- Moderator:
- Dennis Kar, Partner – Dillon Consulting Limited
- Panellists:
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Kris Wiszniak, Operations and Transit Coordinator, Town of Collingwood and TransitPLUS;
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Maggie Kerr, Transit Project Coordinator, Perth County;
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James Vaclavek, Economic Development Officer, County of Wellington;
- Kevin Lee, Team Lead, Ontario Ministry of Transportation
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Rural Transit Working Session – Part 3 – Addressing the Needs of the “Part-time Transit Manager”
Part 2 of the workshop series discussed establishing the business case for rural transit; and that traditional measures of success such as ridership growth and cost effectiveness do not lend itself well to a rural environment. We also identified resource challenges in operating a transit system, where transit often lacks the resources required to effectively manage contracts, identify revenue opportunities, assess performance (including alignment to broader municipal outcomes), plan for the future and assess broader inter-community connections. This is the reality and challenge of many transit managers/ administrators, where transit is often only part of their portfolio.
In Part 3 of our Rural Transit series, we will explore the human resource challenges of operating a rural transit service. This session will include a moderated panel discussion from three municipal rural transit leads to discuss the challenges from a ‘management perspective’ of operating rural transit. This will be followed by an interactive discussion with attendees to get their perspective.
The goal of the session will be to:
- Breakdown the tasks and responsibilities required to effectively operate a rural transit service
- Identify both the knowledge and time gaps that exist, including what gets attention and what important tasks get neglected.
- Identify potential tools or governance structures that would expand knowledge or reduce effort required for day-to-day activities, allowing transit leads to focus on what matters.
