Old Metro Transit Bus # 378 now a Lorenz Bus Service Bus # 1520
Showing posts with label Lorenz Bus Service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lorenz Bus Service. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
State Fair is in Trouble with ADA
Shuttle service not so fair for wheelchairs
It improved over the State Fair's run, but the switch to private buses forced some users to find other options.
By JIM FOTI, Star Tribune
Last update: September 8, 2009 - 8:33 AM
With reclining seats and onboard televisions, the motor coaches used for some of the Minnesota State Fair's free shuttles were a big step up from the transit buses of the past.
But for some fairgoers, the steps at the front of the bus prevented them from boarding, raising concerns about whether the new, privately run shuttles were fair to the disabled.
The shuttle service available to wheelchair users at the beginning of this year's fair "was certainly questionable as to whether it was compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act," said Margot Imdieke Cross, accessibility specialist with the Minnesota State Council on Disability. On Friday, the fair increased the number of free-shuttle lots with wheelchair service from one to four -- still inadequate, she said, but better.
"We do hope that there will be vast improvement for next year," she said.
In previous years, the free park-and-ride service was jointly handled by Metro Transit and charters. In 2008, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) revised its rules to prohibit public transit agencies from doing work that private companies could provide, so Metro Transit's buses have been replaced by a charter fleet with varying levels of accessibility.
"Although FTA has no enforcement authority over private charter operators, we are concerned by reports of individuals in wheelchairs being denied equal access," Paul Griffo, senior public affairs officer for the agency, said Friday in an e-mail. Any evidence of violation of federal regulations should be shared with the Justice Department, he said.
Pickups and drop-offs
Although Metro Transit buses had the ability to pick up wheelchairs, the problem was "not knowing where you're dropped off," said Steve Grans, the fair's director of transportation. Some routes end on Midway Parkway, more than a block from the main gate, he said, and "it's a pretty good struggle to get through the parkway on the grass in a wheelchair."
That's why the fair originally set up a single wheelchair park-and-ride shuttle that brought people "within feet of the gate," Grans said. The added lots were chosen in part for their close-in drop-off points.
Lowell Miller of Minneapolis was accustomed to taking a free shuttle from the University of Minnesota park-and-ride near his home and said he never had trouble getting from the drop-off into the fair. This year, the charter bus couldn't accommodate his wheelchair, so he wound up taking a regular city bus route.
His monthly bus pass meant he didn't have to pay anything extra for the ride, but "it's the principle of the thing." The U of M was one of the three accessible sites added Friday.
Dick Caldwell of Arden Hills was among those who wished for better communication about the shuttles. He and his wife showed up at a park-and-ride lot in Roseville on the fair's first day and were unable to board. They then drove to the designated lot and had trouble finding a place to park their ramp-equipped van because so many people without wheelchairs were there.
"Once we got there, it worked, except for the transgressors," he said.
Disabled fairgoers weren't the only ones with complaints about this year's shuttles -- a surge in attendance overwhelmed many of the 33 free park-and-ride routes in the fair's first few days, leading to long waits. Grans said additional buses were brought in, leading to improved service and happier e-mails in his in-box.
It improved over the State Fair's run, but the switch to private buses forced some users to find other options.
By JIM FOTI, Star Tribune
Last update: September 8, 2009 - 8:33 AM
With reclining seats and onboard televisions, the motor coaches used for some of the Minnesota State Fair's free shuttles were a big step up from the transit buses of the past.
But for some fairgoers, the steps at the front of the bus prevented them from boarding, raising concerns about whether the new, privately run shuttles were fair to the disabled.
The shuttle service available to wheelchair users at the beginning of this year's fair "was certainly questionable as to whether it was compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act," said Margot Imdieke Cross, accessibility specialist with the Minnesota State Council on Disability. On Friday, the fair increased the number of free-shuttle lots with wheelchair service from one to four -- still inadequate, she said, but better.
