Labor and Management Working Together to Strengthen Apprenticeship and Mentoring for Transit Coach Operators
"When can we find a good time to meet?" That simple question opened up a lively discussion about how labor and management need to learn how to find common ground in building a partnership that works for a transit coach operator apprenticeship program. Deb Moy, who has served as the facilitator for the Joint Workforce Investment partnership between Valley Transit Authority and ATU Local 265 in San Jose, posed the question as part of her presentation to the August 2-4 national meeting of the Transit Coach Operator Apprenticeship Committee in Oakland, CA. Time to meet really focused on the need to bring together experienced operators willing to serve as mentors with new operators for an intense day of discussion and training. Representatives from both labor and management in Washington DC, Baltimore, the Twin Cities, Cleveland, Oakland, San Mateo County, Dallas and San Jose all responded.
At that point, Mike Hursh, currently the General Manager at AC Transit in Oakland and formerly the Chief Operating Officer at VTA, jumped in to offer the perspective from his experience. For the union, it might mean leaning on some members to take overtime on a weekend day. The mentor training might not be your priority, but it's important to the union. For management, it might mean that we decide to miss a route on a Sunday. That's not ideal for service, but we decide that this training is a priority.
Through the two and half day meeting, participants reviewed and revised current industry standards for training, exchanged ideas on current and best practices for training, discussed ways to combat operator assaults and debated what a new competency-based format for coach operator apprenticeship would look like. Diane Jones from the Urban Institute presented the competency-based model she is developing for the US Department of Labor. Bus operator assaults were a particular focus of discussion with a lot of attention on how law enforcement can be involved in training operators on their rights. The model of mentoring for apprenticeship remained central through the whole meeting.
Participants of the meeting included labor and management representatives from:
For more information on the Transit Coach Apprenticeship Committee:
Sound Transit, which for years ran light-rail trains that were too empty, now has cramped passengers clamoring for more railcars. The Seattle Times reports that about 65,000 riders a day are taking light rail, two-thirds more than a year ago. That's after the University of Washington and Capitol Hill stations in Seattle opened in March. The numbers aren't a huge surprise in a densely populated corridor, but ridership has already reached the levels expected in 2018. Transit managers have deployed a few more railcars but don't have enough to convert the entire fleet of two-car trains into three-car trains. They say crowding isn't severe enough to justify major costs to run a three-car fleet.
A family from Colombia was desperate when their passports were stolen but thanks to a Twitter campaign and forgiving police chief, they'll soon be on their way home. Relief for Ximena Estrada, ready to go back home to Colombia tomorrow after her family's backpack is returned. They left it on a SEPTA bus last week and it was stolen along with a cell phone, jewelry, and all of their passports. "How can I go home with my children without the passports?" They didn't have a lot of hope but after receiving the complaint, SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel, well known for his creative policing and social media status, thought this was a perfect time to get creative and help someone out.
APTA's 2016 Nominating Committee selected current Vice Chair Doran J. Barnes, executive director of Foothill Transit, West Covina, California, as APTA Chair for 2016-2017 at a meeting on Aug. 2. APTA Executive Committee Member Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr., CEO of Jacksonville Transportation Authority, was nominated vice chair. Kim R. Green, executive director of business development at GENFARE, will continue his term as secretary-treasurer through 2018. The committee also nominated members-at-large for both the APTA Executive Committee and the APTA Board of Directors. The 2016 Nominating Committee is chaired by Phillip A. Washington, immediate past APTA Chair and CEO of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Hundreds of thousands of London commuters are facing disruptions during a five-day strike on one of Britain's most problem-plagued rail lines.
Southern Rail workers walked off the job Monday over plans to remove conductors from trains. Mick Cash, the general-secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union, said the plan would mean "jobs and safety are compromised on these dangerously overcrowded trains."
Transportation accounts for around one-seventh of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And globally, greenhouse gas emissions are rising faster in transportation than in any other sector, with rapid motorization - more cars and trucks - being the principal cause. Enhanced mobility has many positive effects on economic development and social welfare, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, including more efficient movement of goods and improved access to jobs, health services and education.
Charleston, SC - A rapid transit system with traffic lanes limited to buses is being proposed as a way to ease gridlock on the busy Interstate 26 corridor between Summerville and Charleston. The expressway is routinely jammed during rush hour. Local media report a proposed $2 billion sales tax referendum would create dedicated bus lanes through North Charleston to speed travel and get more cars off the road. Under the proposal, traffic lights on the bus lanes would be synchronized to allow the express buses to move more quickly. A recent study found that bus lanes are the most cost-effective ways to ease congestion, compared with creating a light rail system. The referendum proposes other road projects and Charleston County Council decides Tuesday whether to put the referendum on the November ballot.
Local governments and nonprofit organizations will have a chance at being awarded millions to spend on transportation projects for seniors and the disabled. The San Diego Association of Governments has announced $7 million in competitive grants to help those two populations get around. In past years, the money, which comes from the federal government and a local sales tax and is administered by SANDAG, has paid for training people how to use mass-transit, reimbursing volunteer drivers, dispatch systems and other initiatives.
