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Written by
Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
BART Add Fare Machines inside stations, which additionally function parking fee machines, now settle for credit score and debit playing cards.
Bay Space Fast Transit’s (BART) Add Fare machines bear main upgrades to enhance buyer expertise. Additionally, Amtrak trains may very well be coming into the Miami Intermodal Middle; the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) breaks floor on new accessibility undertaking at Tasker-Morris Station; the Honolulu Authority for Rail Transportation (HART) and Hitachi Rail run small-scale train drills in partnership with town’s first responders; the Metropolitan Transportation Fee (MTC) adopts a brand new Transit-Oriented Communities Coverage to advertise industrial growth close to transit stations; and NJ Transit rolls out two initiatives as a part of its ongoing Security Training Program.
BART
BART crews have made a number of upgrades to the company’s fare assortment machines to “velocity up the expertise,” together with using credit score and debit playing cards on the company’s Add Fare Machines inside stations, which additionally function parking fee machines.
This improve, BART says, is probably the most important buyer expertise enchancment to this point for individuals who drive and park at BART stations. BART additionally provides the official BART app as a simple methodology for paying for every type of parking at BART with a credit score/debit card, Venmo or PayPal. Beforehand these machines solely accepted money.
This improve, BART provides, can also be an enchancment for all riders who should add funds to exit. In 2019, BART started rolling out “Add Worth” machines within the paid space that accepted credit score and debit playing cards for including any arbitrary quantity of funds to Clipper playing cards. Nevertheless, these machines didn’t settle for parking funds and the “Add Fare” machines had been nonetheless in place—”inflicting confusion” about which machines accepted credit score/debit playing cards and which of them had been money solely.
“It was not unusual for a rider needing to exit a station to finish up with a pocket filled with quarters as a result of the ‘Add Fare’ machines solely accepted money for the small quantity wanted to exit,” BART says. Now Add Fare machines enable riders to determine to both add the quantity wanted to exit or nonetheless a lot cash they want.
Beforehand the default “add quantity” was $10, and riders needed to subtract $1 and 5c many occasions to get to the minimal quantity to exit. Now riders can choose the minimal quantity to exit faster.
Upgrading all fare machines to simply accept EMV chip playing cards or cell units would be the subsequent step in modernizing this gear, BART says. Riders will seemingly see a be aware stating the machines are “swipe solely” till the EMV expertise is configured.
Amtrak
In response to a Miami In the present day report, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District Six has resumed talks with Amtrak to deliver trains into the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC), east of Miami Worldwide Airport.
In response to the Miami In the present day report, Amtrak Mannequin Improvement Workplace Administrator Nilia Cartaya instructed the Sept. 22 Citizen’s Unbiased Belief Board assembly that “each events are at present negotiating the lease and an appropriate clause.”
Individually, Amtrak “must negotiate an settlement with Miami Worldwide Airport and the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA) on their contribution to the upkeep of widespread areas, platforms, observe and overhead cover,” Miami In the present day reported.
SFRTA Director of Public Affairs Victor Garcia confirmed to Miami In the present day that “they requested a replica of our settlement with FDOT on the widespread space upkeep, as they should work this out with them and the positioning undertaking managers.”
In response to the Miami In the present day report, the publicly funded MIC opened in 2015. Amtrak trains initially couldn’t enter the station as they had been too lengthy and disrupted site visitors on the east aspect of the station at Northwest twenty fifth Road.
In response to the Miami In the present day report, FDOT spent $5.6 million “reconstructing, widening, milling and resurfacing Northwest twenty eighth Road from simply east of Northwest forty second Avenue to Northwest thirty seventh Avenue, and in addition creating a brand new bypass street from Northwest twenty fifth Road to Northwest thirty seventh Avenue and setting up a brand new signalized intersection at Northwest twenty eighth Road and Northwest thirty seventh Avenue.”
Nonetheless, Miami In the present day experiences, “Amtrak has not occupied the station as the corporate and the state didn’t attain an settlement over lease phrases. Now, as officers are again on the negotiating desk with the corporate, officers stated they hope to deliver the trains to the station quickly.”
In response to the Miami In the present day report, in February, Amtrak accomplished checks on the MIC by which its longest prepare entered the station with out disrupting site visitors. “We noticed the rail gear function completely; the gates went down as anticipated, so every part went very easy for this testing,” Cartaya instructed the CITT assembly. Garcia additionally confirmed to Miami In the present day that SFRTA labored with Amtrak on this testing.
