Van Pools Blog

In October, Jon Martz, VPSI’s VP Government Relations, was honored by being invited to join the Advisory Board of the National Center for Transit Research (NCTR) at the University of South Florida.

Joel Volinksi, NCTR Director, congratulates Jon Martz on his joining the NCTR Advisory Board, at an October recognition and awards dinner at the University of South Florida

The National Center for Transit Research is the preeminent university-based transit and alternative-transportation research institute in the United States. The principal, though not exclusive, focus of NCTR is on public transportation, broadly defined as alternatives to the single occupant vehicle, includes modes such as carpooling and vanpooling, paratransit, bus, and guideway transit technologies.

The NCTR Advisory Board consists of fourteen experts in the public transportation community with knowledge in the areas of public transportation research, transit planning and operations, and alternative forms of transportation. The role of the Advisory Board is to provide insights on issues dealing with public transportation and alternative forms of transportation, and to help NCTR in the review the of scope of research projects that have been selected.

As part of VPSI’s ongoing efforts to promote safe driving, Cecilia Cannon, VPSI’s Houston Project Manager, hosted several vanpool safety meetings for volunteer vanpool driversin the month of October. The meetings were at Marathon Oil, the Harris County Appraisal District, the Houston VA Medical Center and the Houston Veterans Administration Regional Office. Ms. Cannon was accompanied by VPSI Account Managers Henry Moz and Jeffrey Miller. Andy Bawden, a Vanpool Safety Instructor for VPSI, conducted the meetings.

Each of the 70-minute meetings began by asking the drivers to identify the different sizes of the vans used, the lengths of the commutes, the number of drivers in each van and where the vans are parked when not at the workplace. With this information Mr. Bawden provided instructions on how to safely handle a van in many situations. He then presented The Vanpool Difference, VPSI’s three-part 14-minute safety video. At the beginning and end of each part the drivers discussed what they had seen and offered comments relative to their own vanpooling experiences.

VPSI thanks Ellen Meyer at Marathon Oil, Charlene Fields at the Harris County Appraisal District, Martha Barragan at Houston VA Medical Center and Mittie Gregory and Jo Ann White at the VA Regional Office for all their help and support in organizing these meetings recently and in the past.

At the recent 2011 Alaska Community Transportation & Transit Conference, the Alaska Mobility Coalition presented the Max Lyons Achievement Award to Ms. Christina “Crissy” Ditmore, VPSI’s Alaska Project Manager. This award honors and recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to the support and development of community transportation and coordinated transportation within the State of Alaska.

Crissy Ditmore receiving the Max Lyons Achievement Award from David Levy - Executive Director of the Alaska Mobilty Coalition

Prior to hiring VPSI to manage the Anchorage Share-A-Ride vanpool program, the vanpool fleet had hovered at twenty-four vanpools for more than a dozen years. Ms. Ditmore, during her six years of service to the Municipality of Anchorage, has grown the fleet to sixty-five vanpools, which also includes growth in the Fairbanks and Mat-Su Boroughs.

Ms. Ditmore is an active participant in the national activities of both the ACT Vanpool Council and ACT Public Policy Council, and she also is currently serving her second term on the ACT Board of Directors, representing the interests of ACT’s member organizations in Alaska, Oregon and Washington State.

Ms. Ditmore Explains, “I am truly honored to be recognized by my peers. They are transit professionals I respect immensely. Alaska has great transportation challenges, and we have a lot we can learn from each other. We have native villages, rural and urban areas, and everything in between each with unique opportunities and constraints. I am honored to serve the community in a way that benefits the entire State.

Marietta, Georgia-based Cobb EMC, one of the nation’s largest Electric Membership Corporations, was a recent recipient of the prestigious Sloan Award. Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the award is presented to employers who take part in and excel in a nationwide initiative called When Work Works, which brings research on workplace effectiveness and flexibility into community and business practice.

Cobb EMC champions a healthy work/life balance, and prides itself in being a good corporate citizen. When they decided to include an alternative transit program for their commuting workforce, the choice was simple: VPSI’s commuter vanpool program. Explains Allen Feather, VPSI Business Development Manager, “I met John Plunkett from Cobb EMC’s Human Resources Department about three years ago, and we were able to devise a cost effective, efficient, and reliable vanpool program based on his employee’s needs. With the support of John and Cobb EMC’s management, I knew the program would be a success.”

A successful vanpool program directly addresses how a great work/life balance can result in a thriving business, and Cobb EMC has the award to show for it.

Andy Bawden, VPSI’s Loss Prevention and Safety Manager recently retired. But don’t worry! He has agreed to continue to conduct the popular vanpool safety meetings for VPSI’s volunteer drivers and the VPSI Field Organization.

He started with VPSI in 2002 after a full career with Ford Credit. His contributions to VPSI included a remake VPSI’s The Vanpool Difference safety video, a rewrite of the Volunteer Driver Agreements, the centralization of the volunteer driver approval procedure and the development and delivery of the vanpool safety meetings. Mr. Bawden is certified by the National Safety Council as a Defensive Driving Instructor. And he contracts with VPSI as a Vanpool Safety Instructor. He can be reached by phone at 313-715-6302 or email at andybawden2011@gmail.com.