January 2015 – County Connection

Month: January 2015

Meet Bruce – Another Face Of County Connection

5564-Bruce 1-ResizedMeet Bruce

Bruce has been a mechanic at County Connection for 21 years, beginning at the entry level and rising through the ranks. With a last name of Voltz it’s not surprising that he specializes in electrical systems. But Bruce is also skilled in all aspects of fleet maintenance and repair.

The role of a diesel mechanic has changed over the years from being a nuts and bolts mechanic, to being a technician. “Today, you can’t even diagnose a problem without a laptop”, which makes recruiting for diesel mechanics more difficult. Bruce sees the biggest challenge in the industry as keeping up with emission regulations – but, these challenges are good for the community and the environment. Today’s buses run so clean the emissions are down to nearly zero. Bruce is looking forward to receiving our first four electric buses, and with a name like Voltz, do you wonder why?

County Connection Bus Riders Spare The Air In December

1 day signCounty Connection passengers did more in December to Spare The Air than refrain from using their fireplaces. By using the bus as part of their daily routine, County Connection bus riders reduced CO2 emissions in December by 26,827 pounds EACH WEEKDAY.

With a system average trip length of 5 miles, each person who leaves their car at home and uses the bus will reduce CO2 emissions by 4.6 pounds. One person – one day a week can make a difference. Give the bus try!

County Connection To Launch Mobility Management Pilot Program

County Connection Launches Mobility Management Pilot Program

Sales tax and Freedom grants fund expanded transit service options for Contra Costa County

County Connection’s Board of Directors recently authorized a pilot program to grow mobility management in Contra Costa County in partnership with Senior Helpline Services to better align and optimize regional and local transit resources to community mobility needs. The concept of mobility management, which offers a full range of well synchronized mobility services within a community, is a growing trend in the public transportation sector. Senior Helpline Services will spearhead cooperative regional transportation planning by first developing an inventory of available services from transportation entities, expand and standardize travel training, expand transportation information and referral programs, and develop a coordinated vehicle maintenance program.

“Mobility management starts with the creation of partnerships to best integrate transportation roles and functions among formerly independent transportation organizations. We are excited to have Senior Helpline Services act to more strategically coordinate intercommunity transit services,” said A.G. (Al) Dessayer, County Connection Board Chair and Town of Moraga Town Council appointed representative. “Through Elaine Welch, Senior Helpline Services’ Executive Director, this pilot program will develop projects, programs, and functions identified in County Connection’s Mobility Management Plan.”

This 18-month pilot program to implement mobility management in Contra Costa County will be funded through County Connection’s $100,000 New Freedom grant, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority’s $96,000 New Freedom grant, and Measure J sales tax revenues. The program will provide people with services outside of County Connection’s ADA services and help prepare the agency for the anticipated demand for customized delivery of transportation options.

“As part of the program, we will be collecting information from many non-traditional forms of transportation services including carpooling/vanpooling, volunteer drivers, travel training, travel vouchers for riders, and real-time demand response services,” says Senior Helpline Services Executive Director Elaine Welch. “From there, we will create a network of diverse transportation services, including County Connection, that are efficiently coordinated, enabling customers to make better travel decisions, and resulting in a better range of mobility services within our community.”

The County Connection Board of Directors agreement with Senior Helpline Services calls for the launch of the pilot program to begin immediately.

Higher Ridership = Greater CO2 Emissions Reduction

GoGreen_1200x1200_1Despite lower gas prices, ridership remains high – and that’s good for everyone. County Connection passengers reduced CO2 emissions in November by 29,672 pounds EVERY WEEKDAY.

With a system average trip length of 5 miles, each person who leaves their car at home and uses the bus will reduce CO2 emissions by 4.6 pounds. One person – one day a week can make a difference.

Rider Numbers Rising On County Connection

The number of people using County Connection services is increasing and the trend looks to continue into 2015. As the economy began its turnaround a few years ago, we have seen our overall ridership grow by over 5 percent. This is not unexpected. A better performing economy means that people have more places to go and can afford to travel more. And, when we look at a few select examples, we can reasonably conclude that many new riders are using County Connection to travel to and from job sites.

For example, when we look at this past October and compare it to October 2013, we find a number of interesting things. Take average weekday ridership. In October of 2014, County Connection had an average weekday ridership of 14,112 passengers, while in October 2013 the figure was 12,752 passengers. This represents an increase in average weekday ridership of 13 percent. We see something similar when looking at a standard measure of productivity: passengers per revenue hour (pax/rvh) of service. In October 2014, County Connection had a pax/rvh of 17.4 compared to 15.7 in October of 2013. This is represents an increase of 10.8 percent.

We also see a good increase with weekend ridership. Again using October as our snapshot, we see that in October 2014, total weekend ridership is at 23,248 passengers compared to 22,651 passengers in October 2013. This increase of 2.6 percent becomes more meaningful when considering that October 2013 had nine weekend days to the eight weekend days of October 2014.

If we study routes, certain ones have experienced significantly greater increases in ridership than others.  For example, Route 95X – an express service between the Walnut Creek BART Station and the Bishop Ranch Business Park – has seen a 16 percent increase from October 2013 to October 2014. This reflects the growing employment numbers at the businesses in the location. Another route example that really jumps out is the huge increase on Route 5, which connects the Creekside neighborhood in Walnut Creek with downtown Walnut Creek and eventually the BART Station. This route has an increase of 277 percent from October 2013 to October 2014! This is most certainly due to the free fares now offered on Route 5 through a City of Walnut Creek fare subsidization of all riders using this route. This means that in October 2013, riders paid a fare to board the bus, while in October 2014, the City of Walnut Creek covered each rider’s fare.

We also have seen a large increase in usage within the Dougherty Valley area of San Ramon. This area is primarily served by Route 35, which connects the heart of Dougherty Valley with the Dublin BART Station largely via Bollinger Canyon Road and Dougherty Road. In October 2014, this route had an average weekday ridership of 540 passengers compared to 448 average weekday passengers in 2013. This represents an increase of nearly 21 percent.

Finally, County Connection saw an increase of 23 percent from October 2013 to October 2014 on Route 6. This route serves Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda connecting them to the Lafayette and Orinda BART Stations via Moraga Road and Moraga Way.

Regardless of the reasons for the ridership gains, from subsidies to the growing economy, all of us at County Connection are very encouraged and buoyed by these – in some cases very substantial – increases. Together with our riders, we are contributing to more cars off the road, lessening congestion and improving the environment in our community.