2024 KPTA AWARDS

KPTA 2024 AWARDSWILLIE M. MURRY AWARD:  2024

The Willie M. Murry Award is KPTA's highest honor.
It is named for Rev. Willie M. Murry of Coffeyville . Rev. Murry was a dedicated  community leader and a major supporter for Kansas public transportation services.  He was a member of the KPTA board from its beginning in 1981 until his passing in  January 1994. KPTA established the Willie M. Murry Award in his honor. It honors  an individual or organization that has carried on in Rev. Murry's spirit by providing  distinguished service to the entire Kansas public transportation community for a  sustained period of time.

This year the award goes to an individual who is currently the chief executive for one of Kansas’ urban systemsHe has been involved in public transportation for over 35 years, spending his last 15 years here in Kansas. First at Lawrence Transit and then Topeka Metro, where he is the current General Manager. He has mastered many facets of transit including operations, technical analysis, consulting, contract services, capital projects, civil rights, maintenance, grants, technology,  alternative fuel, and vehicles. Above all, he has a natural talent for transit planning. 

At Lawrence Transit, he was the Transit Administrator from 2009 to 2019 and was responsible for all administrative aspects of the transit service as well as the city parking system.

  His  achievements during his tenure at Lawrence include:

·         Lawrence Transit was KPTA's 2010 System of the Year.

·         They received the FTA Regional Ridership Award in 2009, 2010,2014,2015,2016 and 2017.

From 2008-2017, they realized a ridership increase of 271 .

·         He implemented an alternative fuel fleet and developed a new fleet replacement schedule.

·         He acquired approximately 3 million dollars in stimulus funding for the replacement of vehicles.

·         He negotiated a cost allocation model between the University of Kansas and the City of Lawrence.

·         He managed service design and coordination projects for both the City of Lawrence and the University of Kansas.

·         He negotiated funding strategy with the University of Kansas that utilized Federal grants for the purchase of vehicles.

·         He represented the city in the development of a joint maintenance facility.

·         He was a member of the Kansas City Region Coordinated Transit District (CTD #1), the •Transportation Coordinating Committee (TCC), and the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee (RTAC). Additionally, he is a past Chairman of KPTA.

 In 2019, He became, and continues to be the General Manager at Topeka Metro. He is responsible for all administrative and operational aspects, including Topeka Metro's three facilities.

·         He implemented DoubleMap technology on all fixed route buses, including a rider app.

·         He ensured that Topeka Metro continued to operate service during the COVID-19 pandemic with no reduction or lapse in service.

·         He developed a new fleet replacement schedule.

·         He acquired the agency's first fleet of low-floor paratransit vehicles in 2021 and 2022.

·         He has facilitated the replacement of aging fixed route buses and is working on acquiring  Topeka Metro's first set of electric buses.

·         He introduced Topeka's first micro-transit zone on January 30,2023. The system, known as  MOD, operates curb-to-curb on-demand shared service to passengers going to and from  locations in a specific zone in southeast Topeka.

·         During his five years as General Manager thus far, Topeka Metro has received multiple sizable federal capital grants totaling just over $14 million and state capital grants totaling  over $1.5 million.

·He has been successful with redirecting the focus of the agency to the quality of service  and the needs of the passengers.

 

·         Under his leadership, Topeka Metro has received the following awards:

o        KPTA's "Innovation Award" in 2020 for free fare program during the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2021 for a creative YouTube operator recruitment video.

o        The 2023 SWTA "Spotlight Award".

o        FTA's Region VII "Award of Excellence" for the highest urban public transportation ridership in Kansas in 2021.

He has been a mentor to me, always willing to offer his knowledge and help. Whether it was attending a Manhattan City Commission meeting in support of our efforts to begin a fixed route service or allowing my leadership team to spend a morning with him, sharing and experience and knowledge on a variety of topics. He has been generous with his time and expertise. I think that I can say that on behalf of KPTA and the staff that Bob has worked with and continues to work with, that he has played a significant role in building and growing transit in Kansas.

This year the Willie Murry goes to Rober “Bob” Nugent.

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 2024 APPRECIATION AWARDS

These awards are presented in recognition of special efforts and dedicated  service on behalf of the Kansas public transit industry.

 First award goes to Senior Resource Center of Douglas County  and  Heidi Briery for taking a leadership role in coordinating transportation across county borders, collaborating with other agencies, and maintaining impeccable service. The ability to work across borders and across agencies to get individuals to wherever they need to go is a major step toward progress and highlights the feasibility of our public transportation system to move people to where they need to be.

 Second Award goes to  Independence Inc and -LaNeece Jardon  for maintaining a high level of service and stretching themselves to the limits to get residents to their much needed medical appointments that they otherwise would not have been able to attend. We thank Independence for its  role in ensuring the health and well-being of Douglas County residents.

 Our final awards go to a group of drivers:  Kristin Coon Public Transportation Director of Wabaunsee County nominated her

drivers as they are are amazing in their roles. She stated they are there

to assist the riders get to and from their appointments safely and stress free.  Together, they have a combined 34 years of experience with the

Wabaunsee County Public Transportation Service. On top of that, these individuals go above and beyond their duties  for our riders. Here are some examples.

