MAGAZINE Winter/Spring 2015
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the Your Future Is Riding On Us. MAGAZINE Winter/Spring 2015 Need to report a concern? Want to pay a compliment? Have a question about a route or schedule? Download the new GoRequest™ app Make your opinion matter with DCTA’s GORequest mobile application available on iPhone, Android and www.RideDCTA.net. Denton County transportation authority • rideDCTA.net Play. Eat. Shop. Repeat. Looking for something different to do? Take the A-Train to the Trinity Mills Station, then catch the DART Green Line to the Downtown Carrollton Station. Spend the day shopping and dining in Carrollton boutiques and specialty restaurants. Find anything from treasured antiques and designer labels, to spa gift certificates and unique accessories—all just a train ride away! Keep up with the latest news and activities at cityofcarrollton.com OR Follow us on Our technology is far ahead. And close to home. Right here in Denton At Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton, we’ve grown with our growing community. So we’ve brought the same technology found at major metropolitan hospitals to your local hospital. We offer advanced medical technologies, like robotic surgery, so you can receive these advanced solutions close to home. And we’ve earned a Bronze Texas Health Care Quality Improvement Award in recognition of our gains in key clinical areas. Plus, you will fi nd over 300 physicians on the medical staff representing more than 45 specialties ranging from neonatology, for our tiniest citizens, to electrophysiology, for the very beat of your heart. So when you need them, the medical staff and advanced technology are in your own backyard ready to care for you and your family. Bariatrics . Critical Care . Electrophysiology Endovascular . Neck and Back Care . Neonatology . Oncology Open–Heart Surgery . Pediatric Unit . Robotic Surgery 1-877-THR-WELL TexasHealth.org/Denton Doctors on the medical staff practice independently and are not employees or agents of the hospital. © 2015 AN 14-PHDT-0118_GenServ_DtnMedSocHlthGud_7-5x9.875.indd 1 12/2/14 9:53 AM Moving towards the track to success Dear Customers and Stakeholders, Where’s My Ride, our vehicle tracking tool As we move into our next fiscal year, that will provide invaluable real-time pre- myself and the rest of the DCTA staff have dictive arrival time information to passen- taken some time to reflect on the many gers and help with scheduling planning. ideas and initiatives that were implemented I’m personally appealing to everyone in this past year that greatly benefited our pas- our community to provide us with feed- sengers, stakeholders and the community. back to help us better improve our system. We’ve had many great successes and have One simple way to do this is through our improved many aspects of our system that GORequest mobile application that allows have enhanced the passenger experience. passengers to input feedback and track However, we do acknowledge that we have their submissions. You can access the app made some decisions that have inconve- on our website – www.RideDCTA.net – or nienced some of our passengers. download it on the Apple and Google Play We’re proud of the many successes stores. All requests submitted through the and improvements we’ve made this year, GoRequest system are sent to the appro- including opening a new Bus Operations priate DCTA staff member and answered & Maintenance facility, launching a within 7-10 business days. Another option is responsive and passenger-friendly website, to call our Customer Service team at (940) James C. Cline, Jr. installing new bus shelters in Denton and 243-0077. expanding existing routes such as the UNT improve the passenger experience. A few As we move forward on this track towards Shuttle Colorado Express. Even with the key improvements we’re focusing on this success, we ask for your continued support many improvements made, some of our year include: for our system. It takes time and a strong passengers voiced their concerns with our 1. Better synchronize Dallas Area partnership with you (our community) to recent August service changes and vehicle Rapid Transit (DART), our Connect bus expand and improve services that will ulti- reliability issues, which we’ve acknowledged service and A-train to optimize our system’s mately improve mobility solutions. and plan to make top priorities to improve. efficiency. Thanks for your continued sup- Here at DCTA, we’ll never be complete- 2. Maintain a strong focus to improve p o r t , J a m e s C . C l i n e , J r . , P . E . , ly