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The Roads That Connect Us Uniting Voices Stop by Stop.

A few weeks ago, one of our Vibe Team members stood at Bradley International Airport and watched a group of veterans step off a CTtransit bus into a crowd of applause, motorcycles, and flags. CTtransit team member Admir Shurdho was there, like he is every year, because his grandfather served too. Nobody told him to care that much. He just does. That’s the thread running through this issue, and through this job. My family and friends ask what CTtransit does, and the easy answer is buses. The real answer is harder to fit on a business card. I usually just hand them a copy of CTpulse instead. Take Marisol Rodriguez. A supervisor’s job is to keep the buses moving safely, not to rescue ducklings out of a storm drain on a Saturday morning. But there she was, waiting with a worried mother duck until the fire department arrived. She didn’t overthink why she stopped for an incident like this. “We are all connected,” she told us. “No matter how small, all lives matter.” Some of what happened in Stamford this spring is harder to write about, but it belongs in this issue more than almost anything else. When a customer suffered cardiac arrest on a bus, five CTtransit employees kept that man alive until paramedics arrived. Maurice Spearman said it best: There’s no singular hero in that story. Everybody’s the hero. This issue also carries a conversation I had with Paul Skoutelas, President and CEO of the American Public Transportation Association. We talked about frequency, about the 5-to-1 return on every transit dollar. But what stuck with me was not a number. Paul said, “Not everyone can drive. Not everyone can afford a car. Do we want to be a country that tells people if you can’t afford one, you don’t get to fully participate in life? I don’t think that’s who we are, or who we want to be.” That is really what this theme is about. The roads that connect us are not just asphalt and route numbers. They are the trainers who create driving exercises for our simulator, so a new hire never has to learn about black ice the hard way. They are Barry Diggs, Director of Planning, who will tell you flat-out that a route with four customers a month still matters, because those are four real people who need to get somewhere. I am proud of everyone in these pages, and just as proud of the hundreds of you who are not in them this time but show up every day. You are the reason this magazine has stories worth telling at all. Thank you for reading. And thank you for reminding me, more often than you probably realize, why this work matters. See you down the road.

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Vanessa P. Brooks, MA Viber-in-Chief

CT STATEWIDE ROADEO 2026

MAY 3, 2026

TABLE OF CONTENTS 6

Masterpieces in Motion

More Than Just a Bus: Paul Skoutelas

CTtransit World Public Transit Day Diaries

A Chance to Connect: NEPTA Conference

Winning the Roadeo is All in a Day’s Work: Juan Carpio

Beyond Transportation: CTtransit’s Role in Honoring Connecticut Veterans

Virtual Roads, Real Skills: Inside CTtransit’s New Bus Simulator

From Idea to Implementation: The Ins and Outs of Service Planning

Transit on the Move: Laurie McElwee

Teamwork Under Pressure

Everything It’s Quacked Up to Be: Marisol Rodriguez’s Story

Next Stop: Retirement!

Safety Award Winners

Meet the Vibe Team

CTtransit staff attending the CT Statewide Transit Roadeo.

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TOM TALKS

Our operators pull out of the yard before sunrise, and thousands of people trust us to get them where they need to go. That trust gets earned in small pieces: a stop made safely, a valued customer treated with respect. This magazine has always been about the roads that connect us, and this issue reminded me they also reveal something about us: the choices we make on them. Look at the stories in these pages. A Roadeo champion who has represented Connecticut on the national stage. Veterans receiving long-overdue recognition for their service. Five employees whose composure under pressure helped save a customer’s life. In those moments was a choice to do the harder right thing instead of the easier nothing. Safety is where that choice starts for us. Every team member carries responsibility for someone else’s well-being. It shapes how we look out for one another and how we serve the people who rely on us every day. Customer care grows from that same mindset. Every person who steps onto one of our buses deserves to be treated like their trip matters, because it does. There is a quieter choice we make too: how we spend our time and resources. It is tempting to chase every good idea instead of finishing the ones already in motion. That means catching the details that move the needle: a clearer bus stop sign, adjusting service because an operator flagged something happening on the street. Consistent, deliberate choices are what build a system people can count on. Underneath all of it is a promise: We serve the public. We serve each other. When you are not sure what road to take next, go back to that. It holds up. So, here’s what I am asking through the rest of this year. Take a minute, all of us, me included, and think about why you chose this work in the first place. Purpose is not something you set once and forget. It moves the way we do, and there is no shame in adjusting course if you are honest with yourself about why. One choice matters more than most: Be kind. To the people riding our buses, to the colleagues next to you, and to yourself on the days that go sideways. When we give each other grace, we build a place where people feel valued. The roads we travel are the same roads that connect us to each other and to the people we serve. My hope is that we travel them with real focus, and with attention to the people right in front of us. Thank you for everything you do. Every day.

Thomas E. Stringer Jr. General Manager

“Every person who steps onto one of our buses deserves to be treated like their trip matters. Because it does.” - Thomas E. Stringer Jr.

Thank you, participants!

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More Than Just a Bus

Vanessa Brooks’ conversation with Paul Skoutelas, President and CEO of APTA, on the first World Public Transport Day, the real worth of a bus, and 40 years he would choose again Paul Skoutelas has spent more than 40 years around buses and trains, and he still rides to work when his schedule permits. That single fact tells you how the President and CEO of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) talks about his industry. He does not talk like someone reading a report. He talks like someone who watches people board buses and trains regularly.

“We have not withdrawn at all from our national efforts. Those continue almost every minute of every day,” Skoutelas said, naming the reauthorization of the federal highway and transit programs as the work that never stops. “But given the activities happening across the globe, and in particular International Association of Public Transport, our counterpart internationally, we thought we ought to join in on this unified global effort.” The chosen date was April 17. The first year saw participation from 182 organizations across 66 countries, a number that surprised even the people who built the campaign. “The fact that it had such a large impact, even on the very first day, that caught our attention,” Skoutelas said. “Everybody operates in different conditions, different structures of financing, but we have one common goal, and that is to serve the public and the communities.” When I offered that transit is transit wherever you go, he did not hesitate. “It is. It is transit.”

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“

Not everyone can drive. Not everyone can afford a car. Do we want to be a society that says, ‘Unless you can afford one, you can’t participate in all that life has to offer’? I don’t think that’s the country we are, or the one we aspire to be.

“

I sat down with Skoutelas in June to discuss the first World Public Transport Day, a global observance that APTA joined alongside transit agencies and authorities around the world. The day gave the industry one date to stand together and say the same thing in dozens of languages. For a leader who has argued the case for transit in Washington for years, the appeal of a unified voice was obvious.

