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 Dear Friend,
As 2009 comes to a close, the Center for Transportation Excellence
(CTE) continues to make strides to strengthen coordination efforts in
our region.
In October, CTE submitted two Federal Transit
Administration grants to the Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional
Transportation Council to foster our health and human service
transportation research efforts, conducted a United We Ride
Transportation Workshop in Niagara County and provided advocacy
testimony before the New York State Senate Standing Committees on both
Education and Transportation to highlight the benefits that coordinated
transportation can bring in an era of diminished resources.
In
addition, CTE looks forward to finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding
with the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority over these next few
weeks to commence a comprehensive vehicles inventory early in the New
Year as part of the greatly anticipated 2007 Job Access Reverse Commute
grant.
Wishing you and yours a safe and happy holiday season.
Regards,
 Kelly M. Dixon Director of Development & Community Outreach |
 In this issue |
Recent Grant Submittals
CTE Submits Two Grant Proposals for Coordination Initiatives
The Center for
Transportation Excellence recently submitted two proposals to the
GBNRTC for Federal Transit Administration grant funds. The Job
Access Reverse Commute and New Freedom funds would help to further
development of a coordinated transportation system. read more...
Buffalo CarShare
CTE Fleet Services to Provide Maintenance for Buffalo CarShare Fleet
The
Center for Transportation Excellence is pleased to announce the newest
customer of our Fleet Services, Buffalo CarShare. read more...
Collaboration Corner CTE Transportation Committee Holds Niagara County United We Ride Workshop
The
Center for Transportation Excellence Niagara County Transportation
Committee held a health and human services transportation workshop On
September 22, 2009. This workshop was similar to one hosted by CTE in
Erie County last year using the Federal Transit Administration's United
We Ride Framework for Action. read more...
Employee Spotlight
Alonzo White
Alonzo
White was hired in September as CTE's new Call Center Manager.
Alonzo has brought with him years of call center management experience
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Recent Grant Submittals
CTE Submits Two Grant Proposals for Coordination Initiatives The
Center for Transportation Excellence recently submitted two proposals
to the Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council (GBNRTC)
for Federal Transit Administration grant funds. The Job Access
Reverse Commute and New Freedom funds would help to further development
of a coordinated transportation system. CTE anticipates
hearing more details on the grant proposals from the GBNRTC by spring
2010.
Job Access Reverse Commute
CTE
submitted a proposal for 2009 Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC)
funding. JARC funding is dedicated to increasing the ability of
low income persons to reach employment opportunities. This grant
will allow CTE to arrange transportation for home health care aides or
individuals enrolled in training programs for home care
certification. Home care is an important service that allows
older adults and persons with disabilities to retain their independence
and remain living within the community. It is often a struggle
for many aides to reach the homes of clients not easily accessed by
public transit. This grant will build off of the 2007 JARC grant
CTE was awarded to research barriers faced by home care workers and
identify opportunities for coordination among agencies.
New Freedom
CTE
submitted a proposal for a 2009 New Freedom grant in collaboration with
New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental
Disabilities. New Freedom funding is dedicated to expanding
transportation options for persons with disabilities. This grant
will allow for the continued research and implementation of a
Developmental Disabilities Pilot Project with Aspire of Western New
York, People Inc. and Southeast Works. The goal of this
partnership has been to develop a model for coordinating transportation
for persons with developmental disabilities to day habilitation and
prevocational programs.
CTE with the help of the
University at Buffalo's Six Sigma Program, has already collected a
wealth of information from the three agencies including
pickup & drop off destinations, vehicle type and route
mileage. If awarded this grant, CTE will continue to gather data,
analyze information using route optimization software and work with
agencies and transportation providers to develop an implementation
plan. In addition, CTE will document the entire process to create
a manual that will assist other regions to replicate the model. |
Buffalo Carshare
CTE Fleet Services to Provide Maintenance for Buffalo CarShare
 The
Center for Transportation Excellence is pleased to announce the newest
customer of our Fleet Services, Buffalo CarShare. Buffalo CarShare is a
new organization that allows members to reserve vehicles on an hourly
basis for errands or occasional trips, while relying on other modes of
transportation (such as walking, biking, using public transit, or
carpooling) for their daily commute. They currently serve over
150 members. CTE began providing routine maintenance for their
seven vehicles this fall and they expect to add an eighth car to their
fleet next month. According to Buffalo CarShare's Interim Executive
Director, Creighton Randall, "the Center for Transportation Excellence
is a great fit for us. It was important for us to find a partner in
fleet maintenance that could provide thorough service at reasonable
rates. Beyond that, we can rest assured that CTE has the capacity to
serve our growing fleet as CarShare expands." For more
information on Buffalo CarShare, please visit their website at www.buffalocarshare.org.
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Collaboration Corner
CTE Transportation Committee Holds Niagara County United We Ride Workshop
The Center for Transportation Excellence
Niagara County Transportation Committee held a health and human services
transportation workshop On September 22, 2009. This workshop was similar to one
hosted by CTE in Erie County last year using the Federal Transit
Administration's United We Ride Framework for Action. Participants
included multiple health & human service organizations, county departments
and transportation providers.
The workshop
included four sections. The first section, What do We do Well?, looked at the strengths of
Niagara County's current transportation system and recognized what has already
been accomplished. Some of these strengths included leadership coming together
and recognition of transportation challenges. The second section, Where do We Need to do Better?, allowed for a discussion of
what transportation areas need improvement. The group discussed issues such as
a lack of service in some areas and new development further from existing
transportation infrastructure. These transportation challenges were then
prioritized and ranked in the Developing Priorities section. The final section, Planning for Our Priorities allowed the group to begin brainstorming action
steps to address these transportation challenges. The group identified
three priorities that are considered important first steps to developing a
coordinated transportation system in Niagara County. The group felt it
was important to conduct a holistic assessment of the county's transportation
system to identify needs and available resources. In addition, it
wanted the community to develop a shared vision of what they would like
transportation in Niagara County to look like.
The CTE Niagara Transportation Committee has continued to work with
interested workshop participants to explore development of a plan that would
address health and human service transportation needs in Niagara County.
The committee would like to thank all of the workshop participants and
Orleans/Niagara BOCES for providing the use of their conference center. A
special thank you goes out to County Manager Lewis and Legislative Chairman
Ross for joining us at the workshop. The next committee meeting will be
on January 12, 2010. Please contact Kelly Dixon at 898-7902 if you are
interested in attending.
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Employee Spotlight
Alonzo White
 Alonzo
White was hired in September as CTE's new Call Center Manager.
Alonzo has brought with him years of call center management experience
gained through working with such companies as Blue Cross Blue Shield,
Fidelis Care and Softbank. He is currently working on several
quality improvement initiatives that will bring faster more efficient
service to clients and medical providers that call into the CTE.
His goals include helping to structure the call center by
providing a higher level of training and customer service experience;
through a S.M.A.R.T goal process.
Alonzo enjoys working
at CTE because, "At CTE it feels like everyone is family and there is a
team driven desire to accomplish the same goal." Alonzo attended St.
Bonaventure University and Medaille College and now lives in
Cheektowaga with his wife. When not working with the call center
agents, he enjoys watching his kids grow with their sport
activities in school and around the community.
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