The MT Position

Posted by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit

It’s usually around this time every year that Mass Transit sits down and looks forward to what it is going to do in the next year. We look at the conferences on the horizon, we look at what agencies are making waves in the industry and what topics are button-pushers for our readers.

Looking ahead like that, for me as the editor, gives me a chance to step back and look at everything from a different point of view. Usually, we’re so knee deep in getting the magazine out that we hardly have a chance to stop and look at the big picture.

I wonder how many agencies are like that? When I talked to George Warrington last year for our Dec/Jan cover story, he said you couldn’t let yourself get consumed by the day-to-day clutter of running an agency. And with all of the agencies I travel to, there is a lot of things that can clutter up your day.

Heck, how many times have you sat there at the end of the day with that feeling that you were busy all day, but seemed to get nothing that you planned done? Between meetings and phone calls and discussions with staff members, the day gets eaten up pretty quickly.

How often do we get the chance to really step back and look around at where we are as a company/agency/magazine/industry and where we may go in the next year or so? We all have long range plans. For transit these plans come part and parcel with the job. You can’t run an agency without some sort of plan for the future. But those long term goals can’t be so far out that we lose track of the immediacy of what’s coming around the bend while we balance the future versus the present.

Thinking ahead seems to be anathema in today’s day and age of instant gratification. I want it now has no longer become the tantrum cry of a five-year-old, rather the booming tone of the masses. Everyone is on a limited time span, and they want their new service here and now.

It’s no wonder the fight for transit is so hard — we’ve forgotten what waiting is like.

Thanks for reading the MT Position, updated every Thursday.

Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com

Posted by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit

It seems I touched a nerve last week when I uttered the words, “As I drove to work”. First of all, I think some people missed the point. Last week’s blog was talking about all of those other benefits than just saving time and money that can be used to get people on board transit not how railing against transit-officials driving. The mention of someone in the transit industry using a car to get to work is now somehow a cardinal sin to some.

Let’s step back for a minute and look at some realities here with transit. The United States is a BIG place with lots of wide-open spaces, and here’s the key, wide-open spaces without transit. Anyone who asks where Mass Transit is located will get the, “just outside Milwaukee” response from me. Why? Because it’s the best point of reference. If I told you that we were located in Fort Atkinson you would probably say, “Where?”

Fort Atkinson is like one of many small towns across the country where there is no public transportation. And for me, some 30 minutes north of town, there is no public transportation either. I drive to work not because I want to, but because I have no other option.

And I guess that’s probably the other big complaint we got from last week’s blog — transit execs not taking transit to work when they have the option. That strikes me as odd. Gary McNeil, Paul Ballard, Joni Earl, Cal Marsella — all of these transit execs we’ve profiled not only take their systems to work, but they are proud of it.

And here’s the thing. Getting people to switch to transit will take two things opportunity and desire. Creating the opportunity for more people across the U.S. to take transit will take time and the desire for people to want more. Is the desire for more transit there? I would argue it is for a lot more people than you would think. I know I would love to have more transit options available. The one thing we can’t do is adopt an anti-driving stance. That just gets us labeled as ‘transit crazies’ or whatever term the car-driving public wants to tag transit industry members with.

As gas prices not only increase, but settle at those higher prices, now is the time for transit to stick out an open hand of invitation to potential new riders, not shake their fist at anyone in a car.

Thanks for reading the MT Position, updated every Thursday.

Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com

Posted by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit

Ever get one of those spring colds? You know the kind that isn’t quite flu, but just enough to wear you down and knock you off your feet for a while? I caught one of those this week. (I blame my kids.)

As I drove into work this morning I couldn’t help but think of something our June cover story, Gary McNeil from GO Transit, said to me when I was in Toronto interviewing him. He said how much is an extra 15 minutes of sleep worth to you? As I slogged my way through traffic into the office, I couldn’t help but wish I had that extra 15 minutes of sleep.

This got me to thinking. What are the benefits of public transit — and I mean for riders, not the community or environment. (Let’s keep this on a “micro” level this week.) There are the usual reasons — saving money and less stress — but are there other reasons people take transit?

Don’t give me the “because they have to” reason. That’s not a reason, that’s an excuse. It implies that you wouldn’t be taking transit if you had an alternative. What are some real reasons people take it other than monetary- or stress-related ones?

Is taking transit a social experience? Yes, yes it is. Stories abound of couples who met onboard a bus or train. And ride any transit system for a week and you’ll see numerous coworkers riding together, sharing stories of their day.

Does transit give you a better way to manage your time? Sure it does. From the side of someone who has slept on a bus or train or two in my time, I can attest to the benefit of not having to drive places. People have been using laptops on transit for years, but with Wi-Fi quickly becoming available on more and more transit systems, networking has reached a new level.

The point here is that we need to look at benefits other than money and stress to get people out of their cars and onto transit. People will continue to complain about driving to work and will pay for it, despite what new heights gas prices might soar to. There are intangible benefits to be gained for giving up the keys for the (fare)card. It’s these intangible benefits that really sell transit.

In the end when you see people get off a bus or train with a smile, you’ve got to ask how much is that smile worth.

