![]() Locally, Santa Clara County passed a sales tax measure that will support both roadway improvements, as well as transit improvements. Users of BART will benefit greatly from this. This means BART will be able to raise much of the funding it will need to rehab its aging system. In the Bay Area, BART’s Measure RR passed with over 71% of the vote in favor. Overall, for transit the election is a mixed bag. As the General Manager of County Connection, I am often asked these days: What will the election possibly mean for public transit? The short answer is: We really don’t know, yet. No matter what proposition or which candidate you may have voted for, I think many will agree if nothing else, it has been an interesting election season. 1 Comment on Springtime at County Connection March 17th Is National Transit Driver Appreciation Day Good public service needs to be supported by active, engaged, and energized people dedicated to performing such service. Public agency inertia inherently leads to poor public service. This is where we want to be as an organization. However, we thrive on being busy and active. Thus, to maintain that place, we are fully engaged in these assorted efforts.Īs you can see, springtime is indeed a busy time at the bus yard. County Connection continues to view itself as an important piece of the transportation network in Contra Costa County. As such, we are expected to (or have an interest to) participate in these various efforts. A number of unrelated interests are nearly simultaneously pursuing or examining ways of making improvements to the transportation system. ![]() It has also been a very active period in terms of various potential initiatives on transportation. So, in the midst of a hot job market, we find ourselves working hard to find suitable replacements. Lots of these folks were hired in the late 1980s, so now many of them have begun to retire after years of excellent service. County Connection has been blessed with a well-experienced and veteran workforce. This comes at a time when we are in the middle of a mini retirement wave. While this is great news, it means we are constantly in recruitment mode to ensure full staffing. In addition, we also continue to experience a very strong job market in Contra Costa County. These are longer term events and require a longer term commitment to an appropriate detour. There are also the more significant, but less frequent, issues that pop up such as large sinkholes. These will come up unexpectedly and require a quick coordinated response, as well as regular follow through. This often involves working with a local jurisdiction as they make emergency pothole repairs. This year, we have the added tasks of setting up and conducting temporary detours largely due to road damage caused by the heavy rains this winter. ![]() We are also in the thick of budget season as staff puts together the budget for the next fiscal year, which begins in July. In February and March legislative proposals that will impact public transit are often in full play at both the state and federal levels. Our spring schedule for the fixed route system is implemented usually sometime in March. ![]() Late winter and early spring are always busy times around the County Connection bus yard. ![]()
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