DATES: September 9 th through the 14 th, WHERE: Holiday Inn, Spearfish Convention Center, Spearfish, SD. Their phone number is

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DATES: September 9 th through the 14 th, 2016 WHERE: Holiday Inn, Spearfish Convention Center, Spearfish, SD Their phone number is 800.999.3541. Please put these dates on your calendars!

1 DATES: September 9 th through the 14 th, 2016 WHERE: Holiday Inn, Spearfish Convention Center, Spearfish, SD Their phone number is Please put these dates on your calendars!!! As of April 4, 2016, I have received 19 DTA Membership forms from SD and 24 from ND, totaling 43. Last year we had a total of 52. I would love to see the same number or more this year. For those who have not sent in your membership form, please reconsider. Minot City Transit has seen a lot of changes this past year with more exciting changes on the horizon! Our system provides about 125,000 fixed route rides a year to the citizens of the City of Minot. We are currently staffed with 3 full time drivers, 6 part time drivers, and a mechanic. We operate 6 fixed routes from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm Monday through Friday, as well as 6 tripper routes to provide for the additional passengers during the school year. As you all know we have seen our share of geographical and population growth over the last few years. This has caused us to take a look at our system and make some sweeping changes to keep up with the growth. After hiring Nelson/Nygaard Associates to come and perform a comprehensive system analysis we decided it was time to upgrade our systems and our routes to provide the best service we can to our community. See MINOT, Page 2 1

2 With the help of federal grants from the DOT we were able to begin our improvements by updating our antiquated token drop box fare system to a state of the art Electronic Validating Fare Box system from GFI Genfare. This equipment was installed in July of 2015 and has been welcomed by the drivers and passengers alike. Instead of purchasing tokens from the drivers, passengers now purchase 10 ride tickets or 31 day passes from any of our local Marketplace Food stores. The drivers no longer have to sell tokens or make change as they are picking up passengers. This, along with quicker boarding times for the passengers has helped increase our on-time performance drastically. Our next step was to install a RouteMatch Fixed Route System in December of 2015 thanks to a VTCLI grant. This system will give real time route and stop information to our passengers through a web portal or on their mobile devices via the RouteShout Mobile App. This will show passengers the closest routes and stops to their location as well as the scheduled stop time and the actual time the bus will arrive at their stop. Visual and voice stop announcement are now provided in the bus for those passengers with vision or hearing problems. This system also gives management many tools for keeping track of passenger counts, on time performance, route productivity and other data to analyze our routes and make changes as necessary to keep the best service we can on the road for our passengers. Going forward in 2016 we are planning to hire 4 additional full time employees and expand our service to 12 hours a day from 7:00 am until 7:00 pm. We are also abandoning all of our current routes for 6 brand new routes that will better serve our city and the growth we have seen. These new routes will allow for much easier expansion into new areas being developed and possibly add evening hours or weekend service in the future if the need is there. The vision for transit in Minot is to develop a Complete Transit System that supports a broad range of trips for residents, employees, and visitors. All points of transit access, from a stop in a residential neighborhood to a central transfer location, will be accessible for people of all abilities. At our Fall Conference in Spearfish, SD, we will be voting on Board Members. North Dakota and South Dakota each have two positions to be filled. Please consider these positions and bring your names to the Fall Conference. 2

With the groundbreaking for a new bus facility in Hazen approaching, the Hazen Bus Service highlights the growth that the program has seen in recent years.

3 With the groundbreaking for a new bus facility in Hazen approaching, the Hazen Bus Service highlights the growth that the program has seen in recent years. Currently, there are four buses as well as a van that are used in the city for public transportation. These services are available to all city residents for work, medical, shopping, or other transportation needs. The buses can also respond to out-of-town requests for doctor s appointments or other similar needs. Pictured are City Auditor Monte Erhardt, Bus Driver Kandi McConnell, Bus Manager Peggy Rahn and City Commissioner Nancy Wolf. As of the end of 2015, the bus service determined 26,713 riders for the year, with the majority of these being the transportation of in town kids to school, since the school buses operate outside the city. Hazen is one of only two cities in North Dakota whose public busing also helps transport students. The service is open weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. On Wednesday, one bus travels to Bismarck. The bus service also provides trips to Dickinson the second Thursday of each month, as well as occasional trips to Prairie Knights Casino, Four Bears Casino, Medora, the State Fair and the Garrison Dickens Festival. Funding largely comes from federal and state government, with the local service being required to match funds at either a 50/50 or an 80/20 ratio. Currently, there are four drivers for the city, although Busing Manager Peggy Rahn noted that the service is always looking for more help. All four drivers work the morning with school deliveries, but generally only one driver is on duty for the rest of the day. A fundraiser will be held April 15 to help pay for the new bus facility in town. Da Lutherlic Ladies, a comedy production out of Fargo featuring two Lutheran ladies, each with a Catholic husband, will perform at Hazen City Hall. A light supper will be served at 5:30 p.m. with the performance beginning at 7 p.m. All funds raised at the event will go toward the facility. The article and picture were in the Hazen Star, Daniel Arens, Editor. 3