PUTTING A NUMBER ON IT A day in the spotlight is one thing. Convincing a budget committee is another. This year APTA gave legislators something to hold onto: an economic impact study showing that every dollar invested in public transportation returns $5 in long-term value, sustains about 41,000 jobs, and sends more than 80% of federal investment straight to the private sector. Skoutelas knows the figure means nothing if it stays on a page. “People see a bus or a train go by, and I don’t know that they think about it in terms of economic impact,” he said. “We want them to think about mobility, yes, taking people to jobs and schools and healthcare. But also, what it means to the local economy. So, we put it into dollars and cents.” He layers the numbers on purpose. Each one is designed for a different audience. The 5-to-1 return speaks to the taxpayer. The job creation speaks to the worker. The private-sector share speaks to an administration focused on business. No single number does all the work alone. “Taken together,” he said, “that gives us a very strong base, a compelling case for transit investment.”

THE 20-YEAR VIEW I asked Skoutelas to look two decades out and he does not reach for flying cars. He reaches for frequency. Right now, he says, there are maybe a dozen American cities with frequent enough service for transit to be a real option. Everywhere else, people make do with a bus every hour. “That’s a lifeline for those who rely on it, no question,” he said. “But it’s not enough to change people’s travel habits.” His vision for 2046 is a far more robust network reaching medium and smaller communities that have nothing close to it now. The payoff he describes is personal, not abstract. “Frequency means reliability. It means dependability,” he said. “People can say, ‘I don’t need that second car.’ Or maybe a household doesn’t need one at all.” He cited APTA’s own analysis: A household can save up to $13,000 a year by giving up a single automobile. “In an environment where the cost of almost everything is going up, that money goes to rent, to groceries, to daily living. That’s a big deal.”

AN OPPORTUNITY GIVER

I asked him what people misunderstand about public transit after all his years in the industry. His answer was quick, and it was the same conviction running underneath everything else he said. “We are an auto-dominated country, and highways have produced real benefit,” he said. “But there’s been real cost too. Congestion. Communities split apart. People still need to understand where public transportation fits.” Then he framed it as a question about the kind of country the U.S. wants to be.

Public transportation, in his words, is an opportunity giver. He wants people to stop sorting it into a personal yes or no, to stop the myopic math of “I’m fine. I can drive. I’m good. Nothing else needs to happen.” The value, he insists, accrues to the whole community, rider or not. That belief has a slogan behind it. When I told him a bus had once been my own path out of one chapter and into another, through college in Atlanta and a career I never left, he laughed. APTA, he said, ran a campaign on exactly that idea. “More than just a bus, and here’s why. It’s like you wrote the campaign.”

WHAT RIDING TEACHES Skoutelas has always been a transit rider first. He now lives in Potomac, Md., with his grandchildren, and most mornings his wife drops him at the Metro before he heads into the city. He still puts more stock in what he sees on the platform than in anything that reaches his desk. “You can’t ride the bus or the train and not see, if you open your eyes, that everyone is on it,” he said. “People of all walks of life. Someone in a suit, someone in regular clothes, young, old, all heading to their jobs.” He watches a passenger struggle to board and a child light up at the freedom of going somewhere. “You see real life. You see real people getting someplace,” he said. “That’s a healthy thing for all of us. Not to be stuck in our cocoons.”

A CAREER BY DESIGN The origin of all of it traces to a grade-school class trip. Skoutelas grew up near Philadelphia, and his class boarded a train to the 1964 New York World’s Fair. He rode the monorail. He toured the General Motors Pavilion and its visions of transportation to come. “I was spellbound. I was in awe,” he said. He did not have the words for it yet, but the pull was set. Years later, his first transportation class in civil engineering brought the whole feeling back. “People often say they fell into their work,” he said. “Mine was by design. I’m doing what I wanted to do from a very young age.” It is the same pitch he makes to young people now, through APTA’s emerging leaders and leadership programs. The industry needs accountants, planners, engineers, marketers, even writers, he said, and it offers something most fields cannot. “There aren’t many careers where you can see the importance of what you do in terms of touching your community, reshaping it,” he said. “We need young, energized people. If you’re looking for meaningful work, our industry provides it.” Near the end, when I admitted I expect to spend my own career exactly as he has, riding this work to the finish, he smiled and gave the only credential that seems to matter to him. “We’re part of the same club,” he said. PAGE 10

CTtransit WORLD PUBLIC TRANSPORT DAY DIARIES Friday, April 17, was World Public Transport Day. To celebrate, CTtransit encouraged every employee to take full advantage of our transportation services, and you delivered! Daniel MacEachern traversed the streets of downtown Stamford, and Lorena Mesa enjoyed a productive day in New Haven. And of course, the Marketing team hit the road in Hartford to grab several cups of coffee. Happy reading and happy World Public Transport Day! A New Look at an Old Path By Daniel MacEachern The 334 bus picks me up at Veterans Park in downtown Stamford for my jaunt up Hope Street. It’s a road I’ve driven countless times, but, today being World Public Transport Day, I’m leaving the driving to CTtransit. There are a lot of reasons to recommend public transit; its contribution to reducing traffic congestion and pollution may be the most persuasive. But for me, riding the bus or a train allows me to see things that I haven’t noticed before, things I miss because of the need to focus on the road when I’m behind the wheel. Freed from that responsibility, I take in my surroundings a little more: appreciating the tulips blooming in a well-tended garden along the street; marveling at all the construction sites; discovering an intriguing-looking gift shop, an escape room business, a comic book store. I hop off the bus and wander around (no need to waste any time looking for parking) and take care of my hunger pangs with mozzarella sticks and marinara at a diner. For dessert, I pop into a gourmet mini-donut shop, buy a pack of six, and savor the Oreo crumbles on one and strawberry jam on another. A sun shower sprinkles the street with rain just as the 334 arrives to take me back. Again, I see street features that are new to me on this familiar road. On the bus, a little boy with his mother squeals excitedly whenever he sees a dog on the sidewalk. He eagerly asks his mom when he can pull the cord to request a stop, and when she gives him the go-ahead, he yanks it with authority. I get off the bus in downtown Stamford with a checklist of new places to visit, and a resolution to take the bus more often, knowing there are still places to discover. PAGE 12

A Productive Ride, With a Smile By Lorena Mesa I took the opportunity today to both work and enjoy the system firsthand. I started with a quick coffee run, then spent time riding our 262 route, gaining valuable operator feedback, addressing passenger questions and concerns on the spot. I even assisted with a service request. I also made the most of the trip by stopping at a designated restroom location. While there, I connected with our facility contact and learned she recently retired. I took the initiative to obtain contact information for the new facility manager to ensure continuity. After riding Route 262, I needed to make my way back to the New Haven garage. While on my way, I ran into my co-worker, Lorna Souza, who took this picture of me because she said I wasn’t wearing a smile in my original bus selfie. After taking the picture, I continued riding and smiling. A great and productive way to celebrate the day: ride, observe, and engage!

