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| Volume 18, Issue 1 | Winter 2006 |
From the President Carol Wright, DTA PresidentJames River Transit Jamestown, ND DTA has undertaken some new challenges for 2006. Our goal is to increase the number of training opportunities available to our members. As voted upon by our membership at our fall conference, we will be hosting a spring mid-year training and business meeting in April. We want to encourage you to mark your calendars for April 10-12 and join us at the Doublewood in Bismarck, ND. Consider this meeting a great opportunity to offer other staff members from your project the chance to join you for this transit training. We are trying to keep the training costs as low as possible so that the maximum number of people will be able to participate. At the same time we want to offer valuable learning opportunities that provide hands-on information for you to bring back to your day-to-day operations. Another goal DTA has is to have all of our North and South Dakota drivers become PASS certified. When you were asked what type of training you would prefer, the majority requested additional driver training opportunities. However, as we all know, this can be a logistical problem because it is difficult to free up our drivers to get away to be trained - especially if they are going to be gone for multiple days. One of the most frequently made comments from our members was a preference for training to "come to you." To accomplish that, we encouraged a number of people from across both North and South Dakota to become certified as PASS trainers so it would be easier to have training classes closer to home. Please check out the PASS-certified trainers identified in this newsletter that are located closest to your particular area and make plans to begin getting your drivers certified. Perhaps you can divide up your drivers and have them participate in training sessions along with drivers from one or more nearby projects. With some planning, getting all of our drivers certified can be an attainable goal. DTA wants to be of benefit to all of our members. As the New Year begins, it is time to renew your membership. Please support your Dakota Transit Association by sending in your dues now. Help us build on the solid foundation that has been established over many years. Your active participation will help us serve our members and meet our on-going challenges. BATA: On the Move Brenda Schweitzer, DirectorBrookings Area Transit Authority Brookings, SD The Brookings Area Transit Authority is a local nonprofit transportation service that has been available to area residents for the past five years, previously under Inter-Lakes Community Action Services. I have been on the job for about nine months and have made it my mission to see public awareness and use of the service grow. And according to recent figures, progress so far seems to be good. BATA gave 65,815 one-way rides during the past year. That's up about 20 percent from the year before, a trend that I hope to see continue. We average around 5,500 rides a month up and down. That was through the end of September, and our October numbers are up 27 percent already from the year before. BATA also moved to a new location about one year ago. The buses have always been stored at Western Avenue near the County Highway Department headquarters. The service's office was able to relocate there from Seventh Street with the construction of a new bus garage. I can't take full credit for BATA's increasing numbers, but I hope the public education efforts about the service are making a difference. One of the biggest misconceptions about the service -- funded by the county and United Way, fares and donations -- is that it only serves the elderly and people with disabilities. Another is that people can use the service at the drop of a hat. For scheduling purposes, 24-hours notice is required for a ride on one of BATA's six buses. Meeting different groups in the area to talk about BATA's services has helped to meet my goal of promoting the project. A number of children get rides to and from school on BATA buses, and arranging rides to and from the Boys and Girls Club has helped to enhance that use. Meeting with people from apartment complexes and assisted living centers has helped residents learn that they can still be independent if they are unable to drive. Those whose Medicaid insurance covers transportation costs may also be able to use the service at no cost to them. Other services BATA has provided include providing transportation for events, such as dances or wedding receptions, South Dakota State University tours, class reunion events and Christmas-light tours. Stops at SDSU or major employers in Brookings could also be added to the mix of stops in the future. Bis-Man Transit: Growing & Serving CustomersBis-Man Transit is a nonprofit transit provider acting as the broker for the cities of Bismarck and Mandan. Bis-Man Transit began services to disabled individuals in 1990 under a grant from the North Dakota Developmental Disabilities Council. Since then, we added services to the elderly (60 years or older) and provide service 24 hours a day; seven days a week. We operate the system with two contracts: 1) administratively, we have a contract with Central NoDak Dev. Corp. to manage the system and 2) operationally, we have a contract with Taxi 9000 to provide drivers, dispatch and maintenance. During 2005, we provided almost 191,000 paratransit rides to 8,950 members. In 2004, Bis-Man Transit was able to add a fixed-route system called the CAT (Capital Area Transit). We have seven routes that operate from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and during limited hours on Saturday with no service on Sunday or major holidays. During 2005, our first full year of operation, we provided almost 91,000 rides. With the availability of 5309 Capital Funds, we were able to build our facility in 1998, which houses Bis-Man Transit, Taxi 9000, West River Transit and the local bus terminal which serves Rimrock Trailways and Minot Bus Line. The 5309 funds have allowed us to purchase several buses, radios, cameras and audio monitoring systems for all of our buses and facility. Also, a logger system was purchased, so all telephone calls and radio transmissions are recorded. We also used 5309 funds to equip our fixed-route system with buses, signage, bus shelters and any other equipment needed. Currently Bis-Man Transit operates with two vans, 22 paratransit vehicles and five large buses. We have come from grant funds in 1990 to a budget of more than $2.5 million in 2006. The next improvement we would like to make is to get on-board computers in all of our vehicles and re-work our computerized dispatch system. Transit is an exciting career to be in and we provide a needed service to our elderly and/or disabled riders, and now to our fixed-route riders. We have given the gift of independence.
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