"Cutting Edge Transit"
Risk Retention Group
Gary Hegland, SURTC
Fargo, ND
 Welcome to the wonderful mystical world of insurance pooling. Many of us are not familiar with the options transit operators have, in addition to the traditional commercial insurance market, to finance our operational risks. A number of operators across the country have voiced concern about the rising costs of insurance, but many seem reluctant to take action to lessen the burden through investing in alternative options.
If you have been exploring the CTAA website lately you probably have run across this page www.ctaa.org/insurance.asp titled Energy and Insurance: Meeting Your Needs. CTAA is offering the opportunity for CTAA members to realize discounts through volume purchasing their energy needs and creating their own risk retention insurance group. So what is a risk retention insurance group? It is, or can be, a group self-insured program or group captive insurance company formed under provisions of the Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986, by or on behalf of businesses joined to insure their liability exposures. Such a group is exempt from most state laws, rules or regulations, except for the state in which it is domiciled.
Dale Marsico, in a letter to CTAA members, has stated, "Our Finance Committee has explored a number of options including creating a successor program to the Community Transportation Portfolio program creating a source of financing within the Transportation Lending Services Inc., of the Association to financing operating costs like insurance or self-insurance reserves and looking for non-traditional insurance programs that might be useful for our members. One of these options might include the possibility of establishing a member-owned risk retention group that would allow ownership and control in the insurance program to rest with those who participate in it." This has lead to CTAA teaming up with Pacific Shore Insurance Services, Inc. of Santa Anna, California. Walter R. L. Diangson, CEO for Pacific Shore Insurance Services, Inc., is the contact person. Mr. Diangson stated at the CTAA Conference & Expo they hope to have the RRG up and running before the first of the year.
You, as transit operators, are doing everything you can to reduce the risk to your customers, equipment and employees. This includes training for your staff and drivers, working on risk management programs and coordinating these with your insurance companies, and educating your customers on safety procedures around your buses. However, according to Mr. Diangson's research in the United States, there are some alarming accident statistics; there is an incident every 8 minutes, an injury every 9 minutes, a collision every 20 minutes, a fire every two hours and a fatality every 32 hours. These facts give you a better understanding of what the insurance industry at the national level has to finance. However, we are currently moving from a hard market (rapidly rising insurance premiums relative to coverage) to a softer market (premiums softening and insurance companies responding to risk management policies). This market change may be lessening the urgency of finding insurance alternatives. Nevertheless, if you are interested in investigating your insurance options, the first step is to go to CTAA's webpage (www.ctaa.org/insurance.asp) and click on "take our insurance survey" in the light blue box. After completing the survey, you may contact Mr. Diangson either by e-mail at wdiang@rsi-ins.com or by phone at (714)427-5989 ext 170. You may also contact me by e-mail at gary.hegland@ndsu.edu or by phone at (701)231-6436.
Coordinating Technology in Scheduling and Dispatching
"There is strength in numbers" is a familiar phrase to most people. One of the benefits of membership in Dakota Transit Association is our ability to join together on projects and to learn from one another. A good example of our across-the-border cooperative efforts is the procurement of a computer aided scheduling and dispatch software package that was recently negotiated by five DTA projects. Four in South Dakota (River Cities Transit, Pierre; Brookings Area Transit Authority; Aberdeen Ride Line; and Palace Transit, Mitchell) and one in North Dakota (Elder Care, Dickinson) used group buying power to contract with Shah Software for their Transportation Manager program.
Based on the demonstrations at the 2005 Fall DTA Conference and on follow-up research, this group of providers decided to move forward and purchase a software package to use for their scheduling and dispatch, as well as for maintaining their transit statistics. River Cities Transit (RCT) serves as the grant recipient with the other projects as subcontractors. The South Dakota and North Dakota Departments of Transportation provided 80% federal funding for their respective projects. Thanks to a large in-kind match contribution from Shah Software and Grey Hawk Technologies (the contracted hardware firm), much of the 20% match was also covered from outside sources, making the project very affordable for the transit agencies. Ron Baumgart, RCT director, was quick to point out, "We can gain more by working together than we can each going in separate directions. Working together pays off and makes projects like this much more affordable for the end users. We're delighted the two DOT's made it possible for us to make it work across state lines as well."
Coordination efforts have been key elements to making this procurement work. The first training was held in Pierre, SD, the last week of May. Jagat Shah traveled first to Pierre for a group meeting with all of the providers, followed by individual trips to each of the five projects for one-on-one training. This was accomplished in one trip and made the training effort very cost effective. The initial training focused on the transportation manager software. In August, a second training will encompass the GIS mapping and scheduling software portion of the package. The final piece will be placing Mobile Data Terminals in the vehicles, which they hope to be able to accomplish by the end of the year or early 2007.
In addition to their individual project training, these five agencies have each other to rely on as they make their way through the maze of learning a new system. As they progress on the laborious task of entering their passenger demographics and standing reservations, it may be more like "misery loves company." However, the projects not only have the technical support from Shah, but each other to commiserate with and rely upon as well.
Midge Kuntz, project director for Elder Care in Dickinson, ND, is grateful that the South Dakota projects allowed her to "tag along" on the package deal. "We were so frustrated by the paper and pencil routine we were using to maintain our schedules," she stated, "that we had to do something!" She believes this new software will assist them with better efficiency both in the office and on the bus routes.
The new projects just coming online can take heart based on another project director's experience. Barb Cline, director of Prairie Hills Transit in Spearfish, SD, was one of the first to "take the plunge" and implement a software scheduling and dispatch program for her transit operation. She received assistance through the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) on the procurement of Pass Lite, a version of Trapeze software.
Prairie Hills Transit began their implementation process in November 2005. While there were several learning curves to overcome during the initial stages of implementation, the end result has been much better than they could have imagined. The computerization has allowed them to be better organized and more productive. They are able to dispatch buses in eleven separate communities all out of Spearfish. The drivers are able to have their manifests in advance and be much more efficient. The dispatchers no longer have to keep everything in their head as rider needs are automatically relayed by the system. One of the features Barb appreciates most as a director is the ease in accessing statistical data including rider history. Prairie Hills Transit's rides are also up approximately 10%. That may be due, in part, to a combination of increased efficiency and the ability to keep better track of their passengers.
Often when a transportation project looks at changing an entire way of doing things, resistance to change is natural. Barb's experience is that "It works!" Getting rid of all those slips of paper has made a real difference in their operation. Training and a willingness to do what it takes to get the program implemented have resulted in a major success for her organization.
We generally are more willing to look at new technology after observing other projects' successes. It is easy to just continue on doing whatever it is we have been doing, when perhaps we should be reaching for the next level. Our DTA Fall Conference will give you the opportunity to visit with a number of companies at our Vendor Show on Sunday and Monday to discuss how their software packages might work for your agency.
If you are wondering how software could be helpful for your project or are contemplating the purchase of a software application for your scheduling and dispatch, you may contact any of the directors who have purchased this software. One of the advantages of being a member of DTA is the ability to call upon friends and learn from their experiences.
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