The Marketing Team Hits the Road for Some Coffee at DoNo in Hartford:

A CHANCE TO CONNECT, RECONNECT, AND KEEP CURRENT ON THE TRANSIT INDUSTRY

In June, Isabel Ramirez, Stamford’s Superintendent of Transportation, headed to Warwick, R.I., for the NorthEast Passenger Transportation Association (NEPTA) conference, expo, and golf tournament. NEPTA, a nonprofit association of transit providers, vendors and industry stakeholders, holds its conference every two years, packing its three-day event with sessions on topics that range from perennial concerns to up-to-the-minute matters. The 2026 agenda, for example, included sessions on workplace violence from the perspective of front-line operators, the pros and cons of microtransit, and the use of AI models in transit. Ramirez told CTpulse she was grateful to General Manager Thomas Stringer for the opportunity for her and other colleagues to attend and assist at the conference. For her, it’s an example of a commitment to developing leaders and investing in employee growth.

Greg Tower, CTDOT Transit Manager (left), Lisa Rivers, CTDOT Transit Administrator (center), and Isabel Ramirez, Superintendent of Transportation (right) enjoying the NEPTA conference.

“It was inspiring to see that CTtransit is already implementing many of the innovative practices being showcased by other transportation agencies,” she said. Ramirez also enjoyed the chance to connect with Connecticut Department of Transportation colleagues like Greg Tower and Lisa Rivers, and to work with industry peers and experts, government officials, and vendors showcasing the latest transportation solutions. “This experience strengthened my professional growth and reinforced the importance of forward-thinking leadership that empowers employees to learn different ways to overcome transit challenges, promote workforce safety, network, and excel,” said Ramirez.

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NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

FREDDY FIXER 2026

Originating in 1962, the Freddy Fixer Parade is nationally recognized as one of the oldest Black American parades in the northeast. As such, it is incumbent upon our community to honor this distinctive heritage and to always remember to continue to pay homage to the founders, the late Dr. Frederick F. Smith, Edna Carnegie-Baker, and Dr. Charles Twyman.

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This isn’t Juan Carpio’s first Roadeo. It’s not his second, his third, or his fourth. Just don’t ask him to pin the number down; he’s participated in the annual competition for bus operators so many times that he’s lost count. Carpio also performs well enough every year at the state level that in 2026 he’s represented Connecticut at the International Bus Roadeo a handful of times (six to eight, he figures. Again, he’s lost track of just how often he’s competed). “I went to Florida, I went to Kansas, Missouri, I went to Reno, Las Vegas. I went to six, seven places, I think,” he said, trying to remember them all. For nearly two decades, Carpio has spent his career safely connecting people to work, school, doctor’s appointments, and home. PAGE 18

WINNING THE ROADEO IS ALL IN A DAY’S WORK The Roadeo showcases the same skills he relies on every day, only under the watchful eyes of judges and peers instead of customers. The International Roadeo, hosted by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), gathers winners from state Roadeos and from Canada and puts the competitors through a series of events that challenges the skills they use every day. Think of it as Top Gun for operators. This year, according to APTA, 78 operators and 153 mechanics took part May 15-19 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The highlight is the obstacle course, featuring 11 tests drawn from everyday situations operators experience, including simulated customer stops. The Serpentine measures how well competitors negotiate tight turns, deducting points for shifting into reverse or touching the cones that mark the course. The Right Turn requires operators to make a 90-degree turn around a corner marked by cones, with the right rear tire of the bus passing within six inches of the corner cone. Carpio finds the obstacle course exhilarating. “When you do obstacles, right turns, go out between the drum barrels, serpentine course, get your eyes moving on all surroundings when you do the Roadeo … I feel amazing and I feel good. I like it.” Even though Carpio has competed several times before, he still gets nervous. “You have got people watching you. And a little mistake you do, a little mistake is going to mess you up,” he said. “If you start the course, do something wrong, and keep in your mind you did something wrong, you mess it up in the next one.” Carpio, 50, originally from Peru, moved to the U.S. in 1997, going from New Jersey to California before landing in Connecticut, earning his commercial

driver’s license in 2000 and working as an operator in the Greater Hartford District before joining CTtransit in 2007. “Before that, I was working in a factory. I got my CDL, and that’s when I decided, why not be a driver? I was seeing drivers, saying, ‘That’s not too bad.’” Over the course of his operator career, what Carpio decided was “not so bad” has turned out to be pretty darn good. Blendi Nako, CTtransit’s Superintendent of Transportation, says Carpio is great to work with. “He is very nice, very nice to us, to passengers, to his co-workers, and he has been accident-free for a long time.” Nako has been able to observe Carpio’s operator skills not just in the workday context but has also served as a volunteer judge for the Roadeo for several years. “His skills are unbelievable,” said Nako. “He’s a safe driver, a good person. I cannot say enough good words.” Nako marvels at Carpio’s ability to navigate the serpentine course in particular. “The cones are positioned in a way that is very hard. It takes, like, a sixth sense to feel it, going around these obstacles,” he said. But it’s not just that Carpio is a skilled operator, says Nako. He also works hard. “It takes talent, it takes work, and that’s a combination,” he said. “It’s not just talent, per se, but you work hard. It takes a lot of work…. I’ve seen him working a lot, practicing a lot, weekends before the actual competition.” For Carpio, it’s because the competition is a rush. That’s why, even after all these years, and after so many Roadeos he’s lost count, he keeps coming back. In a world where operators compete, everybody wins. That’s because the competition builds skill, pride, community, and vital safety practices. Operators and customers alike benefit from the art of competition and perfecting skills behind the wheel. “I feel amazing, that’s what I do,” Carpio said. “I feel amazing.”

