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Tuesday
February 23, 2016
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Nassau County leaders recently announced $3 million in new funding for the Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) bus system. The leaders stated interest in using the money to restore 11 routes that were eliminated last month. The Nassau County Bus Transit Committee, comprising five members appointed by the County Executive and four members appointed by the County Legislature, oversees the system and makes decisions on service and fare-related issues.
The Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council (SMTC) is hosting their first open house meeting for the Syracuse Metropolitan Area Regional Transit Study Phase 1 (SMART 1). Attendees can learn about the possibility of Bus Rapid Transit or Light Rail Transit along the Regional Transportation Center to Syracuse University and Eastwood to Onondaga Community College corridors. The presentation will take place at 5:00pm and be repeated at 6:30pm.
The opening of six new, high-tech bus stations around the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and College Town was celebrated by Regional Transit Service (RTS) CEO Bill Carpenter, Representative Louise Slaughter and Peter Robinson, vice president and chief operating officer of URMC. The three were joined for a ribbon cutting ceremony by the contractors and partners who built the new stations.
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A proposal by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to tighten oversight of major transportation and construction projects raised questions among critics who fear it will be a costly addition to the bureaucratic process. The administration's recently released budget documents contain the proposal to create an agency that could oversee public construction projects worth more than $50 million. The entity, the New York State Design and Construction Corp., would be a subsidiary of the state Dormitory Authority, an agency better known for financing university and health-care buildings.
Officials from the mayor's officer announced that New York City will issue bonds via the creation of a non-profit agency to fund a $2.5 billion light rail system between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. It was reported that when the 16-mile system is "fully built-out, it could serve almost 50,000 passengers per day, making it one of the biggest urban streetcar systems in the nation." Construction is planned to start in 2019-2020.
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President Obama recently proposed a fiscal 2017 budget that would sharply increase spending on mass transit, infrastructure grants and "clean transportation" projects while maintaining most highway spending at FAST Act levels. The proposal calls for paying for the increases with a new per-barrel tax on petroleum.
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Raymond Leduc was appointed President of Nova Bus and Prevost. He will be responsible for Nova Bus, Prevost and Volvo bus brands in Canada and the United States. Leduc will lead the team behind these three brands to continue to expand and grow the business.
NJ Transit is promising a better app to eventually allow riders to buy single NJ Transit bus and light rail tickets with their smartphones. Officials plan to give bus riders the ability to buy one-way tickets on selected routes next month. Now, bus and light rail commuters can only buy monthly passes using the My Tix app.
Some city officials in the state of Georgia want to see if gondolas can help cure their transportation woes. The cities of Sandy Springs, Dunwoody and Brookhaven are expected to commission a study of that and other transportation alternatives. Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul says using gondolas for public transportation may work – at least short distance connectors to MARTA stations in some north metro suburbs.
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We invite you to share your expertise on Transit, Technology & Smarter Communities at the New York State Public Transit Fall Conference & Expo, October 24-26, 2016 in Albany, NY. Please consider submitting a presentation proposal today related to our theme. Proposals that tie to the conference theme will be given priority. To submit a proposal, complete the attached Call for Proposals form and return it to the New York Public Transit Association no later than March 16th.
In addition to advocating for transit funding on the state and federal level, transit managers have the greater responsibility of managing the funds the agency receives. Transit agency budgets must be developed, adopted and then implemented with the input and involvement of a number of key players agency-wide. This webinar will address how to develop and maintain a sound transit agency budget amid a far-reaching spectrum of community needs. Please register for this webinar developed for PTLI candidates but available for all NYPTA members.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is offering a free webinar to the bus transit industry on “Paratransit Emergency Preparedness and Operations Handbook.” This webinar is being held on Thursday, February 25, 2016 from 1:30 - 2:30pm. The webinar is designed for paratransit and fixed route bus public transportation providers of all sizes, state DOTs, and other industry stakeholders that have roles or responsibilities in the planning, response, or recovery of both “notice” and “no-notice” emergency events. The webinar will discuss strategies, tools, and resources that public transportation agencies can use to plan and prepare for, respond to, and recover from a range of emergencies. Click here to register for the webinar.
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