Around the Division

Retirement

Congratulations to Pat Perry, Mobility Development Specialist, on her retirement in June! Pat served as a Mobility Development Specialist with the Public Transportation Division since 1998 working with public transportation systems serving western North Carolina.

2013 Public Transportation Conference

Mark your calendars! The 2013 Public Transportation Division Annual Conference: Steering Through Change, will be held from Oct. 7 – Oct. 9 at the Hilton North Raleigh/Midtown Hotel in Raleigh! More information soon to come!

Safety and Training Unit

Each year, the Apprenticeship and Internship Program matches current graduate students and recent college graduates with a sponsor public transportation agency, transportation management company or planning organization for a paid 12-month apprenticeship or internship. Beginning July 1, seven apprentices and one intern will begin their year-long apprenticeship or internship in public transportation through this program. Each apprentice and intern will have an opportunity to get first-hand work experience in the public transportation industry and prepare for a career in the future.

Procurement Unit

Conversion van and lift van order forms are currently going out to all grantees that were awarded vans this past year. The contract was awarded June 4 to The Braun Corporation. 

To help improve transit services statewide, the Procurement Unit has requested information from vendors regarding various types of bus equipment including mobile digital video recording systems, electronic vehicle inspection systems, automatic passenger counters for transit vehicles, automatic voice annunciation systems, mobile data computers/automatic vehicle location systems and fareboxes. This information will be used to develop a statewide contract that any public agency will be able to order from.

Financial Management Unit

The Financial Management Unit reconciled projects to close out the fiscal year. The funding for the rideshare program SharetheRideNC, Apprenticeship and Internship Program, and state match projects approved by the Board of Transportation in April and May have been sent out to grantees; however, the 5303, 5310, 5311, 5316 and 5317 grants are still awaiting FTA review and approval before contracts can be released. 

The deadline to close all ARRA projects is Sept. 30, 2013. Out of the 72 funded ARRA projects, 59 have been closed, with 13 still open for invoicing. A total of $31.8 million in ARRA funding was appropriated to the Public Transportation Division, of which $26.6 million has been expended, leaving a balance of $5.3 million obligated on projects, and a balance of $1.2 million not allotted on projects.

The FY 2013 budget appropriation for the Bus and Bus Facility Program totals $3, 072,783, of which $2,631,506 has been allotted to projects. The fund balance on this program is $441,277 to be used on new projects.