January 11th

This week has been very busy.  Everyday it seems like a new item is being thrown at me.  One thing that I can say is that it keeps the time flying by.  What I plan to do on my blog is to talk about the notable items that take place at my job on a weekly bases.  Please feel free to ask me for more information or to explain things with more detail if it gets to hard to follow.  Some times I can get going pretty good without knowing if anyone is catching it.  I hope that we can all share in my experience and learn.

Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA’s) - Purchased Transit Service Contracts

On January 10 and 11 I met with the City of Avondale and the Regional Public Transit Authority for the quarterly contacts meeting. The City of Phoenix sells transit service to some neighboring jurisdictions. A contract/intergovernmental agreement are entered into by the both agencies and allows for the sell/purchase of these services. As an effort to improve customer service levels, both parties meet quarterly to discuss the contract. The topics of these meetings were monthly invoicing (method of billing for service provided), cost per mile (dollar amount for each revenue mile operated in the jurisdiction), upcoming transit service changes (modification, addition, or elimination of any transit routes), and discussion of route turnarounds (The end of a route where the bus has to change directions to travel in the opposite direction).

Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC) and New Freedom grant programs

I completed the 2012 JARC/New Freedom application on January 10^th. The application will be post on the City of Phoenix website for applicant to download and complete for submittal. These programs allow agencies that provide transit service options to low income persons and/or persons with disabilities to compete for funding for new or existing programs. The City Of Phoenix is responsible for administration of the both of these grant programs for the Phoenix-Mesa Urbanized Area. Arizona Department of Transportation administers the grant programs for the remainder to the state.