Of seats and doors

NEWS

Stimulus populous











An update on June 26 from the Federal Transit Administration shows that of the $48 billion to be "invested in transportation infrastructure" as part of the $787 billion American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus package, only 27 percent remains unallocated (see chart).

President Obama last week signed a supplement to ARRA that now allows up to 10 percent of a transit program's capital investment to be used for "operating assistance."

Is any part of the transportation program at NAU eligible for such assistance?

When they're handing out money ...














"Thanks to strong DOT partnerships with state and regional stakeholders, every state and territory has met the deadline to obligate 50 percent of their highway recovery funds within 120 days. That's right; every single one," writes US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood in his blog, Welcome to the Fast Lane. Vice President Joe Biden (pictured) joined LaHood in making the announcement.

Arizona's share, according to an email from LaHood on June 25, was $260 million. These are funds that have already been put to work in Arizona toward roadways, bridges and other infrastructure.

While funds from the feds does not qualify, one location in dire need of quick "shovel-ready" attention is the SBS parking lot. Oh well, we can dream, can't we?


VIEWS

Of seats and doors
Editorial by 61

“Bottom line is, getting people on and off the trains faster allows us to keep our on-time performance and accommodate more passengers,” says Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Chief Spokesperson Linton Johnson.

How to get people "on and off the trains faster?" And buses too, for that matter? According to Johnson, his agency is removing seats closest to entrance doors. While this reduces the number of seats available for transit users, it actually increases flow-through of passengers both exiting and boarding the vehicle, because it relieves bunching around the doors.

Fewer seats near doors means faster boarding and shorter dwell times at bus stops. And when fewer people sit, carriage capacity per vehicle increases.

NAU is anticipating continued enrollment growth in the semesters ahead. In addition, zone parking will be instituted for Residence Halls this Fall. It is not unlikely that the 25,000 peak riders we transported each week last semester will increase this year.

It is vital that every step that our transit department and our University can take regarding transit improvements be implemented in order to meet these ridership challenges.

As with BART above, reduced seating on our vehicles is one step. Our riders are not typically on a bus much more than 6 or 7 minutes. Unlike commuter service, standing for the trip across campus does not impose an undue hardship upon most people. Seating will still be available to those who need and ask for it.

Likewise, acquiring multi-door buses, similar to Denver's 16-Street Mall buses (pictured) which have 4-doors on the curb side (and are powered by Compressed Natural Gas), is another step.

An even speedier solution would be to have 4 doors on each side of the bus, requiring riders to board from one side and exit from the other. Such flow patterns would require true bus station designs. High-flow vehicles and stations should be implemented for at least the busiest north and south bus stops in the system, such as at SBS.

Capital investment funding such as ARRA should be sought after as one of many strategies for the bus lane ahead, which seems to have all the earmarks on our campus of becoming increasingly utilized.

The first Mack ...

... was a bus.

Announcements and deadlines

Time cards due Thursday, 25 June 2009, by 10 am please. If the office is closed please place your time card in 50's box before the deadline.

Thanks to everyone wishing 61 well while sick over the weekend! Most appreciated!

If you are intending to apply for one of the FTE driver positions just posted, delay no more! One of the positions closes later tonight, 24 June 2009. The other two FTE positions remain open and will continue to accept applications after today.

The big driver news is now public! 84 has announced nuptials to his lovely fiance R. !! A list has been started for all those interested in attending the wedding. See 84 for more info. RSVP to 84 if you will attend and how many there will be in your party NO LATER THAN Tuesday 30 June 2009. Thanks!

Skillz at work. During the Road Xtreme Skillz course, 84 skillfully tucked this bus perfectly next to the curb in one smooth move. This part of the course requires backing around a corner and aligning the bus body parallel to the curb and no farther away from the curb than the concrete gutter. 84 nails this one. Nice job!

Above two photos courtesy of 84

We were fortunate to have an old-timer join us for a week before the National Park Service called him in for their employment. 79C helped us with odd jobs and route driving. Good luck to you on your new post!

We have a new member of the family! Christened Van 520, this sleek and shiny brand-new unit will promote additional service for our customers using The Lumberjack Express and the College-Shop Hop (CCC and Wal-Mart). A big-time THANK YOU goes out to everyone at EMSA for supporting the Transit program and providing the vans and buses to do it!

We broke in two more events this week for this summer's Xtreme Skillz course at the Dome. The first event was the Forward Offset lane maneuver. After a couple tries, 77, 91 and 84 succeeded in snaking through this without tapping a cone. *Cheering section was provided by 87 and 80 at no extra charge*

This was followed by an adaptation of the old CDL Alley Dock, tightened up to make it more challenging. The approach calls for backing a bus into an extremely short "alley" from the driver's side without using any pull-ups. 91 readily shows that it is possible to do, making it look easy, but it is certainly not a cakewalk.

