Tuesday Transit News 11-12-2013

Buffalo/Niagara International Airport is going to the dogs! As part of the SPCA's PAWS FOR LOVE program, pet owners bring their gentle dogs, cats, and smaller pets like rabbits to more than 50 area nursing homes, assisted living facilities, group homes, Hospice locations, children's facilities, even schools and stress-reducing events at colleges.

Nassau Inter-County Express has signed a multi-million dollar contract with a Woodbury-based company to install a comprehensive advanced GPS-based “intelligent transportation system”on all its buses that will offer numerous features designed to improve rider experience and enhance operational performance.

The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) will hold an open house to present its plans for a bus rapid transit (BRT) line to be built along the corridor of Washington and Western Avenues. Community members are invited to provide input on how to best deliver this innovative service.

Look At How The Subway System Is Being Prepped For Wireless Reception. You can tap out a text, check your email or even place a phone call from 36 Manhattan subway stations, but not without more than 100 miles of fiber optic cables running to them from a 12th-floor office.

A statewide coalition sent a letter to Governor Cuomo, urging him to sign the “transit lockbox” bill that was delivered to his desk on Friday, November 1st. The statewide coalition is made up of a diverse group of over 200 organizations representing labor, business, transit, the environment, disabled, aging, faith-based, smart growth, good government, bicycling, housing, and transportation groups who have joined together in a rare moment to deliver one shared message: public transportation is crucial to the state’s economy and the well-being of its citizens.

In the wake of Super Storm Sandy, one year ago last week, communities in 24 states on the eastern seaboard were shut down and several public transportation systems were forced to suspend operations, including MTA. In the year since, billions of dollars and millions of work hours have been invested in restoring and even improving service. Read more in Passenger Transport.

Transportation won in this year's elections. On Tuesday, U.S. voters approved 91 percent of ballot measures to increase or extend funding for highways, bridges and transit and elected two transportation advocates for governor.

Take a look at NYPTA's video on mobility management: A special thanks to Dwight Mengel for his work on the mobility management track at September's Conference, and for his role in the video re-cap. Enjoy!

The head of the Metropolitan Council supports a half-cent sales tax hike in the seven-county metro to help fund transportation needs. Met Council Chair Susan Haigh says the increase would help fund much-needed transportation needs as the state struggles to keep up with transportation demands. Haigh, and other transportation officials, say the gas tax is not enough to keep transportation projects properly funded over the next several decades.

Arkansas agency meets growing Medicaid transportation ridership needs. Access to transportation services and the ability to attend daily medical appointments and complete necessary errands, are activities many of us sometimes take for granted. A large portion of rural America, however, actively depends on local transportation providers to fulfill these needs. Such is the case in the state of Arkansas where South Central Arkansas Transit (SCAT), a private non-profit agency, offers low-cost transportation services to 12 counties in the central and southern regions of the state.

Bloomington, IN gained more than 20 miles of biking and pedestrian infrastructure this year, and plans are already in place to add more than 12 miles next year.