Bay Transit is pleased to announce that Bay Transit Operations Specialist Dina Cunningham has been selected as one of sixteen transit professionals from across Virginia to participate in the inaugural year of the Virginia Transit Association’s Leadership Institute (VTLI). VTLI is a groundbreaking program aimed at fostering the next generation of public transportation leaders in Virginia. “I am very excited to have been selected as a VTLI fellow,” Ms. Cunningham said. “I am extremely proud to represent Bay Transit at VTLI and will work hard to learn as much as possible from this innovative program.”

VTLI is a program initiated by the Commonwealth’s transit systems and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT), and is designed to engage, elevate, and cultivate emerging leaders in the public transportation sector. This nine-month comprehensive program is tailored to mid-level and future executives, providing them with a holistic understanding of transit from diverse perspectives across the Commonwealth.

Among the robust schedule of speakers is DRPT’s Director Jennifer DeBruhl, who will be speaking at the Bay Transit-hosted VTLI session in Gloucester on November 14th, 2023. Bay Transit’s Director Ken Pollock, GRTC’s CEO Sheryl Adams, Michael Baker International’s Vice President Lorna Parkins and Jarrett Walker’s Principal Associate Scudder Wagg will also be speaking at VTLI sessions. “We are incredibly excited to introduce the inaugural class of fellows for the Virginia Transit Leadership Institute,” said Danny Plaugher, Executive Director of VTA. “VTLI represents a significant milestone in the advancement of Virginia’s public transportation sector, providing a platform for emerging leaders to cultivate their skills, collaborate with industry experts, and drive innovation. We look forward to witnessing the positive impact these fellows will make on our state’s transit landscape and the communities we serve.”

Bay Transit’s Michael Shackleford and David Fols Are 2022 Virginia Transit Association Award Winners 

For the third consecutive year, Bay Transit, the public transportation division of Bay Aging, was recognized with awards from the Virginia Transit Association (VTA).  At the VTA’s 2022 Annual Conference & Bus Expo in Roanoke, VA, Bay Transit driver Michael Shackleford and Fleet Manager David Fols received the honors.  Mr. Shackleford was one of three transit employees statewide recognized for a VTA “Employee Unsung Hero Award” while Mr. Fols received the VTA’s “Exceptional Safety Award.”   

“I’m so proud of our team and thrilled for Michael and David,” said Bay Transit Director Ken Pollock.  “For the third year in a row, Bay Transit has earned well deserved recognition from their peers at transit systems across Virginia.  We may be one of the smaller transit systems in Virginia, but our commitment to innovation and excellence have really distinguished Bay Transit as a leader in our industry.” 

Michael Shackleford’s humility cannot keep his commitment to exceptional customer service from shining through:  

While Michael Shackleford would tell you he was “just doing his job,” Reverend Dr. Maria Harris described the support she received from Mr. Shackleford on January 11th as “exceptional.”  Rev. Harris, who uses a wheelchair, was riding to/from Richmond to a dental appointment at VCU using Bay Transit’s New Freedom program.  All went well until 4:30 PM when Rev. Harris was ready to contact Shackleford to ride home when she discovered that her cellphone battery was dead, and she couldn’t call him.  Rev. Harris learned later that Mr. Shackleford, concerned about her whereabouts, had called Bay Transit to alert them to the situation and find out if they had heard from her.  Collaborating with a VCU staff person, Shackleford was reunited with Rev. Harris and drove her home, explaining that “he was not going to leave me stranded.”   

Reverend Harris, who also serves on Bay Aging’s board of directors, was so moved by her experience that she wrote a letter to Bay Transit’s Director Ken Pollock stating, “Michael is an exceptional, caring, and resourceful driver who was committed to making sure his client not only arrived at their desired appointment but also arrived home. I applaud you for hiring such an excellent employee. My husband and I are very grateful for all that he did.”  

David Fols puts the ‘Good to go!’ into safety:  

In mid-2020, Bay Transit initiated a campaign promoting its commitment to customer service and safety in confronting COVID-19.  Bay Transit’s ‘Good to go!’ campaign included advertising on the outside of several buses touting many of the safety protocols and best practices implemented to ensure drivers and riders safety.  These measures included offering free rides on all Bay Transit buses to keep passengers and drivers from having to exchange money.   

Beginning in 2020 and continuing throughout 2021, Bay Transit’s Fleet Manager, David Fols, worked tirelessly to research COVID-19 safety protocols, fabricate partitions, install, and upgrade Bay Transit buses with best-in-class safety features to protect drivers and riders during COVID-19.  David fabricated and installed plexiglass shields surrounding the driver’s seat, and plexiglass partitions between every passenger seat, on every one of Bay Transit’s nearly 50 buses.    

