Rider of the Month: Dad, IT Guy and Transit Enthusiast
Lori Champneys, FrontRunner commuter rail Train Host at Utah Transit Authority (UTA), nominated the agency’s October Rider of the Month.
Lori Champneys, FrontRunner commuter rail Train Host at Utah Transit Authority (UTA), nominated the agency’s October Rider of the Month.
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) supports National Voter Registration Day (Sept. 20). Also, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) issues a Student Edition of its Rider’s Guide; Chicago’s Metra extends its $100 flat-rate monthly pass through year-end; San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) remains “optimistic” about Muni’s Central Subway extension opening in 2022; New York MTA trains and buses are now “mask optional” for riders; Metro Vancouver’s TransLink launches “Back-to-School, Back-to-Transit” campaign; and Utah Transit Authority (UTA) provides free transit passes to all K-12 students, faculty and staff in the Salt Lake City School District.
Alstom has landed a 10-year people-mover contract with Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). Also, Metrolink locomotives powering regional/commuter rail service in Southern California are now using renewable fuel; Metrolinx is upgrading the Mimico GO Station in Toronto; Vancouver’s TransLink is launching in-tunnel video advertising; Utah Transit Authority on April 18 is taking out of service its FrontRunner Comet cars; VIA Rail Canada is resuming most services by the end of June; and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has teamed with MITRE to improve its safety management system.
Construction of a new Coatesville, Pa., station, serving Amtrak’s Keystone Corridor and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), will soon be under way. In addition, MTA Metro-North Railroad has launched the TrainTime app for Apple Watch; Toronto-area regional transit agency Metrolinx is running a contactless payment option pilot on UP Express; and Utah Transit Authority’s (UTA) TRAX light rail now stops at the Salt Lake City airport.
Utah Transit Authority’s (UTA) FrontRunner commuter rail service may expand from Provo to Payson. In addition, metro Vancouver’s TransLink has released the first full draft of Transport 2050, the region’s 30-year transportation strategy; Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has selected Huitt-Zollars, Inc. for an 18-month study to create a regional rail network plan; and Connecticut will evaluate Aira, a service providing public transit assistance to individuals who are blind or have low vision.
Toronto-area regional transit agency Metrolinx has opened the Bloomington GO Station, part of the Richmond Hill Line; the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA) has launched a real-time digital signage pilot program; the Utah Transit Authority Board of Trustees has approved a new contract with the Utah Division of Air Quality for “free fare days,” according to the Daily Herald; and VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) will increase service on the Québec City-Windsor corridor starting July 12.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is holding a virtual career fair to recruit women working in skilled trades or technical fields. In addition, the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is no longer under federal “monitorship.”
Carolyn Gonot will return to California’s Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) on July 12—this time serving as General Manager and CEO.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is distributing $1.37 million in grants among six transit agencies for projects that demonstrate and evaluate innovative technologies to maintain a state of good repair.
Salt Lake City’s TRAX LRT has generated 1,300 new jobs that have spurred an estimated $225 million in value to the local economy, according to a study conducted by the Economic Development Research Group, a Boston-based research company LRV supplier Siemens retained to assess the system’s economic impact.