BEYOND TRANSPORTATION:

CTtransit’s Role in Honoring Connecticut Veterans Honor Flight Connecticut co-founder Dan Sparks loves hearing the stories of the veterans as they gather for his organization’s twice-annual flights to Washington, D.C., to tour war memorials in the U.S. capital. For veterans participating in Honor Flight, the day of sharing stories begins aboard a CTtransit bus. “All day long, when we’re on the buses, the planes, we’re urging them to share, talk to us, tell us your stories,” Sparks said. The vehicle used to connect is a powerful tool. The iconic blue buses are the first ride to a public sendoff at Bradley International Airport designed to give veterans the recognition many never received when they returned home from war. CTtransit buses serve communities across the state of Connecticut, moving more than 24 million people every year. But when Honor Flight rolled around this May, those 67 veterans reminded the team that some trips carry more than customers. PAGE 20

Many participating veterans require mobility support or no longer drive long distances. By handling the airport transfers, CTtransit removes a major barrier and allows veterans and guardians to focus entirely on the experience. When transportation is seamless, the day of honor and gratitude can flow smoothly, and that makes a difference. “CTtransit has been fantastic partners right from the get-go,” said Sparks. “CTtransit buses us in, VIP-style via procession with Patriot Guard motorcycles, local and state fire departments, state police. It’s just awesome.” Honor Flight Connecticut trusts CTtransit to make it happen, thanks to the incredible team dedicated to providing excellent service. CTtransit’s Admir Shurdho, Transportation Supervisor, attends every Honor Flight Connecticut event. Shurdho, whose grandfather was a veteran in World War II, said the partnership resonates deeply within CTtransit’s workforce, which includes many veterans among its operations, administration, and maintenance staff.

“We have so many operators here that are veterans,” he said. “So we try to help our vets.” For the CTtransit team, it goes beyond a work assignment. The people behind the wheel involved feel truly connected to the mission of Honor Flight.

A small population of them survived, were airlifted out, and eventually came to America; nine were on this spring’s flight. In Washington, they found the Laotian Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery.

It all comes together during the send-off ceremony, where emotion and gratitude fill the air at Bradley International Airport. Our veterans step off CTtransit buses and receive a welcome home that can only be described as awe-inspiring.

“As it turns out, one of the Laotian Hmongs that was on our flight, his daughter planted a tree at that memorial when it was dedicated in 1997,” said Sparks. “At the time, it was a small little sapling, and now it’s a big, mature tree that was dedicated in their honor.”

For Sparks, it’s a crucial send-off and homecoming that many of them never received for their service.

The American public today does a better job in general of thanking those who serve, said Sparks, but that wasn’t always the case.

At the most recent Honor Flight trip, the group consisted of five Korean War and 62 Vietnam War veterans. Sparks makes it a point to celebrate all branches in attendance, including a rather historic addition this time around. This year, the group included, for the first time, Hmong Laotian SGUs, or special guerrilla units. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy initiated a program to train Laotian soldiers, through the CIA, to help disrupt North Vietnamese war efforts.

“They deserve more than they ever asked for, more than they ever expected. And they didn’t get it,” said Sparks, who founded the organization (one of 130 regional hubs of a national group) in May 2019 with his father, Matt. “That’s why we do what we do. These guys and gals need their day of honor, and we’re the ones who are going to give it to them, and we take it very seriously.”

As long as Honor Flight Connecticut takes the trip to About 35,000 Hmong Laotians served, noted Sparks, D.C., CTtransit will be there to open the doors and give with about half of them dying either in battle or helping our special guests a ride. to rescue downed U.S. pilots, with many of the survivors tortured in POW camps for helping the Americans. Honor Flight participants seated aboard a CTtransit bus to embark on their journey.

WATCH THE HONOR FLIGHT VIDEO HERE

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VIRTUAL ROADS, REAL SKILLS:

Inside CTtransit’s New Bus Simulator How do you train a professional operator for the unexpected? You cannot safely recreate black ice, a distracted motorist, a sudden pedestrian crossing, or a customer emergency on a public roadway. Yet every operator must be ready for all of them. For years, those experiences could be gained only over time. CTtransit’s new bus simulator is changing that, allowing operators to build confidence and critical decision-making skills in a safe, controlled environment before they encounter these challenges in the real world. Our Safety and Training (S&T) team members can tell you everything you need to know about the simulator, the latest addition to CTtransit’s training academy. “CTtransit’s simulator may look like a driving game, but it is much more than that,” Director of S&T Laura Williams said. “It is an advanced training tool that combines realistic vehicle dynamics, interactive traffic environments, emergency response scenarios and instructor analytics to prepare operators for the challenges of operating safely in today’s complex transportation environment.” To our S&T team, every great operator starts with a strong foundation of training and a commitment to safety. The simulator ensures exactly that, giving our workforce modern tools to build those foundations. PAGE 24

The bus simulator in the CTtransit New Haven Division.

This technology can prepare operators for incidents like severe weather, road rage, medical emergencies, or mechanical failures that cannot be safely recreated in live traffic. The simulator allows us to expose operators to these critical situations in a controlled environment. Operator Trainer Robert Benton agrees the simulator offers a new approach to training for the moments that are difficult to recreate.

A LEAD program participant tries the bus simulator during a June visit.

“We can build scenes that can look exactly like what operators deal with on the streets,” Benton said. “Like pedestrians crossing the street and animals running into the road.” Every day, thousands of people trust CTtransit operators to get them where they need to go safely. Our operators have people’s lives in their hands, and we do not take that lightly. This training technology is an investment in the successful careers of our operators and the safety of our customers. For new operators, the simulator removes one of the greatest pressures of learning to drive a 40-foot vehicle. Mistakes become lessons instead of accidents. Technology gives trainees room to make mistakes and build confidence in a safe environment, easing stress before they transition to the road.

The simulator does not only demonstrate complex real-world scenarios. It also collects detailed data for the S&T department to evaluate. The simulator collects metrics such as speed, braking, acceleration, steering inputs, reaction time, mirror checks, and traffic law compliance. Under these conditions, skill-building becomes far more individualized and granular. Along with a deeper look into trainee performance, the simulator offers a consistency that is nearly impossible on the road, setting benchmarks and giving every trainee the same foundation.

Most customers will never know the simulator exists. They will experience an operator who remains calm when traffic suddenly changes, who reacts instinctively during severe weather, or who safely avoids an unexpected hazard. Those split-second decisions begin long before an operator ever welcomes their first customer aboard. The roads our operators travel on will always hold surprises. The simulator makes sure the people behind the wheel are ready for them.

