TWC Presents at ATU Zero Emission Bus Meeting |
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On a hot Saturday afternoon in May, more than 60 Amalgamated Transit Union frontline technicians and local officers joined a three-hour online discussion on the challenges of working the transition to electric buses. ATU Education and Training Administrator Russell Bateman organized the webinar and moderated the discussion.
ATU International President John Costa welcomed the group and discussed his background as a former maintenance worker starting as a car cleaner and working his way up to being a technician who worked on rail cars, track, and signals for New Jersey Transit. International President Costa also reiterated the firm commitment of ATU International to ensure proper training and full enforcement of safety requirements as bus mechanics need to work in a high-voltage environment.
On behalf of the Transit Workforce Center, John Schiavone presented a high-level technical overview of zero-emission buses (ZEBs), both battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell buses. John placed a strong emphasis on safety, with regard to both training and the provision of appropriate personal protective equipment. Jamaine Gibson, ATU’s Director for Workforce Development and Apprenticeship, then organized and moderated a panel of technicians: Jeff Stambaugh from Local 587, King County Transit in Seattle; Zac Bodle from Local 265, VTA in San Jose; Steve Huizar from Local 1277, SunLine in Palm Springs; Joe Maestas from Local 1001, RTD in Denver; and Will Bolton from Local 1070, IndyGo in Indianapolis. They all shared experience of how their locals worked to make a successful transition to date. Additionally, they each addressed the difficulty of moving from direct current electricity to alternating current and discussed their helpful interactions with Original Equipment Manufacturers who shared their knowledge and provided meaningful training.
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Attendees recognizing the ATU slogan from the last convention: "We fight together, we win together" |
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TWC Executive Director Jack Clark finished the webinar with a short presentation on the funding and the legislative and regulatory requirements in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill). Transit funding was increased quite significantly, including funding for ZEBs. Any agency purchasing a ZEB with FTA grant funding needs to dedicate 5 percent of the overall purchase price to training for the frontline workforce. The 5 percent is added on to the total grant amount, not subtracted from the funds needed for the purchase. FTA requires that any agency buying ZEBs develop a workforce transition plan with an emphasis on labor-management partnerships and apprenticeship. Local unions need to have a voice in developing that plan. Clark noted that, while these requirements are in place for the current Notice of Funding Opportunity, it seems unlikely that most locations have made a lot of progress in developing transition plans. Making sure that the plans and the related training will be an ongoing challenge for local unions. There was great interest among attendees in holding more sessions like this one.
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Karen Philbrick (3rd from the top left) elected to 2022-2024 WTS
International Board of Directors
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We would like to congratulate both of these amazing women on their achievements and recognition!ure Heading
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Good Word News – May 22, 2022
The pandemic may be waning, further boosting demand from tourists and commuters, but consumers are likely to consider cheaper options amid rising rates and prices for other goods and services. And the prizes could get even richer. Faced with a shortage of drivers, Lyft may have to compensate with higher passenger rates to compete. Meanwhile, if Uber continues to push for aggressive growth in food delivery and other non-essential businesses, then someone needs to take on this tab. Car carriers aim to free us from car ownership and provide us with more convenience and comfort than other transportation options available. What if the future of carpooling was… the bus?
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KTLA – May 22, 2022
With COVID-19 case and hospitalization rates climbing in Los Angeles County, officials announced Friday that the mask mandate will be extended for all public transit and indoor transportation hubs in the county. Initially set to expire soon, L.A. County’s health officer order will continue to require masks for everyone aged 2 and older at places like airports, bus terminals, train and subway stations, and on trains, subway rails, buses, taxis and ride-shares.
SFGate – May 20, 2022
Newsom’s press release doesn’t explicitly say the whole state will get free transit (it, in fact, stipulates that the $750 million funds grants for “communities throughout the state” to provide free transit), but even assuming that price tag covers most the state, it still seems extraordinarily low when you think about all the benefits of free public transportation. A full year of free transit would cost about a quarter of what the one-time $400 car checks would cost, and it would provide long-term benefits to all Californians.
