit Authority of River City, one of my colleagues at Metro sent me off with a brief email wishing me well and reminding me that “Transit is a small family. Let me know if you need any information that might help you in your new position.”
For us old-timers in the transit biz, that is the way we always did things.
I am in a unique situation in that while my full-time job is here in Louisville doing all fixed-route scheduling and runcutting, I still drive buses on weekends as a part-time operator for the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky.
Sure, I do the second job for the income — it’s supposed to be going into the retirement savings account.
Really.
But I also do it because in the ten years I have been scheduling, I missed the customer contact. Not only do I have that again, but I also feel that I am a better scheduler because I sit behind the wheel most weekends and experience some of what the drivers here in Louiville experience working schedules that I have created.
And while I have your ear, in the 33+ years of my career, I have yet to see much of any coverage of the service design and scheduling aspect of this industry. We are the people who prepare the service that goes out onto the street every day. It involves a lot more than throwing out times, and the runcutting aspect of the job is a budget-maker or breaker.
If you’re interested in learning more about this piece of the puzzle that is transit, I suggest you visit Phoenix at the end of April. There will be a large group of us “timecrunchers” at the annual Trapeze Software User’s Conference. Trapeze is one of the two ‘biggies’ in transit scheduling software, and is the program we use here at TARC.
Clifford Kuhl
Schedule Analyst
Transit Authority of River City
Louisville, KY
(502) 561-5184
ckuhl@ridetarc.org (work)
timecruncher@sbcglobal.net (home)
March 18th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
Interesting article. Similar to your experience, I took over a small transit operation as a contractor in July 2003. I had the contract from the previous owner, 4 very old buses ranging from 8 - 20 passengers in size, 4 employees counting myself, and all the responsibility for this rural route in Pima County, Arizona. Today, we took that little bus business to a 12 new vehicles, 16 employees and connect our little town to the two largest cities in Arizona. The ridership is quickly climbing. Its kind of like ” Tell them, and they will come.” We have also outgrown our “old” way of doing things, and need to get with Technology, which we are, but it is slow.I need some advice on the scheduling software. Route Match has been recommended to us, but might be a little too pricey. You mentioned one that you use.
Please send me the contact or some information on what your scheduling software is. Any info would help. Also, you mentioned a software show in Phoenix in April? Anything on that would be good, too.
Thanks,
Cathy Hutton
Ajo Transportation
1248 N. 2nd. Ave.
Ajo, AZ 85321
March 20th, 2007 at 11:36 am
Fred,
A rainy NW day like today is a good time to reflect and be thankful for the mentors that helped me get to my current position of director.
I started as a part-time bus driver in 1983 with the intention of making ends meet for my family. My first mentor called me one day and said there was an opening in a driver’s class if I wanted it. After a few years of driving that same mentor helped me transission from driving to scheduling. My next mentor offered me the opportunity to move from scheduling to service planning. In 1992 we both went our separate ways. He to another transit agency and me to public schools (to get operations management experience). Three years ago he became the director for our municipal system and my boss again. Eight months ago, when he was asked to take another position in the city, he recommended me as his replacement.
I’ve had other important mentors along the way and I’ve tried to be a mentor to others. I’m always thinking succession within my organization and I’m pleased that the best candidates for most new or replacement positions in the last few years have come from within our organization, and many of those from operations.
I’ve also had the privilege to mentor several people in both public transit and public school service and have enjoyed watching their careers grow.
I’ll never forgot the man who ivited me to my first training class. He set the path that I have tried to follow through my career. I had to do the work but somebody had to open the door. I will always be grateful for his example and honor it each time I choose to “open the door” for another hopeful professional growing a career.