Mass Transit - 12

PEOPLE & PLACES
EXISTING METRO
Blue Line in
downtown
Minneapolis.

Metro Transit

Met Council, Hennepin County will
find alternative route for Blue
Line Extension without BNSF
Any future northwest extension of the METRO Blue Line to the planned
final passenger station at Oak Grove Parkway in Minneapolis, Minn., will
not occur along BNSF Railway right-of-way. Project stakeholders made the
decision to explore alternatives for the project following years of stalled
negotiations with the Class 1 railroad over use of its property. BNSF had
expressed safety and operational concerns with the plan to construct an
approximate eight-mile portion of the 13-mile, $1.5-billion light-rail project
beside the freight line in the Bottineau Corridor. Hennepin County and
Metropolitan Council staff called the decision frustrating and disappointing, but explained the decision was needed "to advance this critical project."
MassTransitmag.com/ 21148809

SunLine's fleet will be
emission free by 2035
▶ SunLine

Transit Agency's fleet of
vehicles will be completely emission
free by 2035 following approval of its
Zero-Emissions Bus Rollout Plan by
SunLine Transit's Board of Directors. The
board-approved rollout plan calls for all
new fixed-route vehicle purchases to be
zero-emission buses starting in 2021. The
last compressed natural gas (CNG) buses
purchased will be when the fleet has fully
transitioned to zero-emission as each bus
will operate for its entire 12-14-year useful life. SunLine Transit's CNG paratransit
vehicles will be phased out of the fleet by
2030. The final fleet composition - 67
fixed route fuel-cell buses, 18 fixed route
battery-electric buses and 39 paratransit
fuel-cell vehicles - was determined to
maximize performance and minimize cost.
MassTransitmag.com/21145954

MORE NEWS AT A GLANCE
▶ Bombardier

Transportation was awarded a contract with the North County
Transit District for 11 commuter rail cars
and New Jersey Transit approved an
order of eight additional locomotives.
MassTransitmag.com/21146513
▶ The United Safety & Survivability
Corporation, formerly USSC Group, has
re-signed its manufacturing deal with
Freedman Seating Company.
MassTransitmag.com/21150501
▶ Bytemark

People in the News

Jenkins-Agurs

Indianapolis
Public
Transportation
Corporation
(IndyGo)

Denise
Jenkins-Agurs has been appointed
as IndyGo's first vice president of
inclusion and workforce development. She joined the agency on July
13, 2020. Jenkins-Agurs brings more
than 25 years in the workforce development industry. Most recently, she
served as the director of education and
organizational development at Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines,
Fla. She is also a professional speaker
with more than 15 years of experience
hosting a women's support group
called the Sister Circle Network, Inc.

MassTransitmag.com/21147464

12 |

Omnitrans

Omnitrans
Board of
Directors has
named Erin
Rogers
Rogers as
the agency's
CEO and general manager. She
has served in an interim capacity since last November, and first
joined the agency in 2017 as deputy
general manager. She has nearly
three decades of experience in the
transit industry, including 16 years
at the Orange County Transportation Authority, where she held the
position of assistant general manager
for 10 years and was responsible
for oversight and management of
all fixed-route bus and paratransit
operations.

MassTransitmag.com/21146058

Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | JULY/AUGUST 2020

and InComm® have partnered to allow passengers to add value
to their accounts for transit and parking
by using cash at brick-and-mortar retail
locations across the U.S.
MassTransitmag.com/21149060
▶ PSTA Board of Directors approved a
$22.9-million contract with David Nelson
Construction to build the SunRunner BRT.
MassTransitmag.com/21148245
▶ The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board approved a contract
with MotivePower, a Wabtec Company,
for the purchase of 25 electric-diesel
hybrid locomotives with an option for 45
additional hybrid locomotives.
MassTransitmag.com/21147476
▶ The city of Phoenix and Valley Metro
have selected Vix Technology to implement a new advanced fare collection
system for public transit.
MassTransitmag.com/21148489

http://www.MassTransitmag.com/21145954 http://www.MassTransitmag.com/21146513 http://www.MassTransitmag.com/21148809 http://www.MassTransitmag.com/21150501 http://www.MassTransitmag.com/21149060 http://www.MassTransitmag.com/21148245 http://www.MassTransitmag.com/21147476 http://www.MassTransitmag.com/21148489 http://www.MassTransitmag.com/21146058 http://www.MassTransitmag.com/21147464 http://www.MassTransitmag.com

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