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From the Editor'sby Janna StarcicNovember 22, 2010

Calling on Your Customers to 'Buy Local for Transit'

Community Transit based in Snohomish, Wash., launched its Buy Local for Transit campaign Thursday, a long-term effort designed to encourage people to shop in their communities, strengthening local businesses and increasing local tax revenues, which supports public transportation. Community Transit gets a majority of its funding from a voter-approved 0.9 percent sales tax within its service district. For 2010, 56 percent of its budget is funded through sales tax, with the remainder being made

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Safety Cornerby Louie MaielloNovember 12, 2010

Is there a Sully in you?

No one will ever forget the sight of that US Airways plane making a landing in New York City's Hudson River that frigid day in January 2009. As a Bronx native, I, along with millions of others who have made the daily commute down the Henry Hudson Parkway, could never have expected something like this would ever happen.

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From the Editor'sby Alex RomanNovember 5, 2010

Elections are over...now what?

Now that the elections are over, we can all collectively exhale and begin to assess what may actually happen as opposed to what could happen. My meaning is that now that we're done hearing about the worst case scenarios, we can open our eyes and embrace the realities that the elections have brought.

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From the Editor'sby Nicole SchlosserOctober 29, 2010

Congress’ favorite sacrificial lambs

Commuter benefits may be significantly reduced soon. The ARC tunnel died a second death. With so much partisan gridlock on the eve of the midterms, does transit — or the environment — stand a chance?

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From the Editor'sby Alex RomanOctober 22, 2010

If not rail and infrastructure, where should the money go?

So far, it seems like the U.S. at least has a vision. Whether that idea can be successful, however, is unclear since there are so many hurdles, including funding, bipartisan politics and the upcoming elections.

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From the Editor'sby Janna StarcicOctober 8, 2010

What hath Christie wrought?

I know I’m not the only one upset about the news that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has killed the New Jersey-to-New York tunnel project — the ARC (Access to the Region’s Core) — as it is known. To me, this project represented a huge step forward in the rebuilding of America’s transportation infrastructure. The current tunnel beneath the Hudson was built 100 years ago; do we really need to wait any longer to build another?

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Safety Cornerby Louie MaielloOctober 8, 2010

Get out of the classroom and onto the training bus

While some transit agencies are cutting back or even eliminating service to save money, why not begin looking at the bottom line with student operators, during and at the completion of their behind-the-wheel training. Identifying poor performers during training and separating them prior to graduation can contribute greatly to overall safety improvements for the training department and, reduce claims.

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From the Editor'sby Alex RomanSeptember 16, 2010

Was firing a violation of the First Amendment?

As reported via several media outlets, including here, New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) fired Derek Fenton following his participation in a protest on the ninth anniversary of Sept. 11 outside Park51, — the controversial mosque slated to be built near Ground Zero — during which he burned pages of the Koran.

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Safety Cornerby Louie MaielloSeptember 2, 2010

Getting 'Permission' with Bus Operator Pivot Point Training

Let's simplify the definition of 'pivot point.' The pivot point is the specific location on a bus that an object must align with before the operator attempts to overtake that object, whether it is a vehicle, sign, etc. Attempting to overtake the object — fixed, pedestrian, double parked vehicle — before that object reaches the pivot point locations mentioned below by bus model, will result in making contact with that object. Let's look at the various pivot point locations on some buses.

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From the Editor'sby Nicole SchlosserAugust 27, 2010

Do you have an app for that?

From Blacksburg Transit's VT Bus Tracker for Virginia Tech to King County Metro and the University of Washington’s One Bus Away, transit systems linked with universities are leading the way with open source technology. They are providing real-time arrival information to riders and giving them mobile access, through iPhone and Android applications. But there is a huge disparity among agencies across the country in terms of the information they are providing to riders.

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From the Editor'sby Alex RomanAugust 19, 2010

Slap on wrist doesn't ensure safety

This week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) annual drug and alcohol strike force sweep, which ran from June 21 through July 2, resulted in the removal of 109 commercial bus and truck drivers.

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From the Editor'sby Janna StarcicAugust 13, 2010

Making driver protection a priority

Tom Bregg was a bus operator for the Edmonton Transit System (ETS) in Alberta for 33 years when he was savagely beaten on Dec. 3, 2009 by a passenger, who argued with him over a fare dispute. Bregg is now permanently blind in his left eye and may never drive again, the Edmonton Journal reported.

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