Then we attempted to do what had never before been tried in the history of humankind: An Xtreme Skillz Blind-side Alley Dock. 84 is visible from the driver's seat clearing the pole during backing. (Get a haircut lol.) The feat eludes conquest. Still, we think it is possible.

61 here indicates the elusive geophysical end-goal of the Blind-side Alley Dock.Above photo by 84

Watch for future pictures of the near-impossible Skillz Left Turn and Right Turn to be posted soon right here. Also, two new events, the Excessively Horrible Way Far Beyond Anything Ever Imagined Left Turn and Right Turn, suggested by that lovable sadist 79, will soon be incorporated into the Skillz Maze. Get that adrenaline flowin'!

Job posting

Full-time positions have been posted.
To view, click here.
Then click on "Careers @ NAU"

Apply soon! The window to apply closes Wednesday evening, 24 June 2009.

(hehe, they made change back then!)

Trip tic picnic

Lake Mary BBQ.
"Lambergers."
Lovely M.
The group.
Fishing.
Canoeing instruction.
Canoeing perfection.
Positive influence.
The hoola.
Bye, friends.

Reclamation project

In the end, the earth wins.

Memory Lane

ONE YEAR AGO ...

Mr S had just graduated. Even so, he showed no sign of senioritis working with us before moving to PA at the end of June 2008.

81, a rather new employee at the time, proved himself a fun-loving and adventurous person to work with.

TWO YEARS AGO ...

Mr J was confirming that the Van Advanced Skillz Trail was no problem.

The University acquired a top-notch technician, Mr J, who was and still remains vital to our operations. We continue to be amazed at his mechanical abilities and are very grateful to have him with us!

The person who runs the show, Driver 50, allows herself a moment of levity while shopping for the July 4th Parade.

May flowers in June

Driving off into the sunset

The big news, the sad news, is that we are losing two hard-working and faithful employees from our group.

81 and his wonderful wife, 81A, will be making a new home for themselves in upstate New York.

We will miss them very much, and wish them the absolute best on their new adventures and exploits.

A farewell picnic is Saturday, 13 June, at 1:00 pm at the Lake Mary picnic area. We hope everyone can make it! Use the free parking area, not the pay lot.

May fortune smile on you both, 81 and 81A!

3 candidates receive CDLs

Three of our drivers recently completed their training and successfully tested for their Commercial Driver's license.

The first was 84, who comes to us with many years' experience as an over-the-road truck driver. Nice job, 84!

Next, 91 passed the test, showing extensive knowledge of all portions during the exam. Perhaps the experience as a heavy-vehicle driver will prove helpful to him in his future aspirations as a civil engineer, especially as it pertains to traffic and transit. Good job, 91!

And just today, 98 was found qualified by the State to be given a CDL after completing his test. Congratulations, 98!

To all those who had a hand in helping to train these drivers, we want to thank you for a job well done. For our new CDL drivers, we wish you safe driving, remember to get that physical every 2 years (even if you're not employed as a commercial driver when it comes time to renew, because a CDL can be very useful in a tight economic market) and your license renewed every 5 years.

WAY TO GO!

CDL Manual 2.14 Seeing Hazards

When someone learns to drive, they must learn the importance of Seeing Hazards.

The bible of student Commercial Vehicle drivers, The CDL Manual, section 2 paragraph 14 (1997), teaches that "You will have more time to act if you see hazards before they become emergencies....

"There are often clues that will help you see hazards. The more you drive, the better you can get at seeing hazards."

This is a good lesson for new drivers, for those who have not done much driving. Seeing Hazards is something we can all do well to remember. Isn't that right, 83?

News Flash! Sun shines in the morning!

After actually getting to work on time recently, 78 was heard to remark, "Wow! The sun does shine in the morning!"

A little more of this

83 seems to have a thing for Route 1.

84 and 78 began the process of testing and cleaning the wheelchair lifts.

98 and 91 unearthed, just outside the barn, the decomposed clothes our soon-to-be corpsed skeletons will wear for their moment in the ... um, full moon. (You had to be there.)

Mirror dots were painted to aid drivers in setting mirrors properly. Then the wet paint had to dry. The job of guarding the wet paint from errant community drivers, who seemed to think this was some kind of serendipitous slalom, fell to 99, 91 and farther back 78.78 guarded the other end of the roadway as well.

91 works a tough technical portion of VAST (the Van Advanced Skillz Trail).

Then 84 takes a go at it.

Finally, we had a real nice surprise visit from old-timer 65, her sister and friend. Thanks for stopping by! It was great to see and meet you!