Proposition 104, a ballot measure in Phoenix whose provisions include expanded light rail and bus service along with street improvements and the addition of bicycle lanes, passed Aug. 25 with a preliminary count of 55 percent of the vote, capping several days of successful events for Valley Metro including the opening of its first light rail extension. [More]

Sacramento RT Opens Blue Line Extension; System Now Totals 43 Miles on Three Lines

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT) marked the grand opening of its new Blue Line light rail extension to Cosumnes River College (CRC)—a month ahead of schedule—with a community celebration Aug. 23 and the official grand opening ceremony the following day. [More]

San Bernardino Transit Center: A Symbol of Transformation

Omnitrans dedicated its San ­Bernardino Transit Center in recent ceremonies that included the release of 200 butterflies as a symbol of the multimodal hub’s transformational role in the city, which includes connecting 10 local and two freeway express bus routes, the BRT line and bus routes operated by neighboring agencies. [More]

King County Metro Welcomes New Trolleybuses

King County Metro Transit in Seattle recently introduced the first of 174 replacement trolleybuses from New Flyer—the agency’s first new electric trolleybuses in almost three decades—with the rest of the order being phased in over the next two years. [More]

C-TRAN Launches 'Vine' BRT Construction

The Clark County Public Transit Benefit Area Authority (C-TRAN) recently launched construction of the Vine, the region’s first BRT project, with ceremonies at the site of the future Turtle Place Station in downtown ­Vancouver, WA. [More]

FTA Webinars Focus on Safety Rulemaking

FTA’s Office of Transit Safety and Oversight is conducting webinars Sept. 17 and 18 to discuss the Public Transportation Safety Program Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) published in the Aug. 14, 2015, Federal Register, including provisions of the proposed rule and how industry stakeholders can get involved in the regulatory process. [More]

DOT Awards $9.5 Million in Workforce Development Grants

DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx recently announced 19 Innovative ­Public Transportation Workforce Development Program (Ladders of Opportunity Initiative) grants totaling $9.5 million. [More]

Jones Named Atlanta Streetcar Interim Executive Director

The Atlanta Streetcar has named Keith Jones its interim executive director following the departure of Tim Borchers. [More]

Accessibility Activist Devylder Dies

Longtime disability rights activist and retired DOT Senior Advisor for Accessible Transportation Richard Devylder died of natural causes at his home in Long Beach, CA, on Aug. 8. [More]

APTA NEWS

Foxx, McMillan, Gronbach on Annual Meeting Schedule

The 2015 APTA Annual Meeting in San Francisco is less than a month away and the number of speakers and sessions continues to grow. [More]

CASE STUDY

Rescue, Resiliency, Recovery: 10 Years After Katrina, RTA Is Rebuilding Itself and the Big Easy

Ten years ago on Aug. 29, Hurricane Katrina roared across the Gulf of Mexico, nearly destroying much of the coastline from ­central Florida to Texas, killing at least 1,836 ­people and causing $108 billion in ­public and private property damage, making it the ­costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Click here to read about how the Regional Transit Authority coped with the storm and the agency's role in the recovery of New Orleans. [More]

AROUND THE INDUSTRY

Durbin Breaks Ground for HSR in Illinois

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined other dignitaries at a recent ground-breaking event for a rail station in Dwight, IL, about 70 miles southwest of Chicago, that will be part of a future high-speed rail line between Chicago and St. Louis. Illinois DOT has researched the possibility of implementing 110-mph passenger rail service in this corridor for more than 20 years. [More]

Sept. 9 Webcast: Surgeon General's Call to Action on Walkable Communities

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy will release a report on promoting walking and walkable communities with a call to action during a Sept. 9 webcast, beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern time. [More]

Tilikum Crossing: A Bridge for Everything--Except Cars

Portland’s Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) recently introduced the Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People—the only bridge in the U.S. that will carry public transit, pedestrians and bicyclists but not cars—in advance of the Sept. 12 opening of the agency’s MAX Orange Line light rail. [More]

Transit: National Jobs 'Hot Spot'

DOT and the Departments of Labor and Education recently released Strengthening Skills Training and Career Pathways Across the Transportation Industry, which details future employment “hot spots” in transportation, identifies good-paying, high-demand transportation jobs and analyzes the ­patterns in the education and work experience required for entry. [More]

King of the Road: A Half-Century of Safe Driving; VIA Celebrates Its Longest-Serving, Safest Bus Driver

In his 50 years behind the wheel of a bus, Jesse Quintero Jr. has ­traveled more than 3 million miles of road. That’s six times to the moon and back or 120 times around the Earth, give or take a mile. [More]

Industry Briefs

Here are some brief notices from public transit agencies and businesses throughout the U.S. [More]

COMMENTARY

The Power (and Necessity) of Sustainable Public Transit Design

How many earths do you think it would take to sustain our current global natural resource consumption levels? A hint: It’s more than the number we have. [More]

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Who's Doing What in the Industry

Passenger Transport announces the following hirings and promotions in public transportation agencies and business members. Items appear in People on the Move in the order in which they are received. [More]