- They make evening and weekend trips to/from the airport.

- They pick up individuals for church.

- They transported individuals on the weekend for a family member's funeral.

- They mowed the lawn for a rider who just found out she has cancer.

- They paid for a rider's purchase when the rider forgot their wallet.

- They walk along with our riders and help them get groceries.

 She  constantly get comments  from individuals within the community

letting her know how wonderful the drivers are and how much they

appreciate the service our drivers provide.

 Appreciation awards go  to: Sandy Altevogt, Robin Shuckman, Pam Stuewe, Chuck Kidd, Gary Lesline and Ron Ronnau who all

make their community an amazing place to live.

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2024 INNOVATION AWARDS

These awards are given in recognition of innovative service initiatives.

FIRST AWARD GOES TO Clay County General Public. Transportation  Clay County General Public Transportation is a 5311 provider based out of  Clay Center, Kansas. Over the last year it has shown outstanding  leadership and growth in providing greatly enhanced services to their  community by exhibiting a willingness for technological change, It

has established itself as a strong role model for other agencies in the state.  They received a National RTAP grant to pilot the software RideSheet in the  summer of 2023 to move from paper and pencil to technology-based  scheduling. RideSheet is a low-cost software to digitally manage the  customer database, schedule trips, create manifests, collect data, and
create meaningful reports. Of the three national pilot recipients and only  Clay County General Public Transportation had full implementation.  RideSheet was fully implemented by March of 2024 and has provided Clay  County General Public Transportation major positive quantitative and  qualitative impacts. Accuracy of trips and reporting has increased, and trips  are no longer missed. BlackCat reporting is done in-house and is no longer  contracted out. Drivers spend less time with documentation and more time  safely providing rides. These are only a few of the many positive outcomes  from this pilot. Clay County General Public Transportation was able to  successfully help develop and implement a new technology that may be
transferable to other Kansas communities in the future.  For this performance Clay County General Public Transportation is  presented the KPTA Innovation of the Year Award in piloting new software  moving from paper scheduling to digital.

SECOND AWARD

Our second innovation award goes to Unified Government Transportation  Department for their Microtransit expansion and launching IRIS, provided  by RideCo, used for routing technology.

The Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas microtransit zone was  extended by the Unified Government Transportation (UGT) Department by  22 miles, expanding service coverage to a sizable service area and  enabling weekend operations. Furthermore, passengers can now schedule  same-day rides and pay within the IRIS app, which was not previously
available. In addition, the department introduced IRIS, a new routing and booking system from RideCo that enables users to phone the UGT dispatch center, use the IRIS booking website, or request and pay for trips using the IRIS mobile app.

RideCo's industry-leading microtransit software maximizes efficiency  through continual improvement. The unique routing technology, known as  Solver, optimizes each route every 20 seconds, whether it was booked the  same day or weeks in advance. It considers the promised pick-up and  drop-off times for each trip, the location of each vehicle, traffic conditions,  and a variety of other criteria to calculate the most efficient route to carry
each passenger from their starting point to their destination Solver is the  optimization engine that powers RideCo's entire product suite.  UGT has serviced 2,450 passengers since the service's introduction,  receiving positive comments from customers with an average ride rating of  4.9 out of 5-star ratings. Customers have noted that drivers have been  skilled, kind, resourceful, and pleasant.

Additionally, UGT strives for 90 on-time performance (OTP) for pickup  and drop-off. To date, UGT drop-off OIP is 91 , and pick-up OTP is 97  (see Figure 1.1 Customer Analysis). On-time performance is essential for  the success and viability of microtransit services, as it directly impacts
customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and competitive positioning in  the transportation market.   Being innovative with microtransit technologies is critical for staying  relevant, improving efficiency, enhancing the passenger experience, and  staying ahead in a rapidly evolving transportation landscape.  Unified Government Transportation is the recipient of a KPTA Innovation  Award for expanding its Microtransit Zones and for use of software to maximize efficiency.

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The 2024 TRANSIT SERVICE OF THE YEAR AWARD is presented for outstanding service to its community and the state. This year the award is presented to the Lincoln County Transportation..

Lincoln County Transportation was nominated for several reasons. They have a new Transit Manager in Bobbie Turner. Who arrived with a positive and can-do attitude.  She says yes to as many trips and requests as she possibly can, which is a change from past practice.    She works with other transit agencies and the Mobility Manager on regional issues and rides.  She is also working with the local community to increase awareness and access of transportation in this struggling community. Over the past year, they have implemented two programs: (1) Free rides for Seniors provided through funding from the local Lincoln County Council on Aging; and  (2) rides for kids to their out of county appointments for mental health and counseling. They recognized these needs in their community and have put programs in place to address unmet needs.  Ridership has been increasing steadily since Bobbie has come on board.

So this year Lincoln county Transportation is presented Transit system of the Year for its work in the community to increase awareness of and access to public transportation.