content and will continuously work to vehicle readiness and reliability. President of Denton County Transportation improve our system and services to better 3. Properly launch and manage Authority A-train 5 Staff Spotlight: Get to know Reca Oliver Sitting behind the glass in processing office. She calls the Eulene Brock Downtown herself a “computer pioneer” Denton Transit Center because she has seen technol- (DDTC), Customer Service ogy go from key-punch to the Representative Reca Oliver has computers we have today. heard it all. “I went to trade school for key- And she’s not tired of it yet. punch – the old machines where “I just like to hear about peo- they ran the cards through,” she ple’s travels,” Oliver said. “I like said. “I learned how to do that it when people come in and say and after, I wanted to get a job that they’ve ridden transporta- in data entry and that’s how I tion in Chicago or New York. ended up at Jostens. We had It’s interesting to hear about it. Mohawk tape machines and the Of course, we’re a smaller city information would be on tape than those, but we’re expand- and then it would transfer to the ing.” home office through a phone Oliver has been a lifelong line.” Denton resident and has Michael Chinn, general worked at DCTA for five years. manager of bus operations for In that five years, she has seen DCTA, said Oliver’s tenacity to a lot of expansion within the solve problems and help pas- company. sengers is what truly sets her “When I was hired in, I was apart. part-time and I did tallies for “Reca does everything so about a year before the DDTC well,” Chinn said. “What I like opened,” she said. “They’ve most about her is her patience added the A-train since I start- and ability to interact with cus- ed. That was big-time, having tomers. These traits help her this facility for our customers. excel at her position.” The Central Bus Station used to In addition to keeping the be in a parking lot up the road, transit center in top shape every so it’s been good for custom- day, Oliver cites her favorite part ers to have a place to rest and of the job as introducing transit wait for their buses and use the to new passengers and help- restroom.” ing them navigate the DCTA Prior to DCTA, Oliver spent and Dallas Area Rapid Transit 20 years working in data pro- (DART) rail lines. said. “We have the DART map have to do a trip planner, but cessing at Jostens Incorporated “We have many passenger and show passengers where to I’m willing to do that to help until they closed the local order tools for going into Dallas,” she transfer. Sometimes, we do still passengers.” Q: What is your favorite sports team? A: The Dallas Cowboys. I’ve been watching them because my youngest grandson is really into it. It’s funny because his father doesn’t like them. Q: Who is your favorite music artist? A: Blake Shelton. Q: What is your favorite color? A: Green. I live out in the country and I put a nice green roof on our house. Q: What is your favorite food? A: Mexican food. Q: Where is your dream vacation? A: To take a tour through the New England states. I think that would be very nice. 6 A-train Riders board the A-Train at Hebron Station in Lewisville. KN A-train 7 Texas Woman’s UniversiTY DENTON n DALLAS n HOUSTON “I chose TWU because it has an excellent reputation in health care and offers the program I wanted. Also, everyone here is so nice and helpful, and the campus is gorgeous. Choosing TWU was the best decision I ever made.” Angelica Reyes Dental Hygiene, 2015 1-866-809-6130 [email protected] n www.twu.edu 8 A-train AD INFORMATION Job No.: A14-12-05-140 Subject: Angelica Reyes A Train Mag Publication: A Train Mag Size: 7.5x9.875 4c CR: Dec 19 Publish: Jan 2015 City of Publication: Denton Client: M&C Designer: RT Riders can now get to airport via rail By Tim Blackwell For the Denton Record-Chronicle Spending five bucks has never felt so good. At least for some Denton County commuters, spending a Lincoln to get to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport via rail is well worth it. With the purchase of a $5 regional pass from Denton County Transportation Authority, riders can take the A-train to a connection with a Dallas Area Rapid Transit train that stops at Terminal A at the airport. At the A-train’s Trinity Mills Station stop in Carrollton, passengers can connect with DART’s Green Line, then ride to Bachman Station just south of Northwest Highway in Dallas for a transfer to the Orange Line with service to the airport. The trip takes about 90 minutes and spares riders of potential slowdowns along I-35E and other major thoroughfares.