As we go to press with this issue, we've just
recorded Vancouver’s earliest snowfall on
record, I hope that’s not a sign that this winter
will be as brutal as last, but if it is, we should
have the equipment to get us through. Our
new buses are all on the road and working
well, we'll have the usable retired buses
available through the winter as backup, the
last of our 244 trolleys had its heat shield/
resistor assembly insulator modifications last
month, and work on the TRIP and PIP
programs is going well. We should have the
worst of our hot-coach problems behind us.
Our Maintenance personnel have been
working in overdrive ail year, preparing new
buses for service and modifying older buses to

make thern more comfortable and reliable. I
appreciate these efforts and I know they'll make
a big difference in the performance of our
system this winter.

Work on the bus radio systern continues to
progress, The two computers that will be the
brains of the bus system (the call manager and
the network control manager) arrived in
October, along with the software that will
manage the system. The computers and
software were a long time coming because the
software had to be customized for our use, but
now that the entire system is here and ready to
start work, we've moved ahead to the next stage
of the program. The new computers are
currently being connected to the supervisors’
radio system. Once that’s tested, we can test the
system. with the 17 buses that already have
radios in them. If the system works as it should,

we can start installing radios in buses in
January. Each bus radio will be usable as soon
as it’s installed.

Congratulations to all of you who contrib-
uted time, money or goods to our United Way
campaign. Together, you took us beyond our
goal. We were hoping to raise $200,440, We
raised $210,000, making us the highest achiever
in the public service section. These dollars go to
so many worthy United Way and non-United
Way charities. It’s wonderful to know we are
doing our part to help the less fortunate. The
cause is a good one, and we’re proud to be a
part of a team that plays an exemplary role in
the Campaign.

With Christmas fast approaching, we'll
soon be challenged to give generously
again — to fill a bus with toys and food for
distribution by the Vancouver Christmas
Bureau. Trainer, Paul McDaniel, has once
again taken it upon himself to head up the
Toys for Tots Campaign he first organized
for the Christmas of 1988. Since he began
the campaign, it has mushroomed to
become a significant annual donation for
the Bureau. In past years; we’ve made the
Christmas Season a litde brighter each
year for a lot of families. Christmas is
about children and giving. Let’s make this
year an even greater success.

As outlined in our cover story, December
16 will see the expansion of our service area
to Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, Now,
these residents can take transit anywhere in
Greater Vancouver. It’s another step in
improving our service and reducing the
dependency on the automobile.

Many challenges lie ahead; but if our past
performance gives any indication of what to
expect in the furure, BC Transit personnel
will be prepared to meet them all.

CM

President and Chyef Executive Officer

Atha,

Mike O’Connor,

continued from cover story - Maple Ridge
minutes. Nine buses will operate on the route
during mush hour; three at all other mes.

Local and rural service in the area will be
operated with 24-passenger mini-buses that
will connect with the BC Transit-operated
service. The service will be operated by the
existing Small Community operator. Rural
service will be provided in very low-density
areas such as Ruskin, Whonnock, and
Albion. It is proposed that a fixed-route/dial-
a-bus service, using mini-buses, would
operate during the daytime hours.

Though our new service doesn’t begin
until mid-December, BC Transit ernployees
throughout the company are busy preparing
for the service start. Major procedures that
take place behind the scenes before service
begins include:

« the identification by Service Planning staff
of routings and stopping policies (to determine
everyting from what stops will be accessible to
how flag stops — for routes without bus stops
_— will operate in rural areas). Dave Evans,
transit engineering technician, drives each roure

and identifies appropziate bus stop locations,
then reviews the locations with Training,
Operations, safety committee members,
local traffic authorities, and the Ministry of
Transportation and Highways

« deciding which buses get ID signs and
which get posted stops. Planning drafts ID
sign copy, then Sign Shop at Bumaby
Overhaul prepares the signs for installation

+ installation of new destination banners

¢ formulation of schedules. To do this,
Service Planning personnel drive the routes
with stopwatches and simulate stopping.
They use the time and distance information
they gather, along with projected passenger
volumes, to calculate running times. Service
specs are then drafted to reflect the basic
frequency of service, hours of operation and
transfer connections. These are passed to the
Scheduling Department, which develops the
master schedules with precise vehicle
assignments. Once a master schedule is
complete, Scheduling undertakes the run cut
to allocate specific pieces of work that will be

signed up by operators. Sheet committees
inspect the detailed manpower assignments
to insure all contractual obligations are met.
Once all assignments in place, Scheduling
prepares the operator paddles and signup
material, and puts together the public
timetable.

¢ getting service information to the public
and determining, with market research
conducted by our Marketing Department,
the needs of the customers we will serve

". hiring (oy Human Resources) and training
(by our Training Department) of new opera-
tors. Supervisors and Transit Information
personnel must be familiarized with the new
service area (an additional 300 square kilome-
tres for Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows service)

» identification of potential Park & Ride
locations. Planning is currently working wid
Properties staff to formalize Park & Ride
agreements for Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows

+ setting up — by our Finance Depart-
ment -- of new FareDealer
FareSavers and FareCards