DCist – May 20, 2022
After seven months of reduced service, Metro’s oversight agency approved a request to bring back a limited number of 7000-series trains after one derailed last year. Metro says it’s on track to start restoring its fleet by no more than eight trains per day imminently.
Portland Monthly – May 18, 2022
The agency is going on the offense, including at a heavily publicized driver recruitment event in Portland this week that promised on-the-spot job offers (conditional ones: applicants still have to undergo a medical exam, pass a drug test and a criminal background check, have their references pan out, and ensure that they have a commercial learner permit.)
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AFL-CIO – May 19, 2022
This is a vital contribution to the evolving debate around how or if autonomous vehicles should be deployed in public transit. More broadly, this type of research examining the complex questions around human-machine interaction in the development and eventual deployment of emerging technologies can lead to better outcomes for workers, users and customers.
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TransitCenter – May 19, 2022
It’s fantastic to see an official resource acknowledging the flexibility of federal funds. However, the USDOT resource focuses on small projects that improve access to transit. It is critical to note that hundreds of billions of federal transportation dollars can be flexed from roads to transit, and they can pay for transit projects themselves–not just projects to improve access to transit.
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Politico – May 20, 2022
The Assembly Appropriations Committee has advanced a bill that would require the Department of Environmental Protection to evaluate the operational reliability and cost-effectiveness of setting electric school buses as the default way to transport students. Under the bill, approximately $45 million in grants is evenly spread across three years. That funding would be awarded to at least six school districts and bus contractors annually, spanning North, Central and South Jersey. A duplicate bill is in the Senate.
Bloomberg NEF
The adoption of electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles avoided almost 1.5 millions of barrels of oil per day in 2021 – about 3.3% of total demand. The displaced demand is roughly equivalent to one-fifth of Russia's total oil and oil products exports prior to the war, and roughly double Germany's imports of Russian oil and products at the end of 2021.
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TransitCenter - May 26, 3:00 pm ET
MTA and NYC DOT are poised for breakthroughs like redesigned bus networks and a new wave of bus priority projects to keep transit riders moving, thanks to the Streets Master Plan. Taken altogether, these initiatives may comprise the most significant program of transit improvement in the nation – if implementation moves forward. The next few years will determine whether efforts to reform bus service succeed. How can agency leaders work together to provide great bus service in New York City, given the effects of COVID? What do they view as the major challenges to overcome, and how do they intend to move forward with reforms that will make buses faster and more reliable for riders?
Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor, June 2 - June 3
The conference will explore and amplify the intersection of a fresh wave of global worker activism and new social compacts. The gathering will build on and expand the discussion launched at Constructing a New Social Compact, a major virtual gathering in 2021.
TWC – June 7, 1:30 pm ET
This is the second in the Transit Workforce Center’s webinar series on strategic workforce development planning in transit. The TWC’s first webinar examined workforce development for the incumbent workforce. This webinar focuses on how transit agencies and partner organizations are working to meet the significant recruitment challenges across the country and how to best turn these challenges into opportunities to reach, attract, and retain a diverse workforce. Two transit agencies and their labor partners will discuss their innovative outreach and recruitment programs--including mentoring, pre-apprenticeships, and community college partnerships--followed by a presentation from a national organization leader who has coordinated cross-sectoral recruitment initiatives with agencies across the U.S.
TRB – June 21, 2:30 pm ET
The demand for public transportation investments far exceeds the funds available. While states and communities seek additional revenue sources to maintain current transit assets and serve rapidly changing travel markets, they need methods to help decide where to allocate their limited resources. TRB will host a webinar that will explore practical advice to improve the prioritization process for public transportation projects. Presenters will focus on methods used to prioritize transit capital projects and on cross-modal decision-making, specifically the comparison of public transit and non-transit projects.
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International Transportation Learning Center
301.565.4713
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