Thanks for reading the MT Position, updated every Thursday.

Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com

Post by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit

Well, I just got back from this year’s APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference (quite a bit more sunburned than when I arrived). Usually I don’t like talking about a show after it’s over since, well, it’s over and as most of us know, transit moves pretty quickly, so we’re already focusing on the next big event. This time, though, I wanted to talk about something that happened even before I set foot at the show.

As I got off the plane and gathered my bags, I turned to a coworker and asked him where we were staying. I had my information, but couldn’t remember the hotel’s name off the top of my head. As we discussed this, we passed by a MTA Nashville table and a pleasant MTA employee, Dorothy, asked if we were there for the APTA event.

Finding out that we were, she explained to us that MTA was offering free service from the airport to the host hotel. And here’s the cool part — she also told us when the next bus would be arriving, walked us down to the bus stop and stood there and talked with us until the bus showed up a few minutes later.

That is customer service you can’t pay enough for.

Having been to Nashville earlier in the year to meet with MTA CEO Paul Ballard and tour his system for our May cover story, I can honestly say everyone in his agency was polite and just downright nice to me.

This got me to thinking, how does your staff handle itself when they aren’t doing their “normal” jobs? How do your bus drivers handle themselves when they aren’t behind the wheel? Your supervisors when they are working with the public at special events? Your maintenance personnel when they aren’t in the garage keeping your fleet humming?

While it could be said that the folks at APTA are the “transit ambassadors” for our industry, that’s a little myopic in view. We’re all transit ambassadors, each and every one of us. From Carla Saulter who writes a transit blog under the handle of Bus Chick, to myself as I travel around visiting agencies, to the agency officials who speak for their systems, right down to the everyday joe who rides transit to and from his job.

You know what, transit gets a bad rap. Buses are smelly. Buses are dangerous. There are weird people on the trains. Yeah, well, cars are smelly, highways are dangerous and there are weird people anywhere you go in the world.

All of us — each and every one — who has any contact with a transit agency from riding it, to fixing it, to running it, even to writing about it has a responsibility to represent it. We have a responsibility to tell people why it’s a good thing. Only then we may be able to overcome that automobile inertia that keeps this country from getting into a more transit-oriented motion.

Thanks for reading the MT Position, updated every Thursday.

Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com

Post by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit

I have to come clean, I like the idea of Governor Schwarzenegger. Heck, I even liked the idea of Governor Jesse “The Body” Ventura, if nothing else for the sheer freak show quality of it all. And not being a resident of California nor Minnesota, I can’t speak on their political records. But I need to give props to Governor Schwarzenegger for stepping in and stepping up when a major transit disaster befell the Bay Area on early Sunday morning.

For those of you who haven’t been paying attention, a tanker truck turned over, causing a massive conflagration, effectively melting the freeway interchange on which it raged. This interchange happened to be a major chokepoint for commuters in Oakland, San Francisco and their environs. Expecting a massive transportation nightmare come the Monday morning rush hour, Governor Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency. Authorizing $2.5 million from the state coffers to be used to provide free rides on all Bay Area public transportation agencies on Monday, he continued the funding on Tuesday, allowing the agencies to increase their service even though they had gone back to normal fare service.

So what was the result? The rush hour wasn’t a gridlock nightmare and local transit officials said that they didn’t notice a huge surge in ridership during the peak rush hour time, although there was increased ridership before and after the peak. Did more people just stay at home? Probably, but with the level of technology and interconnectivity there is in the world today, that was expected.

With the freeway interchange more than likely out of commission for nearly a month, transit is going to become very important to the Bay Area residents who haven’t used it before. Now is the time for local officials to not only champion its use, but to step up themselves and do everything they can to get people on board. Let people know they can call up and find their routes through your agency’s call center. Get on the local news and tell everyone to try the system out. Heck, now would be a prime opportunity to make a deal with local businesses to provide their employees with transit passes.

And while this was all going on, another transit disaster was avoided by Governor Schwarzenegger. South of the Bay Area in Orange County, the Orange County Transportation Authority was looking at a strike by members of Teamsters Local 952. Rather than have transit disrupted in both NOCAL and SOCAL, the governor stepped in and declared an investigation of the dispute and made it illegal for the union to strike for one week while the investigation is underway. After that, the governor could even declare a 60-day cooling off period where it would be illegal for the union to strike.

Congratulations to Governor Schwarzenegger for stepping in and putting an end to two potential transit nightmares in the span of almost as many days — too bad that he’s been looking at cutting the funding from transit up to this point in his tenure. Maybe this worst week ever will be a wakeup call to the governor to let him know just how important transit is to the state. If only everyone could realize just how important transit really is to the whole transportation puzzle that is our nation’s highway system.

And while I’m at it, a shout out to the city of Whistler, the province of British Columbia and the Canadian government for working together to advance transit. If you hadn’t heard, Whistler is looking at replacing 2/3 of its fleet with hydrogen fuel cell buses. While cities here in the states are dancing at getting one of these technological wonders on the road, Whistler is rolling out 20 in its fleet — Awesome.

Thanks for reading the MT Position, updated every Thursday.

Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com