New Technologies and Their
Capital Impact on Operations
Cleveland, Ohio
Summary of TFLEx Spring Workshop
The Spring 2010 TFLEx Workshop was held in Cleveland, Ohio, and was hosted by Loretta Kirk and the Greater Cleveland Regional Transportation Authority (GCRTA). Our sincere thanks go out to Loretta and her staff for the wonderful job they did in making this workshop a successful event. Five of the sessions were broadcast on the web and our thanks go to Ray Garton for setting up the webcasting and making sure it worked well during the workshop. Thanks again to everyone at the GCRTA. Thanks also to the Cuyahoga Community College for providing what turned out to be one of the best facilities TFLEx has ever had in which to hold a workshop.
The main topic of this workshop was New Technologies and Their Capital Impact on Operations. Joe Costello welcomed participants and gave an overview of the workshop objectives. After his remarks, Joe introduced Joe Calabrese, the CEO of the GCRTA who gave attendees an overview of the issues his agency has been facing with the current economy.
The first presenter of the workshop was Greg Kildare, LA MTA's Executive Officer for Risk Management. Greg gave an interesting talk on LA's use of technology and their experience with Smart Drive cameras in dealing with liability issues and related impact on the cost of insurance.
Two member agencies then discussed prioritization of capital projects and how life cycle costing can be used to aid in the process. Rick Harcum, from WMATA talked about their mid-life rebuild program WMATA uses to extend the life of their rolling stock. Using life cycle costing, WMATA has figured that it saves nearly $500,000 per vehicle by extending the life of each coach from seven years to fourteen.
Grace Gallucci, from the RTA in Chicago, gave an update on their capital prioritization process. They have made progress since Grace first detailed the new process at the Boston workshop in the fall of 2008.
On Thursday Brett Jones from the Cuyahoga Community College's (Tri-C) Logistics and Distribution Institute and Terry Cordell briefed members on the proposed partnership between the two organizations in updating the Transit 101 e-learning modules. Tri-C contacted TFLEx about working together to have their professional staff update the content of the modules to make them more current and more interesting for participants. Tri-C has submitted a proposal that will be reviewed at the business meeting.
Terry Cordell briefly detailed the results of the IT Survey that had been sent out to members prior to the workshop. Six agencies had responded and the results are posted on the web site (and included at the end of this summary). As more are received they will be added to the results. Irene DeMers then led the Needs and Leads session which wrapped up the day.
Friday morning's first session was an economic update from Dr. Edward (Ned) Hill, Dean and Professor at Cleveland State University, who proved once again that economics presentations can be fun and interesting. His presentation can be heard (and the PowerPoint presentation viewed) by going to the TFLEx web site. Some of his points:
North America is leading the industrial world's recovery
The recovery in employment growth will lag, compared to past recessions
Average duration of unemployment is the highest it has been since the 1960's
The economic disadvantage of the unskilled is growing and accelerating
Consumer confidence is starting to pick up, but CFO's are more confident in their own firms than in the economy as a whole.
For the federal deficit, current near term deficits are defensible; long term prospects are troubling
Personal savings are beginning to recover; the financial burdens of households are recovering, but still high
This is the second workshop in a row with a presentation on the economy and it is a session that will probably be repeated at most future workshops. Attendees were very interested in what Dr. Hill had to say and there was a lot of discussion during the Q & A.
The workshop wrapped up with a rehearsal by Grace Gallucci of a presentation she will be giving at the APTA Bus and Paratransit Conference on May 3. TFLEx and the FTA have begun a dialogue about the possibility of working together to make improvements to the data gathering for the NTD.
The Fall 2010 Workshop will be held in Seattle, WA from October 18-19, 2010. The workshop will consist of sessions all day Monday and Tuesday until noon, with the business meeting to be held on Tuesday afternoon. More information, including topics, will be forthcoming.
The regular Business Meeting was chaired by Joe Costello on Friday afternoon. Minutes of this meeting are also available on the Sharepoint web site. All members are encouraged to attend the Business Meetings at the workshops.
Presentations from the Spring Workshop are available to members on the TFLEx Sharepoint website at http://tflex.securespsites.com.
(Field of Study: Finance)
April 29-30, 2010
April 30, 2010 - Business Meeting
Program Content/Learning Objectives
As transit agencies continue to find ways to cut costs, new technologies have evolved in areas such as scheduling, fare collection, security and even rolling stock. This workshop will concentrate on 1) how new and existing technologies can be leveraged to improve efficiency and lower operating costs; and, 2) how societal changes in the U.S. have affected the transit industry. After attending this conference, participants will be able to:
Understand the role of new technologies within a transit agency and how they can lower operating costs.
