Magazine serving the bus and rail transit & motorcoach operations since 1904
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For more information visit us at www.usscgroup.com or call 866.312.6820 Part of the USSC GROUP Our engineering team uses an advanced systems-driven approach to design, giving you the latest in transit seating comfort and safety. • Infnitely adjustable height • Fore/Aft adjustments • Infnitely adjustable seat pan rake • Continuous dual-sided recline Advanced Options Include: • Adjustable height "D" loop • Seat heater • Air slide release • Air lumbar and side bolster • Front adjustable, fip-up armrests All seats comply with International ISO and ANSI vibration standards. We Put High Performance and Durability in Your Driver's Seat! 32 < m ETRO m AGAZINE JUNE 2014 metro-magazine.com CONTRACTOR SERVICES Focusing on the service needs in each region it operates in is the approach Ke- olis North America takes on providing customized rail services to assist agen- cies, and ultimately, riders in navigat- ing challenges, including regulator y requirements, recordkeeping, mainte- nance practices, Information Technol- ogy (IT) systems, ticketing,and custom- er service, Gregg Baxter, GM, Keolis Rail Services, Virginia, says. The contractor demonstrated this in July 2010, when it took over operations, mechanical, facility and warehousing responsibilities for Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter service from Amtrak, which had operated the system since the inception of the service. Te national rail carrier, Baxter says, generally takes more of a one-size-fts- all approach to its operations, whether it's Virginia, Chicago or California. How- ever, each system has its own unique set of circumstances, requiring different operational approaches, he adds. "Our customers' expectations are a lot diferent in Virginia than in Boston. As we grow as a company, we have to be cognizant that no matter what, we understand at the local level what the needs are," he explains. During the procurement process, Ke- olis learned that VRE was looking for more influence on its day-to-day op- erations. One small detail the transit system wanted was for its engineers to wear uniforms. "For 18 years, that didn't happen. Well, day one, we came in, guess what? Our engineers had uniforms," Baxter says. "One-size-fits-all didn't work, in that case, because [Amtrak's] engineers don't wear uniforms. They couldn't make them wear them at one location and not others, where we as a contract operator were able to require that. It's worked for four years now." KEOLIS NORTH AMERICA Keolis North America tailors its services to meet the varying needs of each rail system it operates across the U.S., from small to large.