"We do hope that there will be vast improvement for next year," she said.
In previous years, the free park-and-ride service was jointly handled by Metro Transit and charters. In 2008, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) revised its rules to prohibit public transit agencies from doing work that private companies could provide, so Metro Transit's buses have been replaced by a charter fleet with varying levels of accessibility.
"Although FTA has no enforcement authority over private charter operators, we are concerned by reports of individuals in wheelchairs being denied equal access," Paul Griffo, senior public affairs officer for the agency, said Friday in an e-mail. Any evidence of violation of federal regulations should be shared with the Justice Department, he said.
Pickups and drop-offs
Although Metro Transit buses had the ability to pick up wheelchairs, the problem was "not knowing where you're dropped off," said Steve Grans, the fair's director of transportation. Some routes end on Midway Parkway, more than a block from the main gate, he said, and "it's a pretty good struggle to get through the parkway on the grass in a wheelchair."
That's why the fair originally set up a single wheelchair park-and-ride shuttle that brought people "within feet of the gate," Grans said. The added lots were chosen in part for their close-in drop-off points.
Lowell Miller of Minneapolis was accustomed to taking a free shuttle from the University of Minnesota park-and-ride near his home and said he never had trouble getting from the drop-off into the fair. This year, the charter bus couldn't accommodate his wheelchair, so he wound up taking a regular city bus route.
His monthly bus pass meant he didn't have to pay anything extra for the ride, but "it's the principle of the thing." The U of M was one of the three accessible sites added Friday.
Dick Caldwell of Arden Hills was among those who wished for better communication about the shuttles. He and his wife showed up at a park-and-ride lot in Roseville on the fair's first day and were unable to board. They then drove to the designated lot and had trouble finding a place to park their ramp-equipped van because so many people without wheelchairs were there.
"Once we got there, it worked, except for the transgressors," he said.
Disabled fairgoers weren't the only ones with complaints about this year's shuttles -- a surge in attendance overwhelmed many of the 33 free park-and-ride routes in the fair's first few days, leading to long waits. Grans said additional buses were brought in, leading to improved service and happier e-mails in his in-box.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Como Transit Station Part 2
Transit Police SUV
New Flyer Articulated buses lines up at Como Transit Station
Buses at gates
Metro Transit Gillig Hybrid Low Floor Bus # 7116 with State Fair wrap doing the Route 960
Metro Transit Gillig Hybrid Low Floor Bus # 7171 doing Dunwoody Park and RideSunday, September 6, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Fair buses aren't rolling so smoothly
Fair buses aren't rolling so smoothly
For the first time, Metro Transit isn't the main shuttle service. That, plus large crowds, has created hassles.
By JIM FOTI, Star Tribune
Dressed in shorts and pushing strollers, Minnesotans who found themselves in long lines for free State Fair shuttle buses were unwitting bit players in a nationwide privatization debate that has affected events from college football games to the Indy 500.
Federal rules revised last year mean that, after 16 years, Metro Transit is no longer allowed to contract for charter work that private transportation companies are willing and able to do. Over the fair's first weekend, the transition left some people waiting an hour or more for even short rides to the fair and contributed to chaos at the bus lots on Como Avenue.
"There's quite a learning curve this first year," Jim Canine, president of Lorenz Bus Service, said Wednesday from the fair. The fair's big jump in attendance -- for the first six days, it's more than 9 percent ahead of last year -- was a major factor in delays, he said, and buses from other companies continue to be added.
Lorenz, which bills itself as the largest charter company in the state, used to take care of about 40 percent of the shuttle rides, with Metro Transit handling the rest. Now the transit agency has said goodbye to a half-million riders, and the dozens of buses it normally contributes -- including high-capacity articulated buses -- aren't being used for the fair's free shuttle service, which operates from 33 close-in park and rides and is paid for by the fair. Metro Transit is continuing to operate some of the paid shuttles from farther-out lots, as those aren't considered charter routes.