Learn methodologies for performing life cycle costing analyses to determine the true cost of new technologies.
Understand the role societal changes are playing in effecting changes in the transit industry.
Identify and share best practices through "Needs & Leads
Group-Live Delivery Method
Program Level: Advanced
Pre-Conference Reading Material Provided
No Prerequisites*
Earn 10 CPE credits
* This program is at an advanced level of continuing education. Although no prerequisite course or work experience is needed to participate in this program, working knowledge of finance and transportation practices and policies is required, as well as knowledge of the program topic.
To register for this course, contact, Irene Demers, at 214-749-2630 or visit our Web site, www.tflex.org. For more information regarding refund, complaint and program cancellation policies, please contact Irene Demers at 214-749-2630.
Transit-Finance Learning Exchange (T-FLEx) is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, TN, 37219-2417. Website: www.nasba.org
Workshop Fee
The registration fee for the workshop is $125.
For more information regarding refund, complaint and program cancellation policies, please contact Irene Demers at 214-749-2630.
To complete your registration, mail a check for $125 per participant to: Dallas Area Rapid Transit
Attention: Sharon Leary
POBox 660163
1401 Pacific Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75266-7243
Make check payable to "TFLEx"
DAILY WORKSHOP AGENDA(updated 3/24/2010)
Day One - Thursday April 29, 2010
8:30 - 9:00 EDT
Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 - 9:30 EDT
Welcome and Review of Meeting Objectives Joe Costello - T-FLEx Leadership Committee/CFO - RTA of Northeast Illinois welcomes participants. Joe Calabrese - CEO - Cleveland RTA
9:30 - 10:30 EDT
Using Existing Technologies to Better Manage Operations(Webcast) Greg Kildare - LA Metro - Discusses his agency's experience with Smart Drive Cameras, and cross matching fare collection with GPS to improve reconciliation of receipts.
10:30 - 10:45 EDT
Break
10:45 - 12:00 EDT
Life Cycle Costing - Does New Technology Really Save Money?(Webcast) Rick Harcum - WMATA - A discussion on his agency's mid-life rolling stock rebuild program. Grace Gallucci - RTA of Northeast Illinois - An update on the RTA's capital planning process and discussion of how life cycle costing is used in the prioritization of projects.
12:00 - 1:30 EDT
Lunch
1:30 - 2:00 EDT
Transit 101/201(Webcast) Brett Jones of the Tri Cities Community College will brief members on the partnership TFLEx has begun to provide content for Transit 101 on the TFLEx web site.
2:00 - 2:30 EDT
Update on the TFLEx IT Survey
Results of the IT survey submitted by members prior to the workshop will be shared.
2:30 - 4:45 EDT
Needs & Leads (time for break included)
Facilitated discussion of learning & development needs and business practices that others can emulate.
4:45 - 5:00 EDT
Wrap-up Day One Irene DeMers, DART
Day Two - Friday April 30, 2010
8:30 - 9:00 EDT
Registration and Continental Breakfast Joe Costello - T-FLEx Leadership Committee/CFO - RTA of Northeast
9:15 - 10:15 EDT
Economic Update(Webcast)
What is the current view of the short and long term state of the U.S. economy?
10:30 - 11:15 EDT
Partnering with the FTA to improve the NTD(Webcast) Grace Gallucci - RTA of Northeast Illinois - Preview of a presentation Grace will be giving during the APTA Bus Operations Conference, discussing TFLEx working with the FTA in improving the ability of the industry to generate their annual NTD data.
11:30 - 12:00 EDT
How are Societal Changes Leading to Changes in Transportation Howard Maxer - Northeast Ohio Area-wide Coordinating Agency Policy Board (Cleveland MPO) (Invited) - How does high unemployment lead to lower ridership? Is transit losing discretionary riders? Is telecommuting and car-pooling changing how people ride? Tech - We have to become more customer oriented technologically - where's my bus, etc. What kinds of programs/incentives being used to build ridership, location specific advertising, fare collection.
12:00 - 1:30 EDT
Lunch
1:30 - 3:45 EDT
Business Meeting
Please note that attendance at the business meeting is a must for at least one representative of member agencies. Representatives must be authorized to speak for their agency during the meeting.
Meeting Agenda:
T-FLEx financial status/budget update
Outline plans for Fall 2010 workshop and determine sites for future workshops
Membership growth strategies, status, and prospects
Transit-Finance Learning Exchange (T-FLEx) is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, TN, 37219-2417. Website: www.nasba.org