Friday, December 19, 2008

AppalCART's Christmas Lunch

Roger and Lisa put their heads together and came up with the idea.
Everybody chipped in for a Christmas Lunch on Friday Dec 19, 08.

Stephen Howard - Priceless

Mike Norwood, Bill Sheffield, Brad Indicott

Matt Williams

Dennis Walker

Joe Preston

Terry Norris and Randall Flecther

Tim McGuire

John Kirk and Lisa Wendt

John Kirk and John Eggers

John Kirk, Roger Dotson, Troy Greer, Tim McGuire

Brad Indicott

Troy Greer and Dennis Walker

Troy Greer and Randall Fletcher

Troy Greer and Roger Dotson

Logan Freeman checks his muscle tone after eating Joanna's
potato salad, Jim Harrison looks on.

John Eggers

Roger Dotson

Charlie Cook

Michelle Brewer and Stephen Howard

Michelle Brewer and Roger Dotson

Michelle Brewer, our hostess with the most-est.
Thank you Michelle!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Dec 18th Sunrise by CDT

If you were up early enough on Thursday Dec 18, 08, like Transportation Director Chris Turner was for his 60th Birthday, you would have seen this view from the AppalCART office.

Friday, December 12, 2008

ROAP Meeting 12/12/08

Transportation Director Chris Turner led the meeting.

Project on Aging Director and AppalCART Board Member, Angie Boitnotte
Watauga County Finance Director, Doris Isaacs
Watauga Dept of Social Services Social Worker Supervisor III , Kedith England
absent were: Watauga Opportunities Michael Maybee and a Rep from Mental Health

Rural Operating Assistance Program. County agencies are alloted monies from the NCDOT to try new public transportation routes for their clients. December is the 1/2 way mark in the Fiscal Year, and Directors met to see how expenditures were going.

AppalCART's Public Forum 12/10/08


Transportation Director Chris Turner


AppalCART Board Members left to right
Chair Jerry Moretz, Vice Chair Greg Lovins, Stephen Phillips
and Watauga Democrat's Scott Nicholson
AppalCART plans 2009 changes amid state, local budget constraints
By Scott Nicholson Watauga Democrat

AppalCART, the local public-transit authority, is gearing up for possible changes in the next fiscal year.AppalCART held a public forum on route plans that would take effect in August. The hearing at the Watauga County Public Library in Boone drew little input but allowed AppalCART director Chris Turner an opportunity to talk about funding, increased numbers of riders and expansion of the bus fleet. Turner said any plans were dependent on funding levels and grant applications through the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Chris Turner
“Anything we say today is dependent on the outcome of funding,” Turner said. The transportation authority started in 1981, with 9,886 rider trips in its first month of operation. That has grown to a record 179,476 riders in October, with over a million riders so far this year. The annual number of route miles has increased from 277,000 the first full year to 620,000 last year.Turner said he’d asked his staff about the need for interest was generated along the Green Route because of growth east of Boone. Turner said the increased numbers of riders and stops had led to some delays in running time, so AppalCART proposes to shorten the route.It currently starts at Wood Circle and goes downtown before looping around George Wilson Road, essentially orbiting Boone. Turner proposed removing the stop at Brookshire Park and Industrial Park Drive to shorten the route’s duration.AppalCART also proposes to add a second bus on the Orange Route and extend its hours. “That’s a major increase in service,” he said, with a second route requiring 15,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel to cover 60,000 additional miles of service. Fuel and driver costs would be significant, he said, but the route was needed because it would take some of the pressure off the Green Route. Turner said one of the reasons for increased frequency of the routes was the pending roadwork on King Street, which is scheduled to begin in April. “Any gains (in time) we make here may be offset by highway construction,” Turner said.AppalCART is ordering an all-wheel drive van, which Turner said was desperately needed to help carry people to medical appointments. One minivan will be replaced this year, and the fleet will have 16 rear-engine buses and 30 total vehicles next year. “That’s about as big as we can get with the space we’ve got,” Turner said.AppalCART is planning a new transfer station and facility on NC 105, with property and plans ready and the project awaiting funding. Turner said the new facility would allow the fleet to expand and create more service bays for garage maintenance. He said estimating fuel costs next year would be tricky, since energy costs have fluctuated wildly this year. He said with the recent decline in fuel prices, the budgeted amount for last year would nearly match the average cost at around $2.77 per gallon for biodiesel and gasoline. The authority gets its money from the Federal Highway Fund, with contributions from Appalachian State University, the town of Boone and Watauga County. The transit authority began offering no-fare rides to everyone a couple of years ago, leading to an escalation in ridership.Turner said typically ridership peaks at the beginning of the university semester, but then declines a little as students adjust their schedules.He said larger apartment complexes of over 400 units would be needed to create a new route or a bus stop in an unserved area.Turner estimated it would cost more tham $100,000 to add the second run for the Orange Route, which doesn’t include capital costs for a new vehicle. He also said the transit authority had a mission to represent the entire community, not just Appalachian State University students.The funding applications are likely to arrive in January 2009. AppalCART will then begin making final route plans for the next fiscal year.

Friday, December 5, 2008

The AppalCART office is decorated

Thanks to our Route Supervisor Michelle Brewer, the AppalCART office is decorated for Christmas. When Michelle was hired at AppalCART, she was fresh from San Antonio, Texas. She's a full-fledged mountain girl now though.

Michelle finished decorating the Finance office window.

On to the Dispatch window. Dispatch is the hub at AppalCART, it's where the action is and Tom Gates is one of four dispatchers

and Tom does his job with a smile. He's been with AppalCART for 28 years! Started while he was in his rocking and rolling years, drumming for different bands.



Drivers Matt Williams and Tim McGuire sit by AppalCART's Christmas Tree.

Actually Matt is a Christmas Tree grower in Ashe County, and he also raises pumpkins.

Tim, as a hobby, has beehives. He's a 24-year Safe Driver - all those years without a preventable accident while driving AppalCART buses. Wow!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

The Air Force flew in to AppalCART.


Two of our drivers talking about the military days.
Both of these drivers are retired from the Air Force,
John Longo and John Eggers.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Snow, ASU Football Champs, and photo's

Check out Marie's great action photo. With Appalachian’s win over South Carolina State Saturday, the Apps have a quarterfinals date with the Richmond Spiders this Saturday at noon at Kidd Brewer Stadium. The Apps met Richmond in last year’s semifinals and the Mountaineers came away with a 55-35 win. Because of television coverage, ESPN has set the times for all games in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs. What television channels on which the game will be carried have not been released. David Jackson and Steve Brown will begin their live coverage of the game Saturday morning at 10:00 on AM 1450 WATA.

AppalCART starts operating for the noon football game against Richmond at 8:30AM Saturday Dec 6, 08. With kickoff scheduled for noon, AppalCART will start all routes at 8:30 AM and run until two hours after the game ends or approximately 5:00 PM. AppalCART will be running the Red, Green, POP105 bus one, the Pink, Purple, Orange, State Farm Shuttle, and modified Blue Route which runs from the Watauga Human Services Center to the ASU Music Building stop on Bodenheimer Drive. People with disability placards needing transportation are encouraged to park in the lots on the Faculty Street side of the Holmes Convocation Center where AppalCART will pick them up and take them up Stadium Drive using lift equipped vans. AppalCART's website is http://www.appalcart.com/ has all the routes on it.

Passengers Boarding the Pink Rt on Monday morning Dec 1, 2008. See Parents, they're going to classes.


Driver for the day is happy-go-lucky Stephen Howard.


Let's go decorate this tree.