The Federal Transit Administration says that the rules prevent "unfair competition" between public services and private companies, and that the agency "has received a great deal of positive feedback about the rules from both public and private operators."
"What I'm hearing from members across the country is that it's working very, very well," said Peter Pantuso, president of the American Bus Association, which represents 800 private operators. "All we wanted was a fair and level playing field," he said, noting that public transit agencies get subsidies for everything from fuel to wheelchair lifts.
He said events such as the Indy 500, the Kentucky Derby and Washington Redskins games had switched to private operators.
'A very long time'
"Positive" is not the word Amy Reilly of Minneapolis would use to describe her most recent experience with the fair shuttle. She arrived with her family at the Church of Corpus Christi in Roseville around 8:45 a.m. Monday. "People were just pouring into the park and ride lot, and there was no bus in sight for a very long time." Reilly, who has been going to the fair for a decade, waited almost an hour, and "we've never had a problem like that."
When a bus finally did come, she said, it quickly filled, leaving perhaps 150 people still waiting.
Others described ugly scenes and long waits at the bus lot where fairgoers catch buses back to the park-and-ride lots.
Canine acknowledged some early "pandemonium," particularly on Saturday, when threatening skies prompted huge numbers of fairgoers to try to head home at the same time. In Reilly's case, a driver called in sick at the last minute, and no backups were immediately available, he said.
For his part, Canine also preferred the public-private partnership.
"I wanted to see Metro Transit stay involved because of their tremendous capacity," Canine said. Not only does the agency have articulated buses that can hold 100 people, but it's also easier to have buses on standby. "A private company doesn't have those kind of resources."
"We hear that in town after town and city after city," said James LaRusch, general council for the American Public Transportation Association. Because the FTA controls billions of dollars in funding, he said the changes have "really kind of chilled public transportation agencies in their provision of services."
Metro Transit spokesman Bob Gibbons said his agency more or less broke even on its overall State Fair operations last year. The fair spends about $1.2 million a year to run the free shuttles, which provided about 876,000 rides last year, said Steve Granz, transportation manager for the fair.
U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, the Minnesota Democrat who's in charge of the House Transportation Committee, has been meeting with both public and private bus operators about the FTA rules, said his spokesman, John Schadl. He said that Oberstar's primary concern is that over-the-road coach buses aren't as well-suited to the task of serving as shuttles -- they have less capacity, use more energy, and are harder to maneuver than transit buses.
"In this case, you had two types of services that weren't really conflicting with each other or even competing with each other," Schadl said.
In June, 19 members of Congress wrote to Oberstar and U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., to ask that the infrastructure subcommittee address what the signers called the "ill-advised FTA rulemaking."
The State Fair shuttle fleet is a mix of motorcoaches and transit buses, and Canine says he'll have about 80 buses ready to handle Labor Day weekend crowds -- though it's possible that attendance may ebb after last weekend's crush.
"We could be all dressed up with no place to go," he said.
Jim Foti • 612-673-4491
For the first time, Metro Transit isn't the main shuttle service. That, plus large crowds, has created hassles.
By JIM FOTI, Star Tribune
Dressed in shorts and pushing strollers, Minnesotans who found themselves in long lines for free State Fair shuttle buses were unwitting bit players in a nationwide privatization debate that has affected events from college football games to the Indy 500.
Federal rules revised last year mean that, after 16 years, Metro Transit is no longer allowed to contract for charter work that private transportation companies are willing and able to do. Over the fair's first weekend, the transition left some people waiting an hour or more for even short rides to the fair and contributed to chaos at the bus lots on Como Avenue.
"There's quite a learning curve this first year," Jim Canine, president of Lorenz Bus Service, said Wednesday from the fair. The fair's big jump in attendance -- for the first six days, it's more than 9 percent ahead of last year -- was a major factor in delays, he said, and buses from other companies continue to be added.
