www.ctaa.org CONTENTS 1 FEATURES DEPARTMENTS Click on the dot or text to read each article 4 From the Editors 6 CT Podcast 8 The Commentary Editor-in-Chief Tour Scrapbook Scott Bogren 12 Welcome from Michigan’s Editor 14 Transit Associations Rich Sampson Contributors 16 MICHIGAN TRANSIT John Drury TOUR PROFILES Anthony Frederick Clark Harder Paul Sorensen How To: Overcome Rural Kelly Shawn, CCTM 52 Transit Challenges with Caryn Souza ALTRAN - Marquette 57 About Us Circulation Please direct all circulation questions to [email protected] CHARLEVOIX COUNTY TRANSIT - Boyne City Finance YATES DIAL-A-RIDE - Tulani Gilyard CCTC & RCTA - Idlewild Harrison Editorial Offices HOPE NETWORK - 1341 G Street, NW - 10th Floor BLUE WATER AREA TRANSIT - Washington, DC 20005 Wyoming Email: [email protected] Port Huron Web: www.ctaa.org/ct MACATAWA AREA EXPRESS - Holland DDOT & SMART - Advertising Sales Tom Smill Detroit ALLEGAN COUNTY TRANSIT - Associations, Inc. MIDLAND COUNTY CONNECTION - Phone: 515-201-3133 Allegan Email: [email protected] Midland www.ctaa.org CONTENTS 2 We can all make a difference: Let transit become your riders’ gateway to opportunities In our world, riders... 1 2 3 Spend less time waiting and worrying, with our Automated Notifications. S T A Pay more conveniently through Support Tablets Analytics Automated Fare Collection. 4 5 6 Navigate stressful multi-modal transfers with easy Trip Planning. N M Book trips and be reminded of Co them with intuitive Mobile Apps. Coordination Notification Multi-modal 7 8 9 Go about life feeling: “I can do this.” R Tr C Traveler Reporting Information Cloud Let’s talk about how we can help you lead the way. [email protected] www.ctaa.org CONTENTS 3 From the Editor Transit Across Michigan Click anywhere on the above image to view DigitalCT Editor Rich Sampson’s reflections on the Michigan Transit Tour www.ctaa.org CONTENTS 4 A storm’s coming. Is your agency ready? In the perfect storm of financial, demographical and technological challenges in transit, governments and agencies are being asked to do more with less. Finding a partner with the expertise, experience, scale, technology and vision to overcome these challenges is vital. Explore a solution to affordably replace outdated, expensive legacy systems with modern industry-changing technology. See how Ecolane and National Express are providing the blue sky you're looking for. Visit us at www.ecolane.com/blueskies. ecolane.com/blueskies www.ctaa.org CONTENTS 5 The CT Podcast Michigan Transit Tour 2016 In the Oregon Transit Trail edition of DigitalCT, the CTPodcast page features two important conversations. To subscribe to the CTPod- cast, go to http://ctpodcast.blogspot.com/ or search “The CTPod- cast” in iTunes. Click on the microphone beside each entry to listen. The CT Podcast Masabi CEO Brian Zanghi on the Future of Mobile Ticketing. The Community Transportation Podcast is a new information tool from CTAA Communications Director Rich Sampson recently chat- the Community Transportation Association of America. Take a listen as ted with Masabi CEO Brian Zanghi about the future of mobile CTAA Communications Director Scott Bogren discusses some facet of ticketing and fare payment. The company recently released a new ebook: The Future of Fare Collection. community and public transportation with experts in the field. The CT Podcast is a great way to learn about key issues, innovations, breaking news and fresh approaches. You can access the CT Podcast in two ways: 1. The CT Podcast Blog Page 2. Subscribe to the CT Podcast on iTunes. Here’s who has joined the Podcast this month: Americans For Transit’s Andrew Austin Just two weeks young, Americans For Transit (A4T) is dedicated to orga- nizing and mobilizing transit riders. Reconnecting America’s Sasha Forbes Two weeks ago, Reconnecting America released an excellent report, Put- ting Transit to Work in Main Street America: How Smaller Cities and Rural Places are Using Transit. Treasure Valley Transit’s Terri Lindenberg CTAA’s 2012 Rural Community Transportation System of the Year is Trea- sure Valley Transit, an 8-county transit system serving Southwest Idaho Jarrett Walker, Author, Human Transit Jarrett Walker, author of the book, Human Transit, as well as the Human Transit blog. www.ctaa.org CONTENTS 6 Every connection matters. TECHNOLOGIES FOR Fixed Route Paratransit NEMT Campus Ridesharing www.ctaa.org CONTENTS 7 Come over to booth #412 for a complimentary specialty coffee and learn more about our end-to-end solution. Technology allows you to move more people to more places, more efficiently. As your vendor partner, our goal is to provide you every tool you need to make transit the most desirable option. Let’s get connected sometime over a coffee and talk about it. www.tripspark.com The Commentary Michigan Transit Tour 2016 The Commentary: Michigan – What A Great State for Transit! By Rich Sampson leaders talked about their jam-packed buses during the annual Tulip Festival, while