To foster excitement and participation across the organization, the S&T team has hosted several open house events where employees from all departments are invited to try the simulator. Even members of senior management have been impressed by the realism of the device. Kevin Melendez, Assistant General Manager of Administration, was among the open house participants. With experience as a professional operator early in his transit career, Melendez was not sure what to expect but wanted to see how his skills held up. “The simulator feels almost identical to how it feels to move a bus,” Melendez said. “It takes some getting used to, but I can see it being a great tool to help us improve our training.” The industry is changing, with new technology entering the field to improve the customer experience. “CTtransit is proud to be among the agencies embracing this advanced technology and incorporating it into an already comprehensive training academy,” said S&T Superintendent Teaun Winton. “This investment demonstrates our ongoing commitment to safety, innovation, and providing our operators with industry-leading training that prepares them for the challenges of today’s transit environment.”

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Team member using the bus simulator.

One of the many benefits of taking public transit is being able to take your mind off the road and let the operator do the driving. But even if you’re not thinking too much about the route and where it stops, rest assured that a lot of people have put a lot of thought into getting you where you want to go.

FROM IDEA TO IMPLEMENTATION: The Ins and Outs of Service Planning

How exactly does a route come into service? How does CTtransit decide when to launch a new route or discontinue one? How does the authority know when to increase the number of trips or extend the hours of service? Brian McLaughlin, Director of Service Planning, says CTtransit monitors several key performance indicators (KPIs) to make sure services are operating effectively, including on-time performance, passengers per hour and load factor. “If a route is falling short of expectations in one or more of these regards, we study the situation in more detail to determine how that service might be improved,” he said.

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Scott Willis, Assistant General Manager of Planning and Scheduling, notes the KPIs like ridership and peak passenger loads help maintain service quality and reliability. “If ridership is rising and/or we’re seeing buses at capacity we will consider increasing service,” Willis told CTpulse. “Likewise if ridership is falling we may reduce service. If on-time performance of a route or even certain trips is starting to slip, we will closely evaluate the running times and adjust service usually by adding some running time to the trips.” Service changes are driven by data and real-world conditions, including ridership trends, on-time performance, traffic congestion and new economic development. Customer feedback is also considered, said Barry Diggs, Director of Planning and Scheduling, because CTtransit belongs to its customers. Diggs pointed to a major infrastructure project in downtown New Haven as the kind of work that CTtransit considers in order to make sure customers are still being served properly. This project aims to reduce the number of vehicle lanes on some streets to make them more pedestrian and bike-friendly. Bus operators are also a valuable source of information into how demand and traffic patterns change, said Diggs. “It takes teamwork across many of our departments,” he said. Planning usually leads the design process, but everyone has a role to play, he said, including operators, dispatch, maintenance, and customer service. Diggs said he can look at data on a computer, but numbers don’t always tell the whole story. “I can see that maybe buses are being hung up between two time points on a particular route, but it’s not telling me the full story,” he said. “It takes that operator to come in and say, ‘Hey, you know, this is really getting hung up at three o’clock every day because a bunch of parents are picking up their kids and this after-school program.’ It takes a village to make the stuff happen.”

Brian McLaughlin, Director of Service Planning, at his desk in Hartford’s Union Station.

It’s why planning and division managers regularly meet with operators to talk about what they’re seeing on the street that might not be showing up in the data, he said. News reports are also helpful, said McLaughlin. “Monitoring the news media is also a major source of information for us, helping us to stay abreast of what’s happening in each of the 79 cities and towns we serve,” he said. For an entirely new route, it’s easy enough to determine that a new destination (say, a new retail center, or school, or residential subdivision) will need service. One example of a destination driving service, pointed out Willis, is the large Amazon distribution center in Windsor. With the destination in mind, CTtransit works backward from there, using traffic patterns to help determine where stops will go, at an industry standard of one per quarter-mile. But there’s a caveat: other than on state roads, CTtransit doesn’t have jurisdiction over the areas where it thinks a bus stop should go, and it has to work with the municipality that does. The main driver in designing a new route is passenger potential, said Willis. “Will the new route generate ridership is the question we’re answering when designing the route,” he said. “Will customers find it’s easier to use the bus than their car, or at least more affordable? We want bus stops that are close to trip generators, but not spaced too closely.”

New routes and modifications to existing routes can come from a few sources, said Willis. “Sometimes it’s a customer or municipal request that kicks off the analysis process that leads to a new route or adjustment of an existing route,” he said. “We also monitor the service area for new ‘trip generators’ such as new housing complexes, businesses such as distribution facilities, schools, and so forth.” There are also periodic studies conducted in partnership with the state Department of Transportation and local government councils to evaluate potential new transit services for specific areas or purposes. In addition, agencies sometimes undertake a Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA), a process in which all routes are thoroughly reviewed and scrutinized, as Willis described it. But reducing or eliminating service is not as simple as crunching the numbers; after all, if a route has only 10 passengers per revenue-hour, those are 10 real people an hour who need the service to get to school, to work, to the grocery store, as well as many others in the area who might need to use the service from time to time. “I have a route here in New Haven where we get four riders a month,” said Diggs with a chuckle. “We can buy them all Mercedes-Benzes, the highest quality, and it’ll cost less than what it is to actually run that service.” Right now, CTtransit is working on a major project, upgrading two park and ride lots in Manchester, on Buckland Street and Spencer Street. The Spencer Street park and ride is being completely reconstructed with sidewalks, crosswalks, shelters and heating, among other amenities. McLaughlin is especially proud of the work happening at Buckland Street, which he said is being transformed into a new suburban transit hub, with two 160-foot bus boarding platforms equipped with many of the same amenities that CTfastrak stations have. “The new hub at Buckland will be truly transformative and will serve as the catalyst to reimagine bus service in Hartford’s eastern suburbs,” he said. PAGE 30

Beyond that, there are about a dozen projects being undertaken to improve service, including a study of the statewide express bus service, a transportation study in the “virtual transit desert” of the Cheshire transit park, and a potential crosstown service for New Haven. While there are many factors that go into the creation, elimination and adjustment of service, there’s just one goal, said Diggs: to always provide reliable, efficient, and customer-focused transportation. “We want to make sure that we’re getting folks to where they need to be.” And no service request is too small. McLaughlin recalls one all the way back in 1998 from a senior citizen in Wethersfield who was finding it difficult to walk uphill back home after grocery shopping and wanted to know if the closest bus route could include her apartment complex at The Village, off the Berlin Turnpike. McLaughlin spent a lot time trying to see if it was feasible, but a host of factors meant it wasn’t. It was hard breaking the news to her, he said, but she was very understanding. “A week or so later, I received a card in the mail. It was a note from Joyce thanking me for trying so hard to help her and that even though in the end I couldn’t, she was grateful for my efforts,” he said. “That note literally brought a tear to my eye. I still have that note stashed away at home. I never forgot Joyce.” Indeed he didn’t. Sixteen years later he was tasked with extending a feeder route to the soon-to-beimplemented CTfastrak, and he “immediately thought of Joyce.” He drew up a quick concept schedule that extended the proposed route, today known as Route 144, up the Berlin Turnpike and across Jordan Lane, finally establishing a bus stop at Wethersfield. For safety reasons, though, a bus stop wasn’t possible on the other side of the street. Until last year, when McLaughlin learned of a repair project for the overpass that carries US 5 over the Berlin Turnpike. As part of the project, a sidewalk, crosswalk and new bus cutouts will be built on either side of the road at The Village. “Almost 30 years after Joyce first reached out to me, her neighbors will finally have that bus stop!” he said.

