TRANSIT NEWS

Veolia Transportation has rolled out its “Go Mobile” fare payment app on the NICE bus system on Long Island, making NICE the first bus-only U.S. transit system to offer smartphone-based mobile ticketing. The app enables passengers to purchase, store and use tickets with a smart-phone app, which greatly increases their convenience. Upon boarding, riders display to the bus operator a secure, visually verifiable ticket on their smartphone.

FEDERAL NEWS 

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) awarded approximately $167 million to the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and $67 million to New Jersey Transit (NJT) from the FTA’s Emergency Relief Program to help both agencies continue rebuilding and replacing transportation equipment and facilities damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, which triggered the worst transit disaster in U.S. history.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced the availability of approximately $100 million in competitive grant funds through the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) new Ladders of Opportunity Initiative. The funds may be used to modernize and expand transit bus service specifically for the purpose of connecting disadvantaged and low-income individuals, veterans, seniors, youths, and others with local workforce training, employment centers, health care, and other vital services.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the New York State Thruway Authority and the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) will co-locate in a new Transportation Resource Center (TRC) to be built on the site of the current Thruway headquarters in Albany. The TRC will be completed in late 2017 and will house more than 2,000 employees, including nearly 1,400 from DOT and more than 600 from Thruway. The interior spaces of the new facility will be designed with open floor plans, shared spaces and fewer enclosed offices to maximize communication and coordination. The facility will also be designed to maximize the use of natural light and feature the use of alternative energy sources to reduce the facility’s carbon footprint and the impact on the environment.

As a candidate, Bill de Blasio promised to create a “world-class” bus rapid transit system of at least 20 routes in New York City. Now there’s a coalition of advocates intent on making sure that as mayor, he follows through. The bus rapid transit coalition frames better bus service as a social equity issue. More than 875,000 New Yorkers commute more than an hour each way to work, and most of them earn less than $35,000 a year, according to the group.

For the first time, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) issued a Spanish-language advertising campaign on MetroCards. A print run of 250,000 MetroCards in Spanish was purchased by the immigration law firm Youman, Madeo & Fasano LLP. The MTA has used advertising on the rear face of MetroCards since 1995 and began selling space on the card’s front face in 2012. The change was part of an expanded initiative to raise revenue through MTA’s reach to eight million New York City residents and visitors who take subways and buses every day.

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST   

BROOKLINE, MA -- A new-old method of transport has comfortable seats and Wi-Fi, but its real innovation is in its routing. It is a “pop up” bus service, with routes dictated by millions of bits of data that show where people are and where they need to go. The private service uses chartered buses and is run by a start-up technology company called Bridj. Bridj collects millions of bits of data about people’s commutes from Google Earth, Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter, LinkedIn, the census, municipal records and other sources to determine how a city moves.

WASHINGTON -- Balaji Prabhakaand Shiva Shivakumar, a former executive with Google, have founded a company called Urban Engines that emphasizes spatial analysis and behavioral economics to reduce congestion on roads and in transit systems. Urban Engines works with city transit authorities to figure out better ways to use existing infrastructure and to craft incentives – carrots rather than sticks – to change people’s commuting habits and reduce congestion.

CHICAGO -- Six Chicago-area members of Congress say current tax law discriminates against those who use public transit to get to work and are asking their leadership to do something about it. In a joint letter to the chairman and ranking minority member of the House Ways and Means Committee, the six note that those who drive are able to exempt up to $250 a month from taxes if the money is used to pay for parking, but those who ride Metra, Pace or the Chicago Transit Authority are limited to a maximum of $130 a month.

CALIFORNIA -- As a growing number of riders and the general public look to online videos for information and entertainment — video consumption in the U.S. has been generally increasing, according to comScore  — some transit systems are producing their own videos to more effectively reach out to and inform their customers. One of those systems, Calif.’s Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), was looking to share information about its many transportation options by telling stories. The result is the “OCTA Adventure Series,” seven short online videos that take viewers on a journey aboard vanpools, carpools, trains, buses and bikes.

NYPTA TRAINING AND EVENTS

MOBILITY MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES FOR CREATING
SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONS AND ACCESSIBILITY
Presented by RouteMatch Software
Thursday, June 19, 2014 | 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

In this session, conference attendees will learn how Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are utilized to ease the complexities of coordination. Software and hardware components of ITS technologies allow coordinating agencies to respond to both fixed and on-demand trip requests, coordinate trips among different providers, and directly communicate with customers through call centers, web portals, and mobile applications. Regional agency coordination best practices will be presented so attendees can view firsthand how technologies have played a large role in sustaining costs while increasing services.  Registration is Free!

REGIONAL TRAINING: PROCUREMENT
This unique program will address overcoming common procurement issues, and be will be offered in three convenient locations. There are certain findings that present themselves in all of the FTA Oversight reviews. James Harper, Director of the Office of Acquisition Management at the FTA, will discuss those common findings (deficiencies) and give suggestions on how grantees can eliminate them from your reviews and move beyond them. Space is limited, so register today!

Tuesday, June 24, 10am-2pm 
CNYRTA
Jerry Dietz Training Center
200 Cortland Ave, Syracuse, NY 13205  

Wednesday, June 25, 10am-2pm                       
Westchester County Department of Public Works & Transportation/Bee-Line Bus System
Westchester County Office Building, 8th Floor Conference Room
100 East First St., Mt. Vernon, NY  10550 (Directly across the street from Metro-North New Haven Line/Mt. Vernon West Railroad Station)

Thursday, June 26, 10am-2pm                        
NICE Bus (1st Floor Conference Room)
700 Commercial Ave., Garden City, NY 11530  

OUR NEWEST INITIATIVE – NYS PUBLIC TRANSIT LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

Will your agency be ready?  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports one third of civilian employees working for State and Federal governments will retire in seven to ten years with 34% currently over the age of 50.  It is extremely important that our authorities, agencies and transit systems be able to minimize the leadership voids caused by retirements and other departures.  The Public Transit Leadership Institute (PTLI) will prepare future executives to lead when their time arrives and establish a path for senior managers who aspire to become transit industry leaders. PTLI provides knowledge, training and mentoring to our leaders of tomorrow.  Click here for more information on this exciting new program.

Register online here.

2014 NY Public Transit Fall Expo

We invite transit industry manufacturers, vendors and service providers to reserve your space at the 2014 New York Public Transit Fall Expo, September 16-18 at the Saratoga City Center in Saratoga Springs. It’s your chance to market your solutions to more than 150 public transportation leaders from across the State.  Expanded hours give you a greater opportunity to make important connections.  Call Mike Cocca at 518.434.9060 for your exhibitor prospectus, or email info@nytransit.org.