As well as, in July, Amtrak Actual Property and IT groups visited the MIC to “additional assess the ability and the management and IT groups continued visiting the positioning by way of August, a presentation of the division particulars,” in keeping with the Miami In the present day report.
“They appear very keen. They’re continuously in communication with the division, so I feel that that’s a constructive signal,” Cartaya stated when requested concerning the tone of the conversations with Amtrak, in keeping with the Miami In the present day report.
FDOT Deputy Proper of Manner Supervisor-Operations Maria Llanes stated the intention of Amtrak was to “discontinue its Hialeah service as soon as it will probably deliver its trains into the MIC station,” in keeping with Miami In the present day, which couldn’t independently verify this by deadline.
In response to the Miami In the present day report, in March, Govt Director of the Belief Javier Betancourt, wrote Amtrak “urging it to increase its Silver Meteor/Silver Star Intercity Passenger Rail Service to the intermodal heart.”
“If there may be something the CITT can do to help within the realization of this lengthy delayed Intercity Passenger Rail Service to the MIC terminal, we might be completely happy to think about it,” Betancourt wrote. “This could be a win-win-win for Amtrak, the residents of Miami-Dade County, and our touring guests. We respectfully and eagerly request that you simply please make this occur.”
In response, Amtrak President and CEO Stephen Gardner wrote again in April that the corporate was “extremely fascinated with shifting our Miami operations to the ability.”
In response to the Miami In the present day report, Gardner wrote that “the corporate was evaluating technical and operational points of shifting its service to the MIC, and that the true property group was working to reaching mutually acceptable industrial phrases for a long-term facility lease on the MIC.”
SEPTA
SEPTA on Sept. 28 gathered with elected officers and different stakeholders at Tasker-Morris Station to interrupt floor for a brand new undertaking that may make the South Philadelphia Broad Road Line station “absolutely accessible and ship trendy facilities for riders.”
A key component of the $19 million undertaking, SEPTA says, will probably be offering elevator entry from avenue stage to the mezzanine stage and a second elevator to the platform under, making the station absolutely compliant with the People with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“Due to funding from the Commonwealth and the Metropolis of Philadelphia, we’re making investments that may enhance mobility and improve entry, and help the communities we serve,” stated SEPTA Common Supervisor and CEO Leslie S. Richards. “This undertaking helps to revitalize a vital station, and we look ahead to delivering extra enhancements on the road within the close to future.”
Along with the brand new elevators, different deliberate enhancements to the station embody:
- New lighting and different electrical enhancements.
- ADA-compliant communications system upgrades with emergency name containers and HD safety cameras.
- New security and wayfinding signage.
- ADA-compliant guard rails and handrails.
- Modified fare strains for improved circulate.
By the point the undertaking is accomplished in early 2024, 13 of the 22 Broad Road Line stations will probably be absolutely ADA accessible, SEPTA says.
Tasker-Morris serves roughly 3,000 riders every weekday. The station will stay open throughout development.
“I need to thank SEPTA for making this $19 million funding to enhance SEPTA’S Tasker-Morris Station on the necessary Broad Road Line,” stated Philadelphia Metropolis Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson (Second District), Chairperson of Metropolis Council’s Transportation Committee. “SEPTA will proceed to make necessary enhancements and upgrades on all modes of transportation and infrastructure all through the SEPTA system within the five-county Philadelphia space. I’m wanting ahead to seeing extra SEPTA enhancements all through the Second Council District and the Delaware Valley to reinforce the general public transit journey expertise within the years to come back.”
HART
As a part of the Trial Operating testing section of the “first absolutely automated rail system in North America,” HART and Hitachi Rail are operating small-scale train drills in partnership with the Metropolis’s First Responders on the Hālawa Rail Station (Aloha Stadium Station).
The workouts, HART says, enable rail personnel to apply hypothetical emergency situations in preparation of future rail service. There will probably be personnel on the trains and on the station for these workouts, however these occasions are closed to the general public and the media for security. Entry is proscribed to registered metropolis personnel and Hitachi staff solely.
There will probably be extra train drills all through Trial Operating, together with a Full-Scale Train in October, HART provides.
MTC
The MTC on Sept. 28 adopted a brand new Transit-Oriented Communities Coverage designed to “increase the general housing provide and enhance residential densities in transit-rich areas all through the Bay Space; spur extra industrial growth close to transit hubs served by a number of businesses; promote bus transit, strolling, biking and shared mobility in transit-rich areas; and foster partnerships to create transit-oriented communities the place folks of all earnings ranges, racial and ethnic backgrounds, ages and skill ranges can stay, work and thrive.”
