The Exchange News October 2018 Newsletter of the Florida Transit Marketing Network Vol 13 Issue 2 “Ride with Jim” Changes the Face of Transit in Brevard PSTA Awarded $9.5M 2 for Bus Rapid Transit n late 2017, Space Coast Area Space Coast Area Transit Director, Transit began a promotion Scott Nelson, and other key PalmTran Earns NACo 3 called Ride with Jim, with staff members, to ensure each Achievement Award I a goal of actively seeking Ride with Jim participant out increased transparency receives personalized TECO Line Streetcar in the planning of transit’s attention “Our entire team is Going Fare Free future in Brevard County. is passionate about what we Stakeholders, riders, and the do,” said Nelson. “Many of our Marketing Awards at 4 FPTA Conference general public were provided customers rely on Space Coast an opportunity to share coffee & Area Transit for their livelihood; BCT Employees conversation with those who help shape the transportation service we provide Donate School the local transit system. Some of the pre- enables them to feed their family. We Supplies registered riders experienced transit for actively listen to everyone’s input and do the first time, while others enjoyed an op- our best to act on their needs. Most of Citrus Connection 5 portunity to meet in an informal setting to the Ride with Jim attendees would never Celebrates ask questions or suggest transit improve- attend a County Commission meeting, Improvement in ments. More than a year after starting the but that doesn’t make their input any less Education program, Ride with Jim has become a phe- important,” he said. nomenon; with each event filled to capac- Bay Town Trolley ity, and a waiting list on stand-by. At Liesenfelt’s request, Scott Nelson is Introduces New Bus working to expand the program in 2019 to Tracker App Co-sponsored by Bagel 13, the quarterly include other departments Jim oversees, event begins with a bus picking up such as Brevard County Libraries, the Tri-Rail Records 6 registered riders at a pre-designated Space Coast Office of Tourism, and Health Highest On-Time- location and driving them to a Bagel 13 and Human Services. “Even though the Performance restaurant for a chat over coffee and a conversation will focus on the department bagel with Assistant County Manager and that is sponsoring the event, participants PalmTran Hosts former 20-year Director of Space Coast will still be transported on our buses, “Bus Operator Area Transit, Jim Liesenfelt. “I like to meaning there will still be a lot of buzz Appreciation Day” think of it as an open house on wheels,” going on about Transit. Anytime we can stated Liesenfelt. “The events are very BCT New Route 7 popular. Even someone who doesn’t ride Promotion the bus relies on someone that does. Ride with Jim is a way for us to build stronger relationships and hear ideas from transit advocates in a casual and comfortable environment,” he said. There is no cost to attend the event, however, seating is limited, attendees must preregister online at 321Transit/ RideWithJim. The events are attended by cont’d on page 2 Ride with Jim—cont’d from cover get stakeholders on our buses, whether their stake is in ideas that come directly from Ride with Jim participants. As transit or another facet of County government, it makes us a result, Space Coast Area Transit now gives each attendee stronger,” Nelson said. a clothing magnet that features the Ride with Jim logo with the words, “I helped change the face of transit”. Because Evidence of the popularity of Ride with Jim trends daily on indeed, they have. multiple social media sites. Even the media coverage has been overwhelming. A Florida Today photographer attends each event and post video and photos to the newspaper’s website. Elected officials formerly report on their Ride with Jim experience at City Council meetings. After each event, the group can be heard collectively chanting, “Ride With Jim, Ride with Jim”. Still, one of the most unexpected yet most gratifying aspects of the program is being able to fine-tune and implement PSTA Awarded $9.5 million for Bus Rapid Transit Project he Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Author- Tity (PSTA) is being awarded $9.5 million through FDOT’s state New Starts Transit Program for the Bus Rapid Transit project being developed in the Central Av- enue corridor in St. Petersburg. The state New Starts Transit Program provides FDOT funding to assist Florida transit systems who have been approved into the Federal Capital Investment Grant program, which fund rapid transit projects across the country. PSTA’s Central Avenue BRT project is the first rapid transit project in Tampa Bay history to be approved into this program. These state funds will provide approximately 25% of the project’s overall funding. “This is an important project for both Pinellas County “We’re so thankful