Transit on the Move is a dynamic interview series spotlighting transportation leaders as they share insights and innovations on the road ahead for our evolving transit landscape. Here we have an excerpt from an interview with South Central Regional Mobility Manager Laurie McElwee conducted by Multimedia Manager Isabelle Brown.

IB:

Before working in mobility management, your background included nonprofit development and community engagement. How have those experiences influenced the way you approach your work today?

We may take for granted that people can comprehend an application for transportation, or that they know how to write, or that it’s in a language they can understand. So it’s my job if I can’t help them to find out who can. If I know I’m working for people that need me and have very little choices or options, I’m going to work that much harder.

To Read the Full Interview Scan This Code

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LM:

River Valley Transit Executive Director Joe Comerford with South Central Regional Mobility Manager Laurie McElwee.

TEAMWORK UNDER PRESSURE:

How five CTtransit employees worked together to help save an unresponsive customer For a group of Stamford operators and supervisors, a recent routine shift turned into one that was anything but, and their teamwork helped save a customer in distress. Angella Burton was finishing up her operator shift just after noon on Friday, May 29, pulling into the Stamford Transportation Center and preparing to hand her bus over to the relief operator, when she was approached by a young customer, about nine years old. “He came up to me and he said, ‘Driver, I think something’s going on with that gentleman right there.’” When Burton approached the customer, his mouth was open and he wasn’t moving. While operators regularly have customers who fall asleep on the bus, she could sense this was something different, and she called for another operator, Maurice Spearman, for help. “I knew I could rely on him,” she said. “He said, ‘What’s going on?’ I said, ‘I think that guy’s dead.’”

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Spearman checked the man’s vitals and then called another operator, Cassandra Augustin, who he knew had medical training. When Augustin, who used to work at Greenwich Hospital as a cardiac monitor technician, arrived on the bus she tried to take the man’s pulse but couldn’t find one. Burton picked up her radio to call Stamford dispatch (Sinngride Bel-Jean was on duty) but hesitated, unsure of what to tell them. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before; she wasn’t even sure there was a code to alert dispatch as to what had happened. “I can’t go on the radio and say somebody’s dead on the bus. I have to have a code,” she said. Road Supervisor Mohammed Elbahr was alerted. He let Bel-Jean know what was happening, and she in turn called 911. Through Augustin’s training and instructions from the 911 operator, the crew moved the man to the floor of the bus and Spearman started performing CPR immediately, with the 911 operator counting the rhythm over the radio. Bel-Jean said training for emergency situations prepares people to react, up to a point. “Talking about it versus actually experiencing it is just two different things,” she said. She herself has taken CPR training but couldn’t imagine ever needing to use it. “Now I know anything can happen.”

Spearman said it was like something out of a scene from HBO medical drama “The Pitt,” but he had a more personal motivation: a few years ago, his mother died, and he wishes someone had been around to help her. “I would have wanted someone to revive her, given the chance if they had to,” he said. So the operators continued CPR. Still there was no response from the customer. “911 said, ‘Keep going, just don’t stop, keep going, pump it, pump it,’” said Burton. Augustin had no idea whether they’d have any effect. “We didn’t know how long he wasn’t breathing for,” she said. “There was no up and down on his chest, his mouth was open, he wasn’t gasping for air. I really thought he was gone.” They continued for several minutes until police and an ambulance arrived, spurred in part by Elbahr, who had dashed into the transportation center to get help from MTA police. The ambulance crew took over, but Burton thought the man was gone. “I was just crying. I was like, ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe this guy just died like that.’ It was just a sad moment, it was emotional,” she said.

The whole situation was intense, said Elbahr. “We’d never had a situation like that, but everybody did what they were supposed to do,” he said. “It was a good story for everybody. We were all so proud of what we did as a team.” Stamford Division Manager Andrew Miranda praised the team’s actions, from operator to dispatch to supervisor, as “outstanding.” “Their quick actions, including performing life-saving CPR on the customer, demonstrated professionalism, teamwork, and a strong commitment to the safety and well-being of those we serve,” he said. “I am proud of everyone involved and their efforts during this emergency.” Augustin credited Spearman’s chest compressions with making a difference. “Thank god Maurice was able to pump his heart,” she said. “He got the blood to continue to circulate until the ambulance came.” But Spearman noted it was a complete team effort. “There’s no singular hero here,” he said. “Everybody’s the hero here.”

It was only later the CTtransit team got word that the man had been revived. Burton said the unexpected news started her crying all over again, this time out of relief and happiness. “We just couldn’t believe it, but we were obviously excited, like ‘oh my god, at least we did something,’” she said. Spearman said they were told that without the chest compressions performed by the CTtransit team, the man likely wouldn’t have made it. “To be honest, I’ve done a lot of wrong things in my life, and just to say that I did one thing that could change and affect somebody’s life was spectacular for me,” he said. “It was a really good feeling for me.”

CPR saves lives. Be prepared to make a difference when every second counts. Become CPR and First Aid certified today through the American Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class

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Congratulations to our Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) Master Technician certified maintenance employees!

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In celebration of Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, CTtransit launched the “Strengthening Communities Together” campaign. This campaign aimed to highlight the people, businesses, and diverse cultures that enrich the communities that we serve. Transit creates opportunity and connection, and that is what this campaign set out to highlight. By encouraging customers to ride CTtransit to local AANHPIowned businesses, we contribute to Connecticut’s diverse cultural and economic landscape. Transit goes beyond connecting bus stops. The roads that connect us are alive with stories, and we are proud to help to tell them.