Lorenz, which bills itself as the largest charter company in the state, used to take care of about 40 percent of the shuttle rides, with Metro Transit handling the rest. Now the transit agency has said goodbye to a half-million riders, and the dozens of buses it normally contributes -- including high-capacity articulated buses -- aren't being used for the fair's free shuttle service, which operates from 33 close-in park and rides and is paid for by the fair. Metro Transit is continuing to operate some of the paid shuttles from farther-out lots, as those aren't considered charter routes.
The Federal Transit Administration says that the rules prevent "unfair competition" between public services and private companies, and that the agency "has received a great deal of positive feedback about the rules from both public and private operators."
"What I'm hearing from members across the country is that it's working very, very well," said Peter Pantuso, president of the American Bus Association, which represents 800 private operators. "All we wanted was a fair and level playing field," he said, noting that public transit agencies get subsidies for everything from fuel to wheelchair lifts.
He said events such as the Indy 500, the Kentucky Derby and Washington Redskins games had switched to private operators.
'A very long time'
"Positive" is not the word Amy Reilly of Minneapolis would use to describe her most recent experience with the fair shuttle. She arrived with her family at the Church of Corpus Christi in Roseville around 8:45 a.m. Monday. "People were just pouring into the park and ride lot, and there was no bus in sight for a very long time." Reilly, who has been going to the fair for a decade, waited almost an hour, and "we've never had a problem like that."
When a bus finally did come, she said, it quickly filled, leaving perhaps 150 people still waiting.
Others described ugly scenes and long waits at the bus lot where fairgoers catch buses back to the park-and-ride lots.
Canine acknowledged some early "pandemonium," particularly on Saturday, when threatening skies prompted huge numbers of fairgoers to try to head home at the same time. In Reilly's case, a driver called in sick at the last minute, and no backups were immediately available, he said.
For his part, Canine also preferred the public-private partnership.
"I wanted to see Metro Transit stay involved because of their tremendous capacity," Canine said. Not only does the agency have articulated buses that can hold 100 people, but it's also easier to have buses on standby. "A private company doesn't have those kind of resources."
"We hear that in town after town and city after city," said James LaRusch, general council for the American Public Transportation Association. Because the FTA controls billions of dollars in funding, he said the changes have "really kind of chilled public transportation agencies in their provision of services."
Metro Transit spokesman Bob Gibbons said his agency more or less broke even on its overall State Fair operations last year. The fair spends about $1.2 million a year to run the free shuttles, which provided about 876,000 rides last year, said Steve Granz, transportation manager for the fair.
U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, the Minnesota Democrat who's in charge of the House Transportation Committee, has been meeting with both public and private bus operators about the FTA rules, said his spokesman, John Schadl. He said that Oberstar's primary concern is that over-the-road coach buses aren't as well-suited to the task of serving as shuttles -- they have less capacity, use more energy, and are harder to maneuver than transit buses.
"In this case, you had two types of services that weren't really conflicting with each other or even competing with each other," Schadl said.
In June, 19 members of Congress wrote to Oberstar and U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., to ask that the infrastructure subcommittee address what the signers called the "ill-advised FTA rulemaking."
The State Fair shuttle fleet is a mix of motorcoaches and transit buses, and Canine says he'll have about 80 buses ready to handle Labor Day weekend crowds -- though it's possible that attendance may ebb after last weekend's crush.
"We could be all dressed up with no place to go," he said.
Jim Foti • 612-673-4491
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Bus Pictures
Metro Transit 2004 Gillig Low Floor, Bus# 7109 at 5th Street Garage
Metro Transit Gillig Phantom Bus#927, Route 24 at 48th Street LRT Station
Route 80 operated by Lorenz Bus Service Bus# 6047 at Sunray Transit Center, New Flyer Low FloorFriday, June 5, 2009
New 29' Gillig Low Floor
29' Gillig Low Floor at the Rosedale Center in Rosedale, Mn It was finishing up the Route 32. This route is contracted out to Lorenz Bus Service by Metropolitan Council
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
