April 2014 – County Connection

Month: April 2014

County Connection Seeks Comment On Introduction Of Bulk Sale Annual Passes

County Connection is seeking public comment on the creation of a “CoCo-Pass”. This is a bulk discount pass that enables employers, developers, and neighborhoods to purchase an annual transit pass for all their employees or residents. The price is proposed to be $140 per annual pass with a minimum purchase of 50 passes. The CoCo-Pass would be implemented on a demonstration basis starting with three contracts.

Thursday, May 22, 2014 – 4:30 – 5:30 PM

City of Pleasant Hill Community Room

100 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

 

Your comments may be submitted in writing, via email, or at the scheduled public hearing.

Email:  planning@countyconnection.com

Address:        Director of Planning

2477 Arnold Industrial Way

Concord, CA  64520

Service Changes in Walnut Creek Approved

The County Connection Board of Directors recently approved service changes proposed for Routes 2, 5, and 7. This proposal originated in the Adaptive Service Analysis Plan conducted in 2013 and evolved through extensive public outreach.

Approved changes include:

  • Make no changes in Martinez
  • Route 2: Retain two morning and two evening commute trips. Re-route via Broadway
  • Route 5: Streamline service to BART and increase frequency
  • Route 7: Streamline service between Shadelands and Pleasant Hill BART, and increase frequency

The public comments reflected a significant need for the Route 19 and the need for a modest level of service on the Route 2. As the Martinez Shuttle was contingent on savings from eliminating the Route 19, and the recommended re-routing of Route #28 was not supported, the staff recommendation was to keep all service in Martinez intact and not implement a Community Shuttle.

Route 2 was revised to retain 2 morning commute trips and 2 evening commute trips and re-route the service via Broadway instead of California.

Route 5 route alignment will be modified to provide more direct service between Creekside and Walnut Creek BART. Route 5 will operate on 20-minute frequency during peak commute hours and 45 minutes during the midday. Currently the Route 5 operates on 35-minute frequency during commute times and over 90 minute during midday.

Route 7 service between Pleasant Hill BART and Shadelands will be expedited by eliminating the portion of the route that serves Walnut Creek BART. It is recommended that this service operate on 15-minute frequencies between the hours of 7:00am and 10:30am and 3:00pm and 7:00pm.  Currently it operates on 45 minute frequencies.

For the complete staff report including proposed route alignment maps see below.

7.b.1. Proposed Service Change

 

 

County Connection Seeks Volunteers For Advisory Committee

County Connection is looking for volunteers to serve on the Advisory Committee representing Clayton, Danville, Lafayette, Moraga, San Ramon,  Walnut Creek, and the unincorporated area of Contra Costa County.

The primary purpose of the Central Contra Costa Transit Authority Advisory Committee is to review, analyze and advise the County Connection Board of Directors on issues and policies relating to fixed-route and paratransit service.

The Advisory Committee meets every other month on the 2nd Tuesday at 2:00 PM in County Connection’s Board of Directors meeting room at 2477 Arnold Industrial Way.

Those interested must apply through their respective City Office. For a more detailed description of the Role and Function of the Advisory Committee, please see below.

AC Role Function 6-2011

Congratulations to Monroe Woodard-“Roadeo” Champion

MonroeMonroe Woodard will represent County Connection in the 2014 International Bus Rodeo sponsored by the American Public Transit Association (APTA). The annual competition features the best of the best from transit properties across the United States and Canada – all vying for the coveted bragging rights. This year’s event takes place in Kansas City, MO in May.

Competitors must maneuver a 40-foot bus through an obstacle course consisting of 10 “problems” ranging from precise passenger stops, tight right and left turns, serpentine turns, and a judgment stop – just to name a few. Drivers are also judged on their appearance, safety skills and the smoothness of operation. If all this isn’t enough, they have just 7 minutes to complete the course.

He recently earned the top score in County Connection’s local “roadeo” event from a field of eleven APTA qualified competitors. Monroe has been driving for County Connection for 19 years, competing for the past 7-10 years to earn the top spot. This year he feels ready.

Good luck Monroe – we’re all rooting for you.

Watch For Bus Stop Closures In Walnut Creek

Several bus stops will be closed long term during the construction at the Broadway Plaza.

Affecting Route 5 and 605

  • South Broadway between Mt. Diablo and Newell Ave.
  • South Broadway and Newell Ave.

Affecting Route 4

  • The stop at the fountain is closed to accommodate valet parking. Nearest stop is down the street by Macy’s.

Our Valuable Partnership With DVC

Diablo Valley College (DVC) has provided quality education for over 60 years and is one of three publicly supported two-year community colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District. The larger of DVC’s two campuses is located off Interstate 680 in Pleasant Hill. The newer San Ramon Campus serves the south county in Dougherty Valley. Between its two campuses, DVC serves more than 22,000 students each semester. The challenge both face is parking for its students, faculty and staff. The Pleasant Hill campus has approximately 2,000 parking spaces. This is where County Connection comes in.