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EVERYTHING IT’S QUACKED UP TO BE

Marisol Rodriguez’s Story Sometimes a career in transit is everything it’s quacked up to be. For Transportation Supervisor Marisol Rodriguez, each day on the job provides an opportunity to connect to what’s truly important. Fourteen years into her career at CTtransit, Rodriguez is known for her empathy, kindness, and above all, her love for animals. On the morning of Saturday, May 16, when a family of ducks cried for help, thankfully Rodriguez was nearby to come to the rescue. “I got to Kane Street and there was a gentleman that told me a mother duck kept quacking,” Rodriguez said. “She was pacing back and forth, and her babies were down in the drain.” Rodriguez immediately began to help. “I went to see if I could lift the drain cover, but that wasn’t going to work. So I ended up calling 911 myself.” A safe and successful rescue mission was priority No. 1. Rodriguez instructed the police to have the fire department arrive on the scene, and they were there in no time. “They were all into it,” she said with a smile. “They got all the equipment and saved them one by one.”

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A person’s empathy for Earth’s littlest creatures says a lot about them. While the rescue mission was a success, it is not even close to Rodriguez’s only wildlife encounter on the road with CTtransit. Among other successful rescues are stories of turtles, rabbits, raccoons, possums, birds, dogs, and more. With a responsibility to supervise our roadways for the safety of operators and customers, why does Rodriguez stop to help animals? “We are all connected,” she said. “No matter how small, all lives matter.” As Rodriguez tells this story in a late-June heat wave, she thinks of how many animals she continues to help. “The next three days is going to be 100 degrees. My water will be on for the birds and even the pigeons.” Rodriguez’s heart has room for all, and her co-workers know it well. According to her, after hearing of the rescue, the reaction of her fellow supervisors was: “Yeah, that would be Marisol.” “We care,” Rodriguez said of the CTtransit team. “Our main purpose is about serving. It’s not just about the passengers.”

Rodriguez does not see moments like this as a distraction or an inconvenience. She is grateful for every moment that allows her to enjoy or better the natural world around her. “It’s a peace within,” she said. “It makes me feel like along with all the work that I do, I got to do something extra that made my day.” Her perspective is one of soft kindness. Our world needs kindhearted people like Rodriguez. For CTtransit to have her patrolling our roads and routes, we have a strong and meaningful connection to nature that only strengthens our level of service. This connection also relies on Rodriguez’s skill in slowing down and noticing things. Rodriguez leaves her fellow CTtransit co-workers with this message: “Slow it down. I know you need to go from A to B and get everybody, but by slowing it down, you might be able to prevent a situation.” Thanks to Transportation Supervisor Marisol Rodriguez, one family of ducks continued its journey that day. More important, she reminded us that the roads connecting our communities also connect us to one another, and to every life that shares them.

This June, in commemoration of Juneteenth, we launched “Facts Behind Freedom,” a thought-provoking campaign designed to uncover the lesser-known history of Emancipation Day. From the symbolism of the Juneteenth flag to the legacy of “The Scatter” and the deep cultural roots of traditional foods, we highlighted the essential truths that standard history books often overlook. Through these insightful revelations of heritage, storytelling, and resilience, we aim to inspire a more profound reflection on the enduring legacy of Black community and freedom.

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TESTIMONIALS:

REAL VOICES THAT INSPIRE US

Customer wants to put in a commendation for the driver of the 204M departing downtown at 4PM. He is very respectful and courteous to the seniors who ride his bus. She says he should get “Driver of the Year.”

“

Passenger called to report his operator for great customer service. Passenger reports she is kind, helpful, and patient, and always a great help with getting him to work.

“

It’s a great career!!!! First hand experience my years there 1976 to 1986!!!! Then on to Bonanza Bus/Peter Pan for the next 35 Years!!!! No regrets! - Bill Leonard

Awesome job Operator. Keep up the kindness. It’s always a blessing to be recognized for good deeds. The company should appreciate drivers like this. - Mary Santoro

I am writing to compliment the driver of the last 912 morning bus from Simsbury’s Winslow Place into Hartford’s Central Row. Despite a lot of construction and traffic into the city, he manages to stay right on time with the last pick-up at 8:14 AM, arriving in Hartford by 8:45 AM — which lets me be at my desk well ahead of my 9 AM meetings. The driver is professional and drives very well, too. Kudos to this bus driver and thank you for his great service!

“

C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S

MARCH SAFETY WINNERS

NEW HAVEN

STAMFORD

Willodene Allen #613 - 18 years accident-free Juliana Januario #105 - 8 years accident-free Divine Fields #6039 - 5 years accident-free Vyacheslav Berkhin #6054 - 4 years accident-free Mose C. Smith III #6072 - 4 years accident-free Abdelhak Bounouar #6140 - 2 years accident-free Eric Sutton #6145 - 2 years accident-free Elvis Villegas #6200 - 1 year accident-free Jason Kent #6208 - 1 year accident-free

Ivan Martinez #2152 - 9 years accident-free Manuel Moyano #2153 - 9 years accident-free Gillian Bailey #1934 - 5 years accident-free Terry Fogle #2104 - 5 years accident-free Erick Salomon #2105 - 4 years accident-free Wadner Dorceus #8024 - 4 years accident-free Chever Bruno #8022 - 3 years accident-free Carlo Rene #8023 - 2 years accident-free

HARTFORD David Leak #11456 - 31 years accident-free Miguel Vasquez #11517 - 31 years accident-free Chris Popalardo #11630 - 25 years accident-free Julio Abreu #11682 - 25 years accident-free Juan Rodriguez #11617 - 22 years accident-free Dyniel Sims #11789 - 21 years accident-free Llewellyn Anderson #11747 - 20 years accident-free Sokol Zogu #11824 - 18 years accident-free Calvin Henry #11836 - 18 years accident-free Dwaine Blake #11874 - 15 years accident-free Lydia Medina #13027 - 15 years accident-free Aaron Baker #11899 - 13 years accident-free Angel Santana #13067 - 13 years accident-free Gerri Hamilton #13099 - 11 years accident-free Andrew Ferron #13201 - 11 years accident-free Nikkita Oyola #13231 - 11 years accident-free Daniel Gonzalez #13228 - 10 years accident-free Alecia Kidd #13213 - 9 years accident-free Jamar White #13220 - 9 years accident-free