The newly adopted coverage, MTC says, applies particularly to areas inside a half-mile of BART, Caltrain, SMART, Capitol Hall and ACE stations; Muni and VTA light-rail stations; Muni and AC Transit bus speedy transit stops; and ferry terminals.
In response to MTC, the Transit-Oriented Communities Coverage hyperlinks all 4 of the themes—transportation, housing, the financial system and the atmosphere—of Plan Bay Space 2050, the long-range transportation plan and sustainable communities’ technique adopted by MTC and the Affiliation of Bay Space Governments in 2021.
Minimal residential density necessities vary from 25 models per acre for areas inside a half-mile of ferry terminals; SMART, ACE and Capitol Hall stations; and Caltrains stations south of San Jose’s Tamien station as much as 100 models per acre inside a half-mile of BART stations in downtown San Francisco and Oakland, and inside a half-mile of San Jose’s Diridon Station. The coverage, MTC provides, additionally “eliminates minimal parking necessities in lots of transit-rich areas, permits for shared parking between residential and industrial makes use of, and mandates at the least one safe bike parking area for every new dwelling unit.”
“The Transit-Oriented Communities Coverage is really groundbreaking,” defined MTC Chair and Napa County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza. “Utilizing transportation funds as an incentive, the coverage encourages cities and counties to up zone transit-rich areas so transit, strolling and biking may be viable journey decisions for extra folks, and so we are able to generate most worth from the billions of taxpayer {dollars} which have been invested in our transit community over time in addition to new transit strains that will probably be constructed within the years to come back. The coverage particularly encourages the event of inexpensive housing and protects present residents from being displaced by new growth.”
NJ Transit
As New Jersey colleges get again in full swing, NJ Transit is rolling out two initiatives as a part of its ongoing Security Training Program: Particular SEAT (Security Training Consciousness Coaching) and Defending our Pedestrians (POP).
Special SEAT is a six-week, 40-minute per session coaching, developed to coach college students with particular wants, particularly these with autism and speech delays. Particular SEAT implements a modified model of Utilized Conduct Evaluation (ABA) to grasp consciousness of transportation security, with a selected give attention to staying alert and being conscious of rail and observe environment.
This system gives:
- An attractive and interactive presentation with puppets, arts and crafts, pure atmosphere coaching (NET play).
- Age-appropriate supplies and movies.
- Security ideas and procedures.
- Meets the IDEA and Core requirements.
- Lifetime mastery of rail security that results in unbiased journey.
POP is an interactive 45-minute presentation that addresses crossing streets and intersections safely, site visitors hazards and alerts, car parking zone security, and extra.
The presentation additionally features a dialogue on the risks of the railroad tracks, age-appropriate movies, together with NJ Transit’s video “Sly Fox and Birdie” created by the Operation Lifesaver (OLI) group and a question-and-answer session.
Each “Particular SEAT” and “POP”, NJ Transit says, are freed from cost to lecturers, para professionals, steerage counselors and college directors.
“These packages reinforce NJ Transit’s dedication to security for each pedestrians and college students with particular wants,” stated New Jersey Division of Transportation (NJDOT) Commissioner and NJ Transit Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. “In its greater than 30-year historical past, NJ Transit’s Security Training Program has made almost 5 thousand displays, educating tens of hundreds of individuals throughout New Jersey.”
“Particular SEAT and POP are packages which are an necessary a part of NJ Transit’s general mission to prioritize security, together with inside the communities we serve all through the state,” stated NJ Transit President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett. “These best-in-class academic packages increase transit security consciousness for Okay-12 college students, together with these with particular wants.”
Moreover, NJ Transit says colleges are inspired to request the free SAFETY RULES! presentation to coach college students on the necessity for secure conduct and warning round trains, buses and lightweight rail automobiles. Extra data is offered here.
The presentation features a dialogue on the risks of the railroad tracks, age-appropriate movies, together with NJ Transit’s award-winning movie “Rooster on the Tracks” and a question-and-answer session. The 45-minute presentation is offered free of charge to public, non-profit and constitution colleges and neighborhood teams.
The NJ Transit Security Training Program additionally gives highschool driver training. Lecturers can request a program package deal for the classroom developed to assist teen motorists safely share the street with trains, buses and lightweight rail. The Driver Training Security Program teaches teen motorists to make use of warning close to the tracks and this system stresses components that contribute to coach/automobile collisions. This system aligns with NJ Core Curriculum Content material Requirements and is comprised of a PowerPoint CD, lesson plan and scholar reference information.
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