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DOT office connects service-disabled Vetrepreneurs with opportunities

Yesterday, Brandon Neal Director of our Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) hosted a Vendor Day focused on procurement opportunities. In keeping with the Obama Administration's efforts to create more opportunities in federal service for veterans, yesterday's events emphasized Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs).

Approximately 500 small business owners joined Deputy Secretary John Porcari, Director Neal, US Rep. Patrick Murphy (PA), and Matt Flavin, Director of the White House Office of Veterans and Wounded Warrior Policy.

 

Vendor Day events provided opportunities for service-disabled "vetrepreneurs" to learn about doing business with DOT. As Director Neal observed:

“OSDBU is very excited to host an event focused on helping veteran owned small businesses. DOT is committed to helping all small businesses, especially veterans to whom we owe so much. We hope this event will highlight the many opportunities for small businesses within DOT.”

Brandon is absolutely correct; we do owe these service-disabled veterans much. And I'm proud to see his office working off some of that debt.

Sen. Kaufman honors FAA safety expert on Senate floor

As the busy Thanksgiving travel week approaches, Senator Ted Kaufman (DE) has done the FAA a great service. Yesterday, he stood on the floor of the US Senate and spoke in praise of FAA Chief Scientific and Technical Advisor for Aircraft Safety Analysis, Ann Azevedo.

You can watch a video of his remarks here.

Ann has been with the FAA for 12 years, and in that time, she has become:

"a respected voice among those engaged in risk management analysis, regularly representing the FAA at national and international air safety round-tables."

Now, if that sounds a bit dry, please keep this in mind: this week, when millions of Americans board airplanes in anticipation of seeing loved ones for the first time after weeks or years of separation, they arrive safely because of FAA safety experts like Ann Azevedo.

In fact, in 2002 Ann won the Arthur S. Flemming Public Service Award for developing safety solutions that resulted in a 64% decrease in the commercial aviation fatality rate between 1998 and 2002.

Rising to the Senate floor in praise of Ann Azevedo makes good sense to me, and I thank Sen. Kaufman for this honor.

And, in singling Ann out as a "Great Federal Employee," Senator Kaufman honors the entire FAA. As the Senator pointed out,

"Tens of millions of Americans will travel this week, and most will do it without ever realizing how much work goes into keeping American travelers safe."

That's okay with us at DOT because we know there are folks out there like Senator Ted Kaufman who get it. Being called "the Senate's champion of Civil Service" is no small achievement, and federal employees everywhere--and that includes me--appreciate Senator Kaufman's attention to their service.

A day in the life of a Recovery Act transit grant

In July, Santa Rosa CityBus received a Recovery Act grant of $4.2 million for paratransit services, solar bus shelters and eligible operating assistance.

This grant prevented service cuts and fare increases, and helped save 10 jobs--mechanics and bus drivers--in a city where unemployment is running nearly a full percentage point higher than the national average.

CityBus is the municipal transit system for Santa Rosa, California.  Now, Santa Rosa has a population of 160,000, but if you consider the surrounding area, it has an urbanized area population of 487,000. 

So its CityBus, in addition to providing paratransit services, has 36 fixed route buses, operates 17 fixed routes, and provides 2.9 million trips annually. CityBus riders tend to include low income earners, disabled people, seniors, and students.

Unfortunately, during 2009, sales tax revenue decreased by over 10% in Sonoma County. Plus, California effectively eliminated its State Transit Assistance funds. These two sources, plus fares, are the primary sources of operating funds for CityBus, and, as you can imagine, this shortfall was devastating.

Service cuts and fare increases seemed unavoidable.

But, because of prior fiscal prudence and the ability to use ARRA funds for operating and capitalized maintenance, CityBus has been able to maintain existing service levels without raising fares!

CityBus is now one of the only transit operators in the Bay Area able to avoid service cuts and fare increases since the recession began. 

I'll say it again: No service cuts and no fare increases occurred through all of 2009. And that is expected to hold true through 2010.

That's the everyday value of the Recovery Act in the lives of everyday Americans. Santa Rosa CityBus riders, who depend on transit services, are grateful for the ARRA program.

So am I.

Report, petition call for safer roadway planning

Last week, our friends at Transportation For America and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership released a valuable report called Dangerous By Design. Yesterday I met with James Corless of t4America and a few of his colleagues from other interest groups about this report and its conclusions.

Now, "Dangerous By Design" has turned a lot of heads and for good reason. It shows that 11.8% of all traffic fatalities in America are pedestrians.

Look, no amount of engineering to make the insides of our vehicles safer for occupants is going to protect pedestrians and bicyclists. We need safer roadways. We need roadways designed to account for the needs of everyone who uses them, whether driving, walking, or riding in a wheelchair or on a bicycle.

The great thing about this Complete Streets approach to road planning is that it's actually cheaper to plan for multiple road uses ahead of time than to retrofit roadways after they are built and someone gets injured or killed.

The problem with this approach is that it does cost a little extra up front. And states and communities facing budget shortfalls may be tempted to let road safety features--wide sidewalks, safe crosswalks--get cut along the way.

That's why the groups I met with yesterday are asking for federal leadership. And that's where this DOT comes in. It turns out that a complete streets approach offers the perfect intersection of my twin guideposts: safety and livable communities.