What is KPTA?KPTA has taken a leading role in working with state and federal governments for equity in regulation towards public transportation.KPTA takes an active role nationally and is a member of the American Public Transit Association, Community Transportation Association of America, Southwest Transit Association, and Kansas Economic Lifelines.Among KPTA activities: educational/training forums, annual association meeting/expo, special membership bulletins, e-news as it happens, contacts directory, and membership services. |
KPTA BOARD MEETINGS 2024 January 9, 2024 - Topeka April 9, 2024 - Salina, OCCK 10am July 9, 2024 - location Wichita November 12, 2024 -Lawrence Transit Central Station LINK TO BUILD KANSAS https://kansascash.ks.gov/build_kansas.html The Build Kansas Matching Fund (Build Kansas Fund) will provide state matching dollars for projects throughout Kansas that successfully apply for Federal grants under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). For information on applying for Build Kansas matching grant funds, please visit the Kansas Infrastructure Hub’s website linked below: https://kshub.org/ks-infrastructure-hub-build-overview | Your Support is critical Public transportation provides Kansans thousands of rides each day for work, appointments, shopping and many other needs. For some it is a lifeline to much needed medical and financial services. Your support gives a voice to public transportation and all who depend on it. CLICK LINK ABOVE AND COMPLETE THE 2025 APPLICATION | KPTA 2024 AWARDSWILLIE M. MURRY AWARD: 2024 The Willie M. Murry Award is KPTA's highest honor. 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. .--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------. 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. .---------------------------------------------------. 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 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 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 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 .--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. |
The Mission of the Kansas Public Transit Assocation is to:
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