The MT Position

Posted by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit magazine

The much ballyhooed gas crunch has hit.

As Memorial Day weekend came and went, I stayed at home this year, grilling out with my family rather than spending time traveling anywhere on the prototypical family vacation. What’s interesting is that, while travel numbers did drop for the holiday weekend, they didn’t drop precipitously.

Americans are stubborn. They aren’t going to let $4-a-gallon gas stop them from getting where they are going. And really, if you’ve become used to gas at $3.80 to $3.90, what is $4? That’s the thing. The gas prices are skyrocketing, sure, but it’s been a slow, steady increase, not a huge jump overnight. People are being conditioned to accept the gas prices as they climb upwards, not being availed with an overnight sticker shock as they head to work the next day.

Now some people are savvy enough to do the math and realize just what they are losing with the higher gas prices and are taking transit. More and more people are using their local transit systems to get where they want to go and that couldn’t be better for transit systems. Except for the fact that those same transit systems with surging ridership are being faced with diesel prices heading toward $5 a gallon.

Unlike the average commuter who can turn to transit when gas prices climb, the transit authority is stuck between a rock and a hard place. It can either come up with new ways of raising the money to pay for this increase in fuel costs, raid auxiliary funds or cut service — of course, surging ridership while cutting ridership is a potential recipe for disaster.

Utah Transit Authority is looking at raising its fares to offset the soaring fuel costs. Its board passed a fuel surcharge this week, increasing its fares by 25 cents this July and by another 50 cents next winter should fuel costs not drop. You may not have noticed it, but taxis have been doing this for some time now.

TriMet in Portland proposed a 20- to 25-cent fare increase to its board because of its fuel cost increases. TriMet’s fuel costs have almost doubled in the last year. According to system head Fred Hansen, the agency tried everything to offset the fuel costs, including eliminating 18 positions, to no avail.

And these agencies aren’t alone. Denver’s RTD cut frequency on low-performing bus routes and on one of its light-rail lines. Right now the agency isn’t planning a fuel surcharge, but it isn’t ruling it out either.

Of course, it’s inevitable that fare increases will be used as another round of ammunition against transit agencies — not figuring that gas prices affect everyone, not just commuters.

Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,

Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com

Posted by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit

You might be surprised to know that we don’t receive a lot of letters to the editor at Mass Transit. Sure, we get the occasional crank letter (invariably handwritten so poorly it is hard to read) going off on one topic or another, but it’s not often we get well-thought-out responses to articles or discussions of critical issues in the industry.

Hence the lack of a Letters to the Editor page in the magazine.

Now with the advent of the Internet, things have picked up slightly, but even still my inbox isn’t flooded with e-mails. This blog does engender its share of responses, but I chalk that up to being able to instantly respond to something you are reading. It takes a fair amount of thought to sit down and write a letter to an editor — even more so for someone to pen an actual letter and put it in the mailbox in this day and age.

So I was pleasantly surprised when I received a well-thought-out letter from a transit industry member earlier this week. I’ve been asked to let them remain anonymous, but the letter still sparked enough interest that I wanted to comment.

Basically, the author was responding to the Operator Training article in our April/May issue. The response pointed out the importance of veteran workers in any transit agency. She happened to work in maintenance, but this could apply to anyone.

Basically, the point was that with experience comes wisdom. Knowing what a certain squeak from an engine implied to a vehicle’s transmission, knowing how to check belts and tires to make sure they are replaced before they wear out before they cause more problems. The same thing could be applied to veterans in any position in a transit authority. I have spoken with more than one veteran operator who has seen more than his or her share of problems that may arise on a bus route.

The thing is that as we look into ever more effective ways of training and educating new transit employees, we should remember that the veterans in all departments have an insight into the inner workings of their agency few others will ever have. Be sure to take advantage of these natural resources in your agency the next time you have somebody new come on board.

Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,

Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com

Posted by Ian Radziejewski

The detective peers intently over the computer expert’s shoulder. A blurry figure drifts across the LCD screen in slow motion. “Stop!” exclaims the officer. “Now back it up a few frames…stop right there.” The image is frozen at the precise moment that the suspect is looking into the camera.

