September-October 2022 - 19

ally impactful for our riders. And
that's something we've heard for
a number of years-that our riders
were interested in having that
real-time information available to
them, " Vitko said.
Workforce Investments
Many of these employee-led initiatives
are possible because the
workforce not only feels empowered
to voice their opinions, but
they also bring their full authentic
selves to the office. Promoting
open, diverse and free thinking
allows the agency to be at its best,
Donaghy says.
While picking up Taco Bell one
day, he noticed kids sitting outside
the restaurant doing homework.
The manager shared that they
come to the restaurant every day
for the Wi-Fi.
" That resonated with me, so
we immediately went back to our
board and said we need money to
put Wi-Fi at all of our stations, so
that [people] can either park near
the station or park near one of our
BRT stops and utilize that Wi-Fi
as a public service, " Donaghy said.
Patterson used the Wi-Fi project
as a springboard to install almost
11 miles of fiber along the
entire BRT corridor that's currently
under construction so that
it's available throughout multiple
neighborhoods. In addition to WiFi
and fiber installation, C-TRAN
upgraded its radio network, relocated
its IT team to the new
administration building in 2019,
created new IT infrastructure and
upgraded the operations system,
which has allowed the agency to
improve how it does its scheduling,
run-cutting, yard management
and data for service delivery.
C-TRAN's security chief and
head of operations has also been
upgrading the security cameras
throughout the system.
" One of the best things about
our security cameras aren't necessarily
that their security cameras
at all, it's that our staff's able to use
them to evaluate weather at the
transit center...or if we have a challenge
going on with a bus, we're
able to pull that up and look at it
quickly, " said C-TRAN Chief Operations
Officer Inessa M. Vitko.
And that's not all. Earlier
this year, the agency launched
its on-demand rideshare service,
The Current. Passengers
can schedule their ride online,
by calling or through the mobile
app for point-to-point service.
This service, along with the rest
of C-TRAN's service offerings, has
also been connected to the Transit
app that provides riders with
real-time information and trip
planning. While this was one of
the easier technology implementations,
the executive team believes
it was one of the most impactful
to customers.
" The Transit App was a pretty
simple partnership to enter into
with the company, but it's been reC-TRAN
HAS
been phasing in
renewable diesel
while it studies
the potential of
using alternative
fuels for its
fixed-route
vehicles.
" We tell people all the time
that there are a few non-negotiables
that you have to bring to work
with you and that's you have to
be your authentic self at all times,
and you have to be able to speak
your mind. We want people to
be very unapologetically themselves, "
Donaghy said.
While authenticity and opendoor
policies have been the norm,
C-TRAN Chief Human Resources
and Safety Officer Laura Merry
explains C-TRAN has recently
made great strides in adding diversity
to its workforce thanks to
new hiring practices put in place.
For instance, C-TRAN Manager
of Human Resources Jenapher
Dues began catering the recruiting
process to the individual hiring
managers and departments. She
became more involved in community
hiring events, expanding the
places where C-TRAN advertises
open positions. The HR department
also reworked job descriptions
to be intentional and specific
about the qualities required in order
to expand the applicant pool.
Donaghy explains the idea is that
the agency can teach aspects of
the business, but they can't necessarily
teach leadership qualities.
" Instead of looking strictly
at things like years of college,
years of education, types of certifications,
we take a deeper dive
into experiential opportunities,
and we were able to bring people
September-October 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September-October 2022
