American Public Transportation Association says C-TRAN is the best among systems of similar size
For the second time since 2019, C-TRAN has received one of the highest honors by the American Public Transportation Association.
C-TRAN was recently named the 2022 North American Transit System of the Year for systems in similar size. In 2019, C-TRAN earned the Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award.
The APTA Awards recognize transit systems from across North America.
“This is an incredible honor, and I’m extremely proud of our employees who selflessly serve our amazing community each and every day,” said Shawn M. Donaghy, C-TRAN’s CEO. “To be selected for this award twice is nothing short of a thrill, yet humbling.”
The award emcompasses 12 core areas: Safety, operations, maintenance, access, diversity/inclusion/equity, customer service, financial management, sustainability, workforce development, attendance/employee costs, marketing and community relations.
“We take tremendous pride in the work we do, and it’s a reminder that public transportation is much larger than routes and schedules,” Donaghy said. “It’s about relationships. It’s about community engagement. It’s about providing access to opportunities, and doing everything we can to make Clark County a better place to live.”
In the past three years, C-TRAN marked several key achievements, including:
- The navigation of the pandemic while expanding local bus service, a crucial step in helping essential workers.
- Broke ground on the second branch of The Vine, a bus rapid service that will be on Vancouver’s Mill Plain corridor.
- Took steps to become a certified green business through the Clark County Green Business Program.
- Received a finding of “no deficiencies” from the Federal Transit Administration’s review covering a three-yer window.
C-TRAN and the rest of this year’s award winners will be honored at APTA’s national conference in October.
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CCToday articles about CTRAN include data and information about the declines in CTRAN bus ridership. Fewer riders doesn’t seem to warrant expanding bus size from the 40′ regular buses which are not usually full to much more expensive 60′ articulated buses CTRAN has purchased for BRT. How much do the articulated BRT buses cost now? A few years ago, the cost was $ 1 Million per 60′ bus.
“Mill Plain BRT C-TRAN is moving forward with its second $50 million BRT line on Mill Plain that will double the capacity of each bus. Prior to the pandemic, line 37 was carrying about 3,000 people per week day on Mill Plain. (2018 carried 3,044 and 2019 carried 2,985 per week day.)
Line 37 uses 130 total bus trips daily, (Mon.-Fri), carrying about 23 passengers per bus using 2019 pre-pandemic numbers. The 2020 numbers are 1,911 passengers on an average day, according to C-TRAN. That is a 36 percent decline.”
See July 2021 report, https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/c-tran-proposes-permanent-cuts-in-cross-river-service-in-addition-to-new-microtransit-service-around-clark-county/
Articulated buses have shown a propensity to catch fire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WggVWptLHXI
At about 2:17 PM on January 7, 2008, a Bellevue police officer came across a full size (articulated) King County Metro bus that was on fire. It was “fully involved,” according to the dispatcher. Bellevue Fire responded to the event and extinguished it. It was confined primarily to the engine and the back of the bus. No one was hurt.
http://legacy.king5.com/story/news/traffic/2015/10/14/sound-transit-bus-fire–405-hurts-morning-commute/73919346/
by KING5.com http://www.king5.com/news/Sound-Transit-bus-on-fire-in-downtown-Seattle-78960792.html?gallery=y&img=0&c=y
Posted on December 10, 2009 at 7:33 AM Updated Thursday, Dec 10 at 1:45 PM See all 4 photos »
SEATTLE – A Sound Transit bus caught fire in the middle of downtown Seattle early Thursday morning, creating street closures but no injuries.
The fire broke out around just before 6 a.m. on Union Street between Sixth and Seventh. Fire crews arrived to find the bus fully engulfed in smoke and the tires aflame. Crews managed to put the fire out…
Investigators say the brakes froze and somehow caught fire.
http://mynorthwest.com/11/2172555/Bus-catches-fire-on-southbound-I5-express-lanes-in-Seattle
“Tessa Halterman was aboard Sound Transit bus No. 510, on her way to work in downtown Seattle, when it came to a sudden stop in the middle of Interstate-5 just south of Northgate Friday morning.
After the driver stepped off to check the back engine, Halterman and the woman next to her noticed an intense burning smell, followed by two loud pops.
Then the driver ran back to the crowded bus and yelled at passengers, some standing in the aisles, one in a wheelchair, to evacuate immediately. About 30 seconds later the back of the bus exploded in flames, Halterman said….”
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2013/01/i-5-in-seattle-shut-down-after-bus-catches-fire/
Muni bus catches fire – 2nd time in a week
Bus fire’s cause under scrutiny.
As frequently stated, we have a Cadillac bus system for an area that could be served just as well with a Chevrolet bus system. With but few exceptions, those articulated money-pits are nearly empty. On the few occasions when more seats are needed, C-Tran could simply and economically add another 40-seater to the route.
C-Tran is graciously participating in providing shuttle service to/from the Clark Co. Fair this year. If ever there was a clear example of the need for the larger capacity articulated busses, then this is it. But, oh no, they can’t use them for the Fair shuttles because there is no special loading platform at the Fairgrounds. So, when returning home at 9-11pm, we all stand, packed in like sardines on the 40-seaters, while the articulated money-pits run empty of 4th Plain.
Who’s runnin’ this dog-n-pony show? And they are named system of the year? Yea, right.