The face is unrecognizable, half hidden in shadow, and only a small part of a wide-angle image that captures an entire room. “Can you zoom in and enhance that for me?” the officer asks confidently. In an instant, the once obscure face enlarges to fill the screen and fills out with all the detail your HDTV can handle.

This scene is familiar to almost everyone, repeated nightly in scores of hit TV police dramas and countless movies. Yet the line between fact and fiction is just as blurry as that first image of the suspect. While there continue to be tremendous advances in all areas of surveillance technology, the kind of ‘enhancement’ portrayed in these dramas is often well beyond the capabilities of most video surveillance systems available today.

Although these depictions may create unrealistic expectations amongst the general public, you can be sure that security professionals do not generally rely on TV to get information about the latest systems. However, there is a similar problem that is potentially much more harmful to the industry, and that is the ‘spec game.’ Also known as ‘specmanship,’ this practice is usually initiated by vendors who are looking for some way to differentiate their product offering.

The big problem with the spec game is that it can create unrealistic expectations just as a TV show does. By focusing on only particular specifications of a system, a marketing document can gloss over all the other requirements needed to achieve the expected system performance. For example, a lot of attention is paid to ‘resolution’ in a video system. However, often the specifications will only refer to the recording device, without considering the cameras that are the source of the video image. If you have a low-resolution camera, then a high-resolution video recorder is wasted. Even worse are marketing pieces that are too vague; you may think that ‘high-definition resolution’ refers to the entire system when in fact it is only one element.

The unavoidable answer to this problem is that you have to do your homework. You need to familiarize yourself with the various product offerings and the meaning behind all that jargon. You may choose to enlist the help of an independent consultant, particularly if you have a larger or more complex system.

In all cases, always make sure you have a chance to evaluate the equipment in a real transit installation. If you can’t recognize the faces of passengers on the bus, don’t count on some computer magic to transform the images. When it comes to video images, you can trust your eyes to tell you if the quality is good enough. In this case, truly seeing is believing.

Ian Radziejewski is president of Seon Design Inc.

Posted by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit

One thing I like to do is give praise to everyone I work with and, to paraphrase Al Capone, I like to give it early and give it often. Sure, we all work with lunkheads who make our days just a little more frustrating than they should be, but for every gripe you may have about a coworker, you should have an equal praise for a different one.

Recently a person I worked with for a few years left the company for a better opportunity. When I heard, I emailed her and bid my farewells. I was surprised to receive a thank you in response for being the only person who ever told her that she “kicks ass” at her job.

How do you praise your employees? I have spent time with some of the best agency heads in the transportation industry and there is a common thread with almost all of them — when they walk through their system, all of their employees wish them well. And each of them in turn stop and talk to those same employees.

Sure you can be a visionary when it comes to transit planning, but if you can’t rally the troops, it will be all for naught. The best transit officials aren’t just liked by their employees, they are loved.

This brings me to the latest great example of an agency giving praise. At the recent APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference the host agency, Capital Metro, was handing out “Good Job!” cards. Basically, if a conference-goer saw a Capital Metro employee providing excellent service, they were to sign the card and give it to that employee. At the end of the conference, the agency would tally which employees received the most “Good Job!” cards and reward them accordingly.

That is an awesome idea! Not only does the employee get the immediate recognition of doing a great job, they also get the added reward for doing a really great job.

So what I am saying is if you get a chance to give someone praise, don’t just pat them on the back with an “attaboy.” Make sure that they remember it. They will not only appreciate it, but that memory lingers and it makes people want to work harder to get new ones.

Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,

Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com

Post by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit

This week Esquire magazine released a column entitled, “The 75 Skills Every Man Should Master.” For the record, I am a list junkie. I will watch those Top 100 Whatevers of All Time shows that are always on — or at the very least try to catch the Top 10.

Esquire’s list is pretty good, — it includes things like knowing how to take a photo, write a letter, buy a suit — but as with most of these sorts of lists, it’s bound by the law of diminishing returns. Once you get past a certain point the items on the list become increasingly silly and useless.

