Metro Magazine

SEP-OCT 2012

Magazine serving the bus and rail transit & motorcoach operations since 1904

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five questions Milo Victoria GM/CEO Omnitrans Milo Victoria was named GM/CEO of the San Bernardino, Calif.-based Omnitrans in January 2010. Previously the assistant GM, bus service, for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in Washington, D. C., Victoria directed day-to-day operations of its fl eet of 1,500 buses, serving more than 360 bus routes and more than 12,000 bus stops across 1,500 square miles. Established in 1976, Omnitrans carries approximately 15 million passengers each year throughout its 480-square-mile service area, covering 15 cities and portions of the unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County. Omnitrans recently rebranded. Could you discuss a little about what went behind that decision and what the agency hopes to accomplish? Omnitrans' new look and logo are a reflection of renewal and growth of our agency. In addition to the fact that our former logo has been in place since 1985, our new logo is simpler, cleaner and contemporary. The circu- lar shape and white T intersection in the logo design represent the 'O' and 'T' of Omnitrans. The 'T' also repre- sents the roadways we follow in deliv- ering our service to the community. The logo colors symbolize our green earth and blue sky, refl ecting Omni- trans' commitment to the environ- ment and air quality in particular with our 100% natural gas-powered fl eet. The rollout of our new logo and fleet graphics illustrates Omnitrans' dedication to fi scal responsibility. The launch was planned to coincide with the delivery of 20 new buses, so we were able to incorporate the new de- sign at very little extra cost. Further, we have decided go with a simplifi ed col- or refresh of our existing fl eet, rather than completely revamping all of our buses with the new design, to signifi - cantly reduce costs. Updates of other agency identity items, including our 2,500 bus stop signs, will be rolled out over the course of this fi scal year. We hope that our bold new design will generate a new awareness of Om- nitrans and, ultimately, attract new riders to our award-winning transit agency. But, I have to say that my fa- vorite part of Omnitrans' new look is our tagline: 'Connecting our Commu- nity. number will steadily grow, based on the successes of other BRT projects. ' As we went through this process, discussing different options, this im- mediately resonated with me as the key to what we do. At its essence, this is our function: to connect all mem- bers of the community — from stu- dents, to mothers, to commuters, to persons with disabilities and senior citizens — with the places they need to go to live their lives as they choose. Your nearly 16-mile sbX BRT system is set to launch in January 2014. How im- portant will that new line be for the customers you serve? When the fi rst sbX corridor opens for passenger service in early 2014, not only will it provide a valuable service to our existing customers who rely on Omnitrans local Route 2 to get to busi- nesses, medical facilities and school campuses, we think it will cater to a new group of passengers who realize the new service is sleek, state of the art, comfortable, faster and more frequent than fi xed-route service, and more time competitive with automobile com- mutes. Our initial ridership projection for the sbX E Street line is 5,600 average weekday boardings, which is about 35 percent higher than the current local route delivers. We are confident that 16 < mETRO mAGAZINE SEPTEMBER • OCTOBER 2012 Even with the support of the city and nearby partners, how diffi cult is it to scrap for funds and complete projects such as sbX as well as projects planned down the road? In contrast with the old 'design and defend' model of project delivery, when good planning comes fi rst, in- vestment and implementation will fol- low. Anyone who is asked to invest their precious dollars into a project — taxpayers, federal and state agencies, foundations, developers and fi nanciers — will want to know what return they will get on their investment. This in- cludes not only fi nancial return, but the economic, social and environmen- tal benefi ts to the community. It takes a lot of consensus building amongst all the community stakeholders to de- cide how to deliver projects in the most cost-effective way to bring the best value for the community. At Omnitrans, we engage with com- munity stakeholders throughout every step of the process. Each project ulti- mately is not Omnitrans' project, but the community's project. Omnitrans is a partner bringing resources, technical expertise and innovation to the table to meet the community's goals. We fa- cilitate dialogues between engineers, land use planners, developers, busi- ness owners, community advocates metro-magazine.com

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