to have received very positive support and the Tampa Bay region. We applaud the local funding for this rapid transit program from local, state, and federal commitments from both PSTA and the City of St. leaders. We’ve always had a great partnership with FDOT Petersburg and we want to solidify our support to this and this announcement puts us one big step closer to project through the programming of state funds,” says finally getting rapid transit in the Tampa Bay area,” says David Gwynn, DOT District 7 Secretary. Brad Miller, PSTA CEO The 11-mile Bus Rapid Transit project is a premium rapid PSTA recently awarded a contract to initiate final design transit service that will connect downtown St. Petersburg of the project, which is anticipated to open to riders in with St. Pete Beach. The service, which will primarily late 2020/early 2021. run along 1st Avenues North and South, will feature uniquely branded stations and vehicles, and operate on semi-dedicated lanes every 15 minutes from 6 a.m. until midnight. The Exchange News | Page 2 Palm Tran Earns NACo Achievement Award in Transportation alm Tran has been honored with the prestigious amount of rear-end collisions. Achievement Award in the category of Transpor- In addition, the “flashing Ptation from the National Association of Counties lights” initiative was a cost- (NACo). NACo recognized Palm Tran for launching its saving initiative because it was PT Stat (Palm Tran Statistics) program, which focuses on developed and implemented gathering data and analyzing day-to-day operations and in-house. agency performance. The PT Stat program facilitated Palm Tran’s “flashing lights” initiative which resulted in a signifi- A risk management evaluation cant decline in rear-end collisions. has Palm Tran incurring an average of $320 for property Among the metrics measured through PT Stat are damage per accident. Palm customer service feedback, on-time performance data, Tran saw a reduction from 28 accidents and other safety information. In monthly rear-end collisions (October- Palm Tran received recogni- meetings, PT Stat teams collaborate to identify areas for March FY17) to 13 rear-end tion for its PT Stat (Palm improvements in specific departments. accidents (October-March Tran Statistics) program FY18) since the retrofitting which implemented the ret- “The success of the ‘flashing lights’ initiative and many other which amounts to almost rofitting of “flashing lights” on its buses. The initiative innovative projects have been made possible through the $4,800 in savings. As a result, PT Stat program,” Executive Director Clinton B. Forbes resulted in a significant Palm Tran expanded the decline in rear-end collisions. said. “The PT Stat program is fostering an environment initiative to include all 159 and organizational culture of continuous improvement and buses in the fleet. learning at Palm Tran.” The National Association of Counties unites America’s During Oct. 2015 through Sept. 2016, Palm Tran saw a 3,069 county governments. Palm Tran was recognized spike in rear-end collisions reporting 73 accidents. The among other counties at NACo’s 2018 Annual Conference purpose of retrofitting the buses with flashing lights on and Exposition July 13-16 in Nashville, Tennessee. For the tails was to increase visibility and enhance safety. The more information on Palm Tran, visit: www.palmtran.org. “flashing lights” initiative improved safety by reducing the The TECO Line Streetcar is Going Fare Free! ART has been awarded $2.7 million in grant fund- mobility and connectivity option for residents, employees, ing from the Florida Department of Transportation and visitors in downtown Tampa and the city at large. H(FDOT) that will support extending TECO Line With planned extensions, the Streetcar will also create a Streetcar service hours, increasing frequency, and providing vital connection between downtown and neighborhoods free rides to customers for the next three years. and further spread the vibrancy and development that is currently being seen in the downtown area. The Streetcar Beginning October 7, 2018, the $2.7 million grant will be Extension Study from Downtown Tampa to Tampa Heights, used to increase Streetcar service from every 20 minutes also funded by FDOT, is currently in project development to every 15 minutes from 7 AM - 7 PM on weekdays and to pursue federal funding. provide extended service hours throughout the week. The increased streetcar service will improve mobility and access The FDOT grant will help boost ridership and increase by affording residents access to additional job opportunities, efficiency of the TECO Line Streetcar System, providing and provide enhanced connectivity in downtown, the greater opportunity for the Authority to provide a Channel District, and Ybor City. commuter service that meets the growing needs of Tampa’s downtown community.