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| Volume 16, Issue 2 | Summer 2004 |
It All Begins with Your Drivers: Recruitment and Retention Strategies Jolynn Hanson, Palace TransitMitchell, SD The most important workshop for Jolynn Hanson was "It All Begins with Your Drivers: Recruitment and Retention Strategies," given June 17. The three presenters were Otis Reed, Jr., Contrans, Inc., Tacoma, Wash.; Betsy Katchmer, Coordinator, Indiana Urban Technical Assistance Program, Bloomington, Ind.; and Mark McGregor, CCTM, Va. Regional Transportation Association, Purcellville, Va., Hanson says the workshop was beneficial to her because participants discussed "new and interesting incentive programs, and we also learned new and creative places to recruit bus operators." Hanson has worked for Palace Transit for just over 12 years and this was her first National CTAA Conference. Hanson says, "I was lucky enough to attend this conference with one of our drivers (Larry Moir) and he also attended this class with me. It was very interesting to get his point of view on the subjects while they were being discussed during this session. There were many activities to attend while at the conference. If you are involved in transit this is a great place to get a wealth of information about the industry." Hanson indicated it was also very nice to talk to those involved in other transit projects to see what inventive things they are doing to keep good drivers. "I also found the Expo very interesting. It was great to see all the different vendors," she said. Issues in Head Start and Child Transportation: A Round Table Velda BentsonRural Office of Community Service Lake Andes SD The most interesting class I attended in Seattle was the round table discussion on Head Start and child transportation. The issues discussed were of great interest to me since Rural Office of Community Service (ROCS) Transit contracts with Head Start in the areas of Wagner, Chamberlain, Yankton and Lake Andes. Round table presenters included Glenda Moseley from Hill County Transit District in Texas; Victor Reyes from Maui Economic Opportunities in Hawaii; Ron Baumgart, River Cities Transit, Pierre, South Dakota; and Betty Newell, Community Association for Rural Transit (CART), Virginia. Moderator was Chris Zeilinger, Community Transportation Association, Washington D.C. Glenda Moseley provided and reviewed an excellent form she uses to improve communication between the parents and bus drivers. In the event a child needs to be picked up from or dropped off at a different address than on the enrollment form, this form must be filled out and given to their child's bus driver. For a change of pickup in the morning, the driver must have this form the day before. If your child is to be delivered to a different address in the afternoon, this form must be given to the driver on the morning of the day the change is to take place. In case of emergency, Head Start will take the responsibility and sign the form. This policy would really help our drivers. I was interested in the fact that Ron Baumgart from Pierre had the first Head Start/Public Transit bus ever made. Also, I was interested in how Hawaii used their Head Start buses for all groups of individuals needing transportation. Coordination and the inevitable hurdles that we must cross to accommodate all individuals and their specific transit needs will be accomplished when we all work together and compromise. A copy of the form is available on the DTA website at www.dakotatransit.org/forms/. The DTA Board - Challenging & Rewarding
Please think about volunteering for one of these positions this fall at the 20th DTA Annual Meeting and Conference. Take an active role in shaping the future of DTA.
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In this issue...
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Three board seats are open this year: