Way To Go
In the month of September County Connection bus riders reduced CO2 emissions by 26,571 pounds EACH WEEKDAY. What a great message to share. Way to go riders, help spread the message to #gogreen.
Year: 2014
Board of Directors Meeting Rescheduled
The County Connection Board of Directors meeting, regularly scheduled for Thursday, October 16, 2014, has been rescheduled to take place on Thursday, October 23, 2014 at 9:00 AM. The meeting is held in the Gayle B. Uilkema Memorial Board Room at 2477 Arnold Industrial Way in Concord.
Update – Route 4 Detour 10/9 through 10/12
Locust Street in Walnut Creek will be closed to traffic Thursday AM through Sunday PM affecting the Route 4 Free Trolley.
From 5:30 AM Thursday to Sunday 10/12/14 6:00 PM.
BART Walnut Creek to Broadway Plaza
Regular route to:
R N. California Blvd.
L Mt. Diablo Blvd
R Broadway Plaza
Broadway Plaza to BART Walnut Creek
No detour – follows regular route.
Get Ready To Pay To Park At Concord BART Lot
New $1 daily parking fees will begin on Oct. 27 at the Concord station, Nov. 12 at the North Concord station, then on dates yet to be determined at the Coliseum/Oakland Airport and Hayward stations, according to BART.
Meet Albert – Another “Face” of County Connection
Meet Albert – If you look up “public service” in a dictionary your may see Albert’s name. He’s devoted the past 17 years to serving residents of Contra Costa. When Albert first came on board as a County Connection operator, part-time work was all that was available – and he knew it would take years to earn full time status. While driving a route that served a local hospital Albert learned they were looking to fill several part-time positions. So for the past 17 years he helps his passengers during the day and patients during the evening. When you meet Albert you’ll understand how his gentle, easy going manner can help ease the tensions of a hectic day. Albert is a Bay Area native who by his own admission is a remote control car junkie. Although hearing how he uses his latest “toy” helicopter for landscape photography – it can hardly be considered a “toy”.
Impressive Ridership Gains On Route 5
Since revamping the service on Rt. 5 in Walnut Creek just over a month ago, the productivity has more than doubled. When measuring route productivity County Connection converts the total passenger count to “riders per hour”. On September 25, 2014 Route 5 carried 298 passengers, or 17.3 passengers per hour. In September 2013 the average number of passengers per hour was just 7.2.
One of the service recommendations that came out of the Adaptive Service Plan released in late 2013, was a shifting of service hours to provide more frequent service between the densely populated Creekside neighborhood and Walnut Creek BART. Additionally, the City of Walnut Creek offered to subsidize all fares on this route, making it the 2nd route in Walnut Creek that is free for all riders.
The changes made and generously supported by the City of Walnut Creek put the Route 5 on track to move from one of the least productive routes in the system to one of the most productive routes.
New Buses. New County Connection Look.
Earlier this year, County Connection took delivery of seven new buses. These buses, which are manufactured locally in Hayward, are now fully integrated into the fleet and have been in revenue service since earlier this summer. These buses also represent the first ones purchased that emphasize our County Connection brand and the extensive work towards modernizing the look of our buses in a cost efficient manner.
If you take a closer look at these new buses on the street, you might notice a few things. For one, they are brighter than previous buses. The beige background has evolved to crisp white, and the reddish-brown color has subtly become a clearer red. This alone creates a much brighter and more modern look. So far, passengers and the public are giving us the thumbs up on our efforts.
In addition, on the side of the new buses we have moved our “County Connection” branding up towards the top of the bus, instead of the bottom. This ensures that our brand remains visible to the public even if there is an advertisement on the side of the bus. This is in keeping with one of the tenants of the recently adopted policy on County Connection branding. We plan to continue to work on modernizing and highlighting the County Connection brand, in an inexpensive way, while letting transit users know who we are and what we do. By timing the rework on bus paint colors as we purchase new buses, rather than to change all the buses in our fleet will be of neutral cost instead of incremental.
Environmentally Better Too
How our buses look is significant, but not as important as how they affect the environment. Our seven new buses are powered by engines fueled by clean diesel. These diesel buses are not like your father’s diesel bus; they are much cleaner in terms of emissions. For example, these new buses are at least 50% cleaner in terms of mono-nitrogen oxides NO and NO2 (nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide) than the seven buses we retired. More impressively, these clean diesel buses emit over 90% less particulate matter (PM) than their predecessors prior to 2002. On top of that these new buses achieve fuel efficiencies in terms of miles per gallon (MPG) that represent an increase in MPG of at least 18%. So, the new buses are much better for the environment than the seven buses they replaced whether it’s related to reducing greenhouse gases or reducing overall air pollution. Plus, the greater MPG will save County Connection on its fuel costs.
As is our standard practice, the new buses were purchased via competitive bid. The winning bidder was the Gillig Corporation located down the road in Hayward. Gillig not only had the best proposal, they also had the best pricing. Gillig employs over 700 skilled workers, of which many live and shop in central Contra Costa County.
So, you can see why we are proud of our new buses and we are pleased that in the recent months following the introduction into our fleet that passengers and others are giving them good reviews too.
County Connection Riders #GoGreen
The August numbers are better than July! County Connection riders reduced CO2 emissions in August by 22,699 pounds each week day – a difference of 1630 pounds per day over July figures. Way to go!
Every trip makes a difference!
Meet Sunny – Another Face of County Connection
Meet Sunny
After driving school buses for the Mt. Diablo Unified School District for 16 years, Sunny thought long and hard about making a move to join the County Connection team. Ultimately the prospect of full time work tipped the scales. Since making the move a little over a year ago, Sunny has had no regrets. “The people here are truly awesome, caring people – this makes me so proud of the work I do in the community where I live with my own family.” Since leaving the school district Sunny is pleasantly surprised to see so many of the children she used to transport now riding the County Connection buses as adults. “Watching them grow from children to adults has been neat to watch. I’m a people person and I love what I do.”
County Connection’s CoCo Pass
Welcome To County Connection’s CoCo Pass
County Connection’s CoCo Pass is a low-cost way for central Contra Costa employers and residential communities to offer a transit benefit for their employees and residents. The CoCo Pass gives holders free access to the local public transit system reducing the need to drive and resulting in less traffic and a better environment. Any employer or residential community, with more than 50 employees or residents, can purchase the passes for less than $12 a month per person. A key element of the steeply discounted pricing is 100% participation.
County Connection operates bus routes 7 days a week connecting communities in Central county to seven BART stations, major employment centers, schools and colleges.
Participation in the CoCo Pass program fulfills the employer’s requirement to offer commute benefits, and providing the pass to residents can help developers qualify for green certification.