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metro news briefs 12 < m ETRO m AGAZINE APRIL 2014 metro-magazine.com FMCSA PROPOSES E-LOGS TO MONITOR DRIVER HOURS The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a proposal to require interstate commercial bus companies to use Electronic Logging Devices in their vehicles to improve compliance with the hours a driver can work. The proposed rulemaking would significantly reduce the paperwork burden associated with hours-of-service recordkeeping for interstate bus drivers and improve the quality of logbook data. U.S. RIDERSHIP REACHES RECORD 10.7 BILLION TRIPS T e American Public Transportation Association reported 10.7 billion trips were taken on public transportation — the highest annual public transportation ridership number in 57 years. It was the eighth year in a row that more than 10 billion trips were taken on public transportation systems nationwide. VALLEY METRO RETROFITS BUS TO DELIVER FOOD TO NEEDY NEIGHBORHOODS Phoenix, Ariz.-based Valley Metro partnered with a local developer, Discovery Triangle Development Corp., to launch a fresh food initiative that will bring a mobile produce market to underserved neighborhoods. T e retrof tted Valley Metro bus will travel to schools, senior centers, parks, churches and other community gathering places located in the Discovery Triangle to provide access to fresh fruits and vegetables. S.F. CAR SERVICE GROWTH CREATES ACCESSIBILITY CONCERN With the expansion of new transportation network companies such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar, concerns about the availability of accessible taxis are growing, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. A quarter of wheelchair-accessible cabs, which San Francisco Metropolitan Transit Authority of cials consider a linchpin of the paratransit system, now sit idle because there aren't enough drivers, the report said. REPORT: METRO-NORTH PRIORITIZED PERFORMANCE OVER SAFETY The Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) comprehensive safety assessment, found Metro-North Railroad's management emphasizes on-time performance to the detriment of safe operations and adequate maintenance of its infrastructure, resulting in a deficient safety culture, increased risk and reduced safety on the system. The report required Metro-North to submit plans to the FRA within 60 days on how it will improve the effectiveness of its Safety Department and training programs. RARE TREE FACES AXE FOR CALIF. COMMUTER TRAIN A redwood tree, so rare that there are believed to be fewer than 10 of its kind in the world, could be chopped down to make way for commuter trains in Northern California, AP reports. Preservationists are hoping to save the albino chimero coast redwood, but federal regulators have determined the tree must come down for safety reasons because it is too close to a proposed set of new tracks. Photo credit Buzz Hoffman, Flickr Creative Commons M E T R O 0 4 1 4 _ n e w s . i n d d 1 2 METRO0414_news.indd 12 3 / 1 8 / 1 4 1 0 : 5 3 A M 3/18/14 10:53 AM