County Connection has a long history of providing service to DVC. We consider DVC to be one of our most valuable partners. San Ramon Campus is accessible using County Connection route 35. In late 2010, a new County Connection Transit Center was opened at DVC Pleasant Hill. This project, which was funded in large part through a federal transportation earmark garnered by then Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher and supported by local Measure J funds, is vital to the modernization of the DVC campus. It allows us to safely and conveniently serve more people with public transit at DVC’s largest campus.

Currently, over 1,000 students and faculty use County Connection to access DVC Pleasant Hill on a daily basis. County Connection riders can use routes 9, 18, 20, or 28 to access DVC. All of these routes directly serve a BART station. These connections to BART allow students and faculty to use public transit regionally to access DVC. This is important as many DVC students come from outside central Contra Costa County. Of course people living locally can use County Connection quite easily to get to DVC too. Routes 314, 316, and 320 serve the Pleasant Hill campus on weekends.

Advocates for More Transit

Last year, DVC students attended a meeting of the County Connection Operations & Scheduling (O&S) Committee to talk about over-crowding on Route 20 between the Concord BART station and DVC. They came prepared, showing the committee photographs of the overcrowding and advocated for more service. As a result of that, the O&S Committee directed County Connection staff to add buses to Route 20 to accommodate the demand for service to DVC. These added buses – as well as the others on Route 20 – are often full.

As DVC continues to grow in terms of student population, public transit service to and from DVC will only become more vital.  To prepare, County Connection and DVC are in discussions about the creation of a DVC student/faculty fare pass for County Connection service. Also, we are looking at ways to enhance services to DVC in the future.

County Connection also plays another important role as a key partner with DVC when it comes to emergency response and/or evacuation. A number of DVC students have physical disabilities that require the use of County Connection LINK service to access DVC. Should a need ever arise to evacuate DVC during an emergency, County Connection LINK staff and DVC staff have processes in place to ensure the safe and timely evacuation of LINK users from DVC.

Our service to DVC also benefits the residents of Pleasant Hill that live near DVC. As the DVC parking lots fill, students and faculty that use County Connection to access DVC are not parking in the adjacent neighborhoods, which reduces potential traffic in the area and also saves scarce on-street parking for those nearby residents.

All of us at County Connection take pride in the role we play in making DVC a very valuable place of learning for the future leaders and producers of our community.

Our Valuable Partnership With DVC

Diablo Valley College (DVC) has provided quality education for over 60 years and is one of three publicly supported two-year community colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District. The larger of DVC’s two campuses is located off Interstate 680 in Pleasant Hill. The newer San Ramon Campus serves the south county in Dougherty Valley. Between its two campuses, DVC serves more than 22,000 students each semester. The challenge both face is parking for its students, faculty and staff. The Pleasant Hill campus has approximately 2,000 parking spaces. This is where County Connection comes in.

County Connection has a long history of providing service to DVC. We consider DVC to be one of our most valuable partners. San Ramon Campus is accessible using County Connection route 35. In late 2010, a new County Connection Transit Center was opened at DVC Pleasant Hill. This project, which was funded in large part through a federal transportation earmark garnered by then Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher and supported by local Measure J funds, is vital to the modernization of the DVC campus. It allows us to safely and conveniently serve more people with public transit at DVC’s largest campus.

Currently, over 1,000 students and faculty use County Connection to access DVC Pleasant Hill on a daily basis. County Connection riders can use routes 9, 18, 20, or 28 to access DVC. All of these routes directly serve a BART station. These connections to BART allow students and faculty to use public transit regionally to access DVC. This is important as many DVC students come from outside central Contra Costa County. Of course people living locally can use County Connection quite easily to get to DVC too. Routes 314, 316, and 320 serve the Pleasant Hill campus on weekends.

Advocates for More Transit

Last year, DVC students attended a meeting of the County Connection Operations & Scheduling (O&S) Committee to talk about over-crowding on Route 20 between the Concord BART station and DVC. They came prepared, showing the committee photographs of the overcrowding and advocated for more service. As a result of that, the O&S Committee directed County Connection staff to add buses to Route 20 to accommodate the demand for service to DVC. These added buses – as well as the others on Route 20 – are often full.

As DVC continues to grow in terms of student population, public transit service to and from DVC will only become more vital.  To prepare, County Connection and DVC are in discussions about the creation of a DVC student/faculty fare pass for County Connection service. Also, we are looking at ways to enhance services to DVC in the future.

County Connection also plays another important role as a key partner with DVC when it comes to emergency response and/or evacuation. A number of DVC students have physical disabilities that require the use of County Connection LINK service to access DVC. Should a need ever arise to evacuate DVC during an emergency, County Connection LINK staff and DVC staff have processes in place to ensure the safe and timely evacuation of LINK users from DVC.

Our service to DVC also benefits the residents of Pleasant Hill that live near DVC. As the DVC parking lots fill, students and faculty that use County Connection to access DVC are not parking in the adjacent neighborhoods, which reduces potential traffic in the area and also saves scarce on-street parking for those nearby residents.

All of us at County Connection take pride in the role we play in making DVC a very valuable place of learning for the future leaders and producers of our community.