Case in point, the author suggests finding your way out of the woods if you’re lost — a useful skill perhaps, but how about knowing how to find your way around a strange city using transit?

Most people know their transit systems like the back of their hand. In fact, many people I know who live in large metropolitan areas love to know the little secrets about their transit system. For some people this is as much a badge of honor as any other, knowing which bus routes are regularly on-time, which drivers are the nicest, how you can go down one entrance into a station and get around most of the crowd during rush hour.

I think in today’s day and age knowing how to properly use transit no matter where you are (especially in a foreign country) is an essential skill for anyone. So here are my “Five Essential Transit Skills Everyone Should Master”:

1. Read a System Map – Every transit authority has a system map. Some of them can be so intricate that it seems you need to be a cartographer to really figure out how to get from Point A to Point B. Being able to flip open any transit map and locating your place on it is the first step in being able to use transit effectively

2. Use a Timetable – Knowing how to use a system map will show you where to be and where you can get to, but using the timetable will let you know when to be where and what time you will arrive at your destination. Many systems are beginning to do away with timetables in favor of predictable headways (the bus arrives every 15 minutes, etc.), but it is still an essential skill.

3. Find a Bus Stop – Ever been to a big city and tried to find a bus stop? Sure, some are easily located next to a shelter, but in case it’s just another road sign on a post next to the highway, you need to be able to not only find where to stand, but make sure you are in the right place for your bus

4. Find the Right Train at a Station – Much like finding a bus stop, locating the right train in a station full of them can be difficult. Unlike bus stops, though, larger train stations will have conductors to help you find your way should you get lost.

5. Use a Ticket Vending Machine – Having tried to figure out how to get from one city in Spain to another while reading the instructions on the vending machine in Spanish, I can attest to how essential this skill is. If in doubt, look around for help. Other passengers will often help you out of altruism, if not to just get you out of their way and keep traffic flowing.

My list skims the surface, but you should get the point. Effective use of transit in itself is an essential skill anyone today should master. It ranks right up there with being able to drive a car. In fact, more people in the world probably have mastered transit use than know how to drive a car.

If only we required everyone to learn how to use transit when they were 16.

Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,

Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com

Posted by Christopher L. Rissetto, Marc A. Goldich and Michael C. Falk, Attorneys with Reed Smith, LLP, and Steven a. Diaz, Esquire.

The Indianapolis 500. The Kentucky Derby. The US Olympic Track & Field Trials. The Bucky Bus used for football Sunday’s in Madison, Wisconsin. State Fairs. These are just a few of the hundreds of events that have used public transit buses to ferry people to and from event sites. To comply with the Federal Transit Administration’s new Rule on Charter Service that went into effect April 30, these services must now be opened to private charter bus companies for competitive bidding.

The new FTA Charter Service Rule was created to protect private charter bus companies from competition with federally-subsidized public transit systems. And the competition is steep: Up to 80 percent of public transit agencies’ eligible program costs are subsidized by the federal government.

Below are some observations regarding the impact of the new Rule:

Public Service Providers Can Ask for Exceptions to the Rule: If you are a public operator, there are opportunities for you to continue providing buses to public events, but you must ask the FTA for an exception under the new rule. Many public operators are already seeking advisory opinions and petitions for exceptions. In fact, there were close to a dozen requests for advisory opinions before the rule even went into effect. To date, the FTA Chief Counsel has issued five advisory opinions and one supplemental advisory opinion. We anticipate a significant increase in this activity now that the rule has gone into effect.

Private Charter Registration Protections – Leveling the Playing Field: If you are a private charter operator, you must register with the FTA to be eligible to receive the many protections and benefits now afforded to you under the new rule. These protections and benefits include the right to seek FTA advisory opinions and request cease-and-desist orders. Also, once you register, you will receive notice of new opportunities from public operators seeking to provide the services in your area. However, be careful: if you post incomplete or inaccurate information during the registration process you can be excluded or removed from the Web site. Removal may last as long as three years, during which time you will not receive notice of opportunities disseminated by public operators.