Two additional safety enhancements were later deployed to help Bay Transit become even more ‘Good to go!’  Mr. Fols installed Freudenberg Filtration premium cabin filters in every Bay Transit bus. The Freudenberg filters are 99.9% effective at inactivating viruses. “We had to make sure this style of filter didn’t impact air flow and cooling capacity before moving ahead with installing them fleetwide,” Fols recalled. “Compared to HEPA filters, this design minimally impacted air flow in our buses while still providing industry leading air filtration.” 

Fols also installed touchless hand sanitizers on eight of Bay Transit’s buses. “We wanted to test their durability first,” Fols said. Once Fols confirmed the new touchless hand sanitizers help up well, he installed them in the rest of the buses. “We used to have the hand sanitizer sitting in plastic brochure holders and they keep getting broken. Every time three of the plastic brochure holders were broken, we could have paid for a touchless hand sanitizer system.  This transition will not only save us money, but it’s also better for our customers and creates less waste,” Fols noted. 

As Bay Transit prepared to reinstate fare collection in April, Fols was again hard at work, this time cutting holes in the plexiglass shields surrounding the driver’s seats so passengers could safely begin paying bus fares again.  In summary, without David’s unrelenting commitment to the safety of Bay Transit’s bus operators and passengers, the ‘Good to go!’ campaign would have been little more than a clever marketing slogan.   

(from left to right): Bay Aging board member Cynthia Talcott, the RCC’s President, Dr. Shannon Kennedy, and the RCC’s Vice President of College Advancement, Sarah Pope. 

Bay Transit, the public transportation division of Bay Aging, has received a $500 sponsorship donation from the Rappahannock Community College (RCC) Educational Foundation in support of the ‘Art in Transit’ 2022 contest and judged exhibition. Displaying the current RCC program and course offerings guide, RCC President Dr. Shannon Kennedy noted, “We are pleased to provide a $500 scholarship to help fund a continuing education opportunity that will allow a front-line employee at Bay Transit, such as a bus driver, mechanic, scheduler, or dispatcher, to take classes at Rappahannock Community College (RCC) or apply for the scholarship for a member of their family.”

Sarah Pope, RCC’s Vice President of College Advancement, added, “We have several successful partnerships already in place with Bay Transit, so we are thrilled to support their ‘Art in Transit’ 2022 initiative.” In 2019, Bay Transit installed bus shelters at RCC’s Warsaw and Glenns campuses. The same year, Bay Transit worked with the RCC Educational Foundation to eliminate fares for all students riding to and from RCC’s four campuses in Bay Transit buses. The RCC Educational Foundation reimburses Bay Transit for all student rides. “This initiative has been hailed by our students and administrators as a ‘godsend’ that has been critical to help transportation disadvantaged students access educational opportunities at RCC,” Pope said.

“We know how hard the Bay Transit bus drivers and other front-line staff have to work,” observed Bay Aging board director Cynthia Talcott. “Hopefully, financial assistance will help a Bay Transit employee, or employee’s family member, to pursue educational opportunities that may have otherwise been out of reach,” Talcott added. “In today’s hypercompetitive job market, we are hopeful that offering educational opportunities to front-line staff will help to distinguish Bay Transit from other employment opportunities.”

The “Call for Entries” to artists throughout the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula to participate in the ‘Art in Transit’ 2022 contest and judged exhibition was issued in January and the deadline for entries and art submissions to the RAL Art Center in Kilmarnock is April 18^th between 10 AM and 12 PM. This year’s award winners will be recognized at the ‘Art in Transit’ 2022 reception on Friday night, May 20^th. The culmination of the reception will once again occur when a copy of the first-place entry is unveiled on the side of a Bay Transit bus.

To find out more and to download the entry form, please visit the RAL Art Center at www.RALartcenter.com or call RAL at (804) 436-9309. You can also download a copy of the Call for Entries and entry form by visiting the Bay Transit website at www.BayTransit.org.

 Winning artist received $700 first prize and their work is displayed on Bay Transit bus

Bay Transit, the RAL Art Center, and Gander Design held the first ever ‘Art in Transit’ competition and exhibition this October to help commemorate Bay Transit’s 25^th Anniversary.  The award winners were recognized at the ‘Art in Transit’ Reception in Kilmarnock on Friday night, October 29^th.  The culmination of the reception occurred when the first-place entry was unveiled on the side of a Bay Transit bus to the delight of the audience.

To reveal the first-place winner, Bay Transit Director Ken Pollock asked the audience to join him on the sidewalk in front of the RAL Art Center.  As the front doors were opened, there was a Bay Transit bus with Brenda M. Sylvia’s acrylic painting, “Jumping for Joy” displayed on the side of the bus.  “I feel really honored, and it looks great on the bus,” Ms. Sylvia said.  “I’m getting ready to cry.”  After Pollock presented Ms. Sylvia with the $700 first-place check and her Bay Transit 25^th anniversary tumbler, she used a permanent marker to sign and date her artwork on the bus.

To see photographs of all the award winners, please visit Bay Transit’s Facebook page   To learn more about Brenda Sylvia’s Silver Raven Studios, please visit: www.silverravenstudios.com.