Alan Goscicki #13266 - 9 years accident-free Prince McLean #13059 - 8 years accident-free Jasmin Rivera #13167 - 8 years accident-free Jamal Clark #13178 - 8 years accident-free Derick Purefoy #13302 - 8 years accident-free Yalonda Yearwood James #13127 - 7 years accident-free Naser Bela #13404 - 6 years accident-free Jean Delices #13401 - 5 years accident-free George Campbell #13383 - 4 years accident-free Elizabeth Garcia #13509 - 3 years accident-free Komlavi Ekpahli #13511 - 3 years accident-free Jeton Serani #13513 - 3 years accident-free Jessica Hidalgo #13530 - 3 years accident-free Donovan Moo #13546 - 2 years accident-free Kaydean Geddes #13553 - 1 year accident-free Floid Fearon #13591 - 1 year accident-free Jose Hiraldo #13598 - 1 year accident-free Jones Mongerard #13621 - 1 year accident-free James McMillian #13625 - 1 year accident-free

***To ensure our valued team members are recognized for their achievements, the months featured may not align with the magazine date.*** PAGE 50

C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S

APRIL SAFETY WINNERS

NEW HAVEN Thomas Reed #633 - 21 years accident-free Noureddine Dahbi #133 - 9 years accident-free Juan Salvatierra #645 - 8 years accident-free Abu-Bakarr Lahun #788 - 8 years accident-free Kicha Lopez #128 - 7 years accident-free April Riley #6018 - 5 years accident-free Latisha Johnson #6025 - 5 years accident-free Alexander Luiciano-Pagan #6111 - 3 years accident-free Emmanuel Almonte #6153 - 2 years accident-free Niesha Pagan #6146 - 1 year accident-free Dave McPherson #6178 - 1 year accident-free Jason Edwards #6216 - 1 year accident-free Roan Bell Jr. #6217 - 1 year accident-free Spyros Cope #6218 - 1 year accident-free Ashraf Mohamed #6219 - 1 year accident-free

HARTFORD Iew Sirisavath #11671 - 27 years accident-free Orrin Wilson #11652 - 25 years accident-free Rosalinda Ortiz #11679 - 24 years accident-free Carlos Ortega #11852 - 20 years accident-free Loida Fernandez #11845 - 18 years accident-free Jennifer Medina #13035 - 15 years accident-free Julio Oregon #11863 - 15 years accident-free Eugene Dvorkin #13031 - 14 years accident-free Benjamin Sparks #13117 - 12 years accident-free Javier Rosado #13171 - 12 years accident-free Altin Minga #11846 - 11 years accident-free Sopheis Harrell #13104 - 11 years accident-free Gina Bouchard #13073 - 11 years accident-free Luan Istrefi #13098 - 10 years accident-free Princess Colon #13196 - 10 years accident-free

Clyde White #13229 - 9 years accident-free Shanelle Maddox #13199 - 9 years accident-free Jovid Holder #13224 - 8 years accident-free Altin Beqiraj #13248 - 8 years accident-free Heather Donegan #13424 - 7 years accident-free Hernan Ayala #13408 - 6 years accident-free Simon St. Martin #13245 - 5 years accident-free Imtiaz Joseph #13519 - 4 years accident-free Veronica Freitas #13517 - 3 years accident-free Tashona Brown #13490 - 3 years accident-free Christopher Medaivilla #13549 - 2 years accident-free Eliandra Volmar-Spaulding #13479 - 2 years accident-free Raimi Seidi #13606 - 1 year accident-free

C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S

MAY SAFETY WINNERS

HARTFORD George Burzynski #11080 - 46 years accident-free Lawrence Campbell #11784 - 21 years accident-free Rafiou Omorou #13227 - 11 years accident-free Stefan Ruco #11879 - 10 years accident-free Lorenc Cenko #13026 - 10 years accident-free Ylber Kurti #13335 - 7 years accident-free Nicole Washington #13181 - 7 years accident-free Raheem Boodha #13384 - 7 years accident-free Timothy Hester #13149 - 6 years accident-free Dache Burt #13327 - 6 years accident-free Maringlen Coko #13394 - 5 years accident-free Victor Malloy #13434 - 5 years accident-free Tyler Soulier #13411 - 4 years accident-free Hasan Young #13562 - 2 years accident-free Angel Bigio #13628 - 1 year accident-free

NEW HAVEN Terrence Pierce #106 - 10 years accident-free Eliot Torollari #110 - 10 years accident-free Astride Jones #117 - 9 years accident-free Cynthia Griffin #137 - 8 years accident-free Richard Ortiz #6003 - 7 years accident-free Braulio Cordova Rolon #6008 - 3 years accident-free Arami Rosario Borrero #6067 - 4 years accident-free Reyna Perez #6099 - 2 years accident-free William Miller #6116 - 2 years accident-free Yndia McFadden #6156 - 1 year accident-free Berthony Roselin #6157 - 2 years accident-free Johanna Colon #6172 - 1 year accident-free Clifford Perkins #6221 - 1 year accident-free Daiana Gonzalez #6224 - 1 year accident-free

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STAMFORD Marc Astwood #8026 - 4 years accident-free Mamadou Diallo #8027 - 1 year accident-free William Sellers #8044 - 1 year accident-free Elie Jerome Elie #8042 - 1 year accident-free Dameon Sibble #6223 - 1 year accident-free

CONTRIBUTORS CONTRIBUTORS THOMAS E. STRINGER JR. THOMAS E. STRINGER JR. Executive Viber / General Manager KEVIN MELENDEZ KEVIN MELENDEZ Vibe Copy Editor / Assistant General Manager

Vibe Copy Editor / Assistant General Manager

GLORIA JENVILLE Guest Viber / Retired Professional Operator

Guest Viber / Administration Executive Assistant

COUNT THE ORBS CTtransit orbs are scattered throughout this magazine. Did you spot them all? The first person to correctly ID how many orbs are hiding wins a prize. Happy searching! Hint: we do not count any orbs depicted in photos. Send your guess to: communications@cttransit.com

VANESSA P. BROOKS, MA Viber-in-Chief / Executive Director of External Affairs

Vanessa is a seasoned leader with extensive experience in marketing, communications, and community engagement. She is dedicated to achieving measurable results and has expertise in customer experience management, public affairs, sponsorship development, and performance leadership across multiple disciplines. She is passionate about promoting sustainable transportation solutions and enhancing the overall transit experience for Hartford and surrounding communities. Vanessa spearheads innovative marketing campaigns, formulates comprehensive communication strategies, and cultivates robust relationships with key stakeholders to support CTtransit’s mission and vision. Vanessa’s academic background includes a Master of Arts in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She is also a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

ISABELLE BROWN Head Vibes Strategist / Multimedia Manager

Isabelle is a 2