Well this sounds good at a glance but most of the things listed that the money would be used for certainly doesn't actually improve transportation. I didn't see any thing about increasing night service or reducing wait and travel time and that is how you improve transportation service.
As far as the technology improvements so far Star-metro hasn't been able to deliver on anything they have promised. A system to announce the routs is nice but if I can't find the bus stop, I am not going to be there to hear it. Sure would be nice if they would use a little for tactile markings so we can find the stops. I haven't heard to many complaints about the call center in existence but have heard complaints about being late and not being able to go anywhere after 7 PM. Maybe with 1.2 million Star Metro could buy accessible computers for those who don't have them so they can access all this new technology.
Does this surprise me, not at all. The city also got about 4.5 million in grants to remodel the air port that no one can afford to fly out of and just recently about another million to install solar panels that will take eons of our tax dollars with very little savings.
Robert----- Original Message ----- From: "Lighthouse of the Big Bend" <lighthousebigbend@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "tabi" <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2011 3:09 PMSubject: [tabi] Fwd: City of Tallahassee News Release - StarMetro Wins $1.2 Million Grant to Improve Operations
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: City of Tallahassee Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:04:15 -0500 StarMetro Wins $1.2 Million Grant to Improve Operations November 16, 2011 Providing Better Service to Veterans and Transportation Disadvantaged Customers Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded StarMetro $1.2 million of the Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative (VTCLI) grant. By upgrading technology, the VTCLI grant aids public transportation agencies in improving services for veterans and their families. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, nearly 250,000 veterans living in the state have service connected disabilities that may require specialized transportation. StarMetro's paratransit division, which operates the Dial-A-Ride service, will execute the grant. Ultimately, the grant will benefit all customers using StarMetro's service, including senior, disabled and low-income customers. "With this grant money, we plan to purchase software and upgrade our facilities to promote a one stop transportation resource center, which will allow disabled, low-income, senior and veteran customers within the Capital region to access information and schedule trips with ease," said Ivan Maldonado, superintendent of Paratransit Operations. To promote this one stop transportation resource center, StarMetro staff hopes to expand the existing paratransit call center facility and upgrade the scheduling and dispatching software, as well as install additional automatic vehicle locators and mobile data terminals on vehicles. These technology upgrades will allow real-time communication between the resource center and the vehicle, thereby making the system more efficient. In addition, StarMetro staff plan to implement technologies that will allow customers to schedule and change trips online, as well as receive telephone and email alerts about scheduled trips. "We are also planning to install an automatic vehicle annunciation system," said Maldonado. "This system will announce bus stops, transfer points and major intersections to customers who may have visual disabilities." StarMetro staff anticipates that the implementation of these new technologies may take up to 18 months. To apply for this grant, StarMetro partnered with several local agencies including the Leon County Veterans Services department, the Tallahassee Veteran Affairs (VA) Outpatient Clinic, Veteran's Village, VETS Inc., the Tallahassee Senior Center, Commuter Services of North Florida and Workforce Plus. For more information about StarMetro services, please call StarMetro's main office at 891-5200 or visit Talgov.com/starmetro. Other ways to view information include liking StarMetro's official Facebook page at Facebook.com/starmetrotransit or following the organization on Twitter at Twitter.com/ridestarmetro. Contact Ivan Maldonado, StarMetro Superintendent of Paratransit Operations, 891-5196; or Heather Teter, StarMetro Marketing Specialist, 891-5206 <https://www.talgov.com> Click here to update your information and email preferences <http://www.411notify.com/signonact.asp?e=12e75606d6b626762727464662e717 170656a6b662e3b6b6a666973696e767266616a6663646f6341666e606a6b2f62706c3b> <http://www.imarcsgroup.com/> Powered by: ImarcsGroup.com <http://www.imarcsgroup.com> <http://nova.imarcsgroup.com/vendor/tracking/kcart.asp?a=16775737139302e 6f6e77602f686e6073627466736e766f2f62706c3075666d656e732e757162626c686f66 30737360646a2f60746f40753e333932276c3e3237373a25713c3236393733> -- Lighthouse of the Big Bend Guiding People Through Vision Loss 3071 Highland Oaks Terrace Tallahassee, FL 32301 (850) 942-3658 www.lighthousebigbend.orgCheck out the TABI resource web page at http://acorange.home.comcast.net/TABIand please make suggestions for new material.if you'd like to unsubscribe you can do so through the freelists.org web interface, or by sending an email to the address tabi-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject.
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