4 Linda Freeman, PASS Coordinator Phone: or We have several classes scheduled in North Dakota in the coming months. See below for details. At present there are no classes scheduled in South Dakota, but if you are willing to sponsor a class, just give me a call and we ll begin working on setup. NOTE: Class information, details and maps are on the web site, so please go there to register. Scheduled Classes: Jamestown, ND May 9-11, 2016: May 9-10 PASS Class May 10 PASS Recertification Class May 11 Maltreatment Awareness Class May 11 Defensive Driving Class Classes will be held at James River Transit. Block of rooms is set up at the Gladstone Inn which is only a few blocks from James River. Registration Deadline for classes and motel is April 29, Bismarck, ND June 6-8, 2016: June 6-7 PASS Class June 7 PASS Recertification Class June 8 Maltreatment Awareness Class June 8 Defensive Driving Class Classes will be held at West River Transit. Block of rooms is set up at the Comfort Inn. Registration Deadline for classes and motel is May 22, Devils Lake, ND June 21-23, 2016: June PASS Class June 22 PASS Recertification Class June 23 Maltreatment Awareness Class June 23 Defensive Driving Class Classes will be held at Devils Lake Senior Meals and Services. A block of rooms has been set up at the Fireside Inn & Suites. Registration deadline for rooms and classes is May 20. SPECIAL NOTE: There is room for only 10 in the classroom so we are limiting this class size to a total of 10 people. Please register as soon as possible to guarantee admittance. 4

BATA s 3 rd Annual Pot O Gold Fundraiser was held on March 16 th.

The winner of the grand prize of $5,000 was a local gym manager named Eric Brockhoft.

only assume that increased exposure such as the Pot O Gold event have a positive impact these numbers.

Ben Stout has been a long-time collaborator of public transit and South Dakota State University s programs.

BATA would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who purchased tickets to the event and local

5 BATA s 3 rd Annual Pot O Gold Fundraiser was held on March 16 th. The event was exciting, suspenseful, and an overall success. The winner of the grand prize of $5,000 was a local gym manager named Eric Brockhoft. BATA has seen increasing numbers at this event each year and we are grateful for all of the community support. Events like these give BATA a chance to educate the community about public transit in a fun, relaxed environment. Our program s ridership is already up over 11,000 rides from this time in the 2015 fiscal year and we can only assume that increased exposure such as the Pot O Gold event have a positive impact these numbers. BATA also received wonderful support and exposure in the community from a member of our Board of Directors. Ben Stout has been a long-time collaborator of public transit and South Dakota State University s programs. He is the former SDSU Student Association President. BATA would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who purchased tickets to the event and local businesses who donated to it. The Management and Staff of Brookings Area Transit Authority. This week, Ben successfully defended his Master s Degree project which was focused on having fixed-route campus and community bus transportation system in Brookings. BATA feels honored that Ben believes in our system as much as he does and we can only hope that his Master s Degree project receives consideration in the upcoming years. (605)

process. Recycle Please share your Transit Tidbit with your staff and any interested person(s).

6 When you feel like quitting, think about why you started. Tidbit Articles Please contact me with articles for your Transit Tidbit. If any agency would like to have their logo placed on the DTA Trailer, all you have to do is contact me, Darrell Francis, Souris Basin Transit, # and I will guide you in the process. Recycle Please share your Transit Tidbit with your staff and any interested person(s). Address Directors, please check with your bookkeepers as well as the rest of your staff to assure they have the correct DTA mailing address. Thanks to all! Jacque Senger DTA Executive Director Mailing Address: PO Box 973 Devil s Lake, ND Jacque Address: jacquelinersenger@gondtc.com Phone Number:

We will hold our Fall Conference September 9 th through September 13 th, 2017.

Your DTA Board of Directors met in November to review the 2016 conference and start the wheels rolling for the 2017 conference. We will hold our Fall Conference September 9 th through September 13 th,