New Matrix Provides Guidance on Level of Sanctions for Violations of the Rule: The FTA can penalize public operators for non-compliance in several ways, including suspension and termination of grant assistance. With the substantial level of federal grant support, there is good reason for public operators to follow the rules. Under the old rule, punishment for a violation was discretionary and funding was only withheld on an “all or nothing” basis. Now, the FTA’s view appears to be that federal financial assistance must be withheld if a pattern of violations is found. The FTA has developed a matrix of sanctions it may use to determine the amount of federal funds that can be withheld, based on the severity of the violation. The FTA has also hinted that a single violation might justify a penalty. No one knows how the new rule will be implemented or the extent to which penalties will be levied to enforce it. Given this risk of grant loss, many public operators are understandably on edge.

Labor Agreements Might Conflict With Implementation of the New Rule: Compliance with labor agreements may be impacted by the new rule. For instance, in a request for an advisory opinion by the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (“KCATA”), a potential conflict with the labor protection provision of Section 13(c) of the Federal Transit Act was highlighted because services that had been previously provided under an existing labor agreement might now be barred under the new rule. The FTA’s advisory opinion responded that “KCATA cannot be forced to carry out contractual provisions that are not in accordance with the law.” Such conflicts will continue to arise and public operators must scrutinize all aspects of their operations to determine if compliance with the new rule will raise such an issue.

Public and private charter service operators must be aware of the many elements of the new rule, including a new and more formal complaint process. It is also important to realize that the anticipated reauthorization in 2010 of SAFETEA-LU (2005) could further impact charter service opportunities.

If you have questions or would like a copy of a bulletin on the FTA’s new Rule on Charter Service, please contact one of the authors: Christopher L. Rissetto, (crissetto@reedsmith.com) is a partner in the Reed Smith Washington, DC office, and heads the Firm’s Grants & Infrastructure practice. Marc A. Goldich (mgoldich@reedsmith.com) and Michael C. Falk (mfalk@reedsmith.com) are litigation attorneys in the Philadelphia office of Reed Smith, and are members of the Firm’s transit team. Steven A. Diaz (sdiaz@diazlaw.net) was formerly Chief Counsel for the FTA. Mr. Diaz has a law office in Washington, DC, and represents private and public transit operators.

Posted by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit

So I went to see the new Iron Man movie last night. It was a good start to the summer movie season — lots of action with plenty of things blowing up. However, spending enough time in the transit industry, has made me look past the main characters in a movie such as this and look for the important things in the background.

You know, like the bus that gets torn up in the climactic battle near the end of the movie. And I always try to figure out whose bus that is.

I’ve visited several transit agencies that were used as backdrops for movies. There was filming for a remake of The Body Snatchers while I was in Baltimore visiting the Maryland Transit Administration a few years back. While I was in Vancouver — well, Vancouver is the home to several TV series, so it goes without saying that there were signs everywhere for various film sites.

I didn’t get a chance to catch whose bus it was in Iron Man, but from the look of it and that the movie was filmed in downtown L.A., I can only assume it was a Metro bus. And I imagine the agency made a nice profit from appearing in the movie.

Movie and TV appearances can be a nice sideline for transit agencies. It is great exposure, the agency makes a nice little bit of additional revenue and it can be a lot of fun overall.

The added revenue is nice, but I think the most important thing is the added exposure. Transit is something that people either a) don’t realize is there or b) take for granted because they see it every day. Now that’s a generalization, but the point is that getting people on transit takes a little extra exposure.

Locally commercials have begun running on TV and radio to take the bus as an alternative to the high price of gas. These same ads ran last year and they make a good message. If only a couple people a day hear that message and think about switching to transit, it’s a windfall for an agency.

And with gas prices going ever higher, transit’s time to shine is now. Take the example from the Jimmy Kimmel show, which did a complete show one night while onboard Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus. That’s a grand slam for the agency!

We are in a video world, and the more transit can take part in it, the more it will benefit from it.

Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,

Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com