For CTAA’s Executive Director Scott Bo- Charlevoix County Transit (CCT) takes skiers gren and myself, our annual trek across a right to the slopes. given state is perhaps our favorite trip of the year. It allows us a chance to get out of These connections are what allow commu- Washington for an extended stretch and see nities to thrive and individuals to lead in- firsthand the work on the ground in commu- dependent lives of their own choosing. Few nities of all sizes. It also allows us to be more lines of work could be as rewarding. credible and effective advocates for CTAA’s members and mobility providers everywhere And, much like our experiences in other when we return armed with the experiences states, the innovation we trumpet in policy and perspectives of transit professionals and legislation at the national level has its about what’s needed to make their systems roots in the practical strategies and solutions more effective and efficient. cultivated at the local and state levels. More than just embracing new technology or a As we traveled throughout Michigan last spiffy transit center – which are great and work company (TNC) model in the form of November, we witnessed – once again – the important accomplishments – Michigan’s its GoLux brand. The same is true with AL- tremendous energy, innovation and commit- transit providers reinforced the notion that TRAN’s booming service in partnership with ment of our members in action. We saw first- adapting to changing trends and proactively the National Parks Service to Pictured Rocks hand the vital connections these providers setting the course of an organization’s future National Lakeshore in and around Munising. offer to link people with employment, health- are essential to remain relevant and competi- care, community services, local businesses tive. That reality is only compounded by Innovation in practice – in Michigan, and and an array of other destinations essential to evolving and uncertain landscapes in eco- elsewhere – is about seizing opportunities as daily life. nomics, politics and demographics. they materialize to better serve a community or region. The concept couldn’t bee explained For instance, we heard about urgent trips To that end, we learned about Hope Net- more succinctly than it was by CCT’s Jill to dialysis in Allegan County and wind- work’s intentional approach to innovation Drury, who described her organization’s whipped winter service to employment train- that’s already spurred a new employment flexibility by saying, “we can be one thing ing sites in Clare and Roscommon counties. transportation service (Wheels to Work) and during the day, and a different system in the In Holland, Macatawa Area Express (MAX) a direct response to the transportation net- evening. We operate one way in April and www.ctaa.org CONTENTS 8 The Commentary another way in July — we just don’t want to be seen as one-size-fits-all, we need to be Our Past Michigan Coverage more efficient.” While this state profile edition of DigitalCT certainly represents our most extensive coverage of transit in Michigan, it is certainly not the first time we’ve covered community and public trans- And while each provider’s success is portation providers and issues in the state. Click on the image or link to view each article. grounded in how it uniquely responds to the needs of its service area and customers, some common treads still materialized among DigitalCT our visits. First, many transit systems in Magazine Michigan in receive local funding via voter- approved property tax millages. According Michigan Transportation Connection Edition: The Changing Face of Non-Emergency Medical Transportation to the Michigan Public Transit Association Winter/Spring 2016 (MPTA), 60 of the state’s 79 transit systems are supported by millages and several have multiple millages within their agencies which apply to different areas they serve. That pres- Isabella County Transportation Commission (ICTC) ents both the opportunity to be constantly Edition: The Rural Transit Reality engaged in relating the values of a service Winter/Spring 2014 to the community, but also an ongoing chal- lenge of operating in the political arena. Tom Pirnstill from Clare County Transit Corp., views his job as a “facilitator” rather than a Community Transportation/CT Reporter manager, in part due to this responsibility. Magazine Job Pact: Moving People from Welfare to Payroll Additionally, numerous Michigan transit Edition: Mobility Means Job Opportunities November 1993 providers operate service far beyond the typ- ical days and hours that might be common Getting SMART elsewhere. Leaders at ALTRAN, CCT and Edition: Charting a Course Through Troubled Waters Hope Network all describe early-morning, November 1995 late-night and weekend service that finds Transportation Driving Michigan Welfare Reforms drivers and dispatchers covering most of the Edition: Special Legislative Issue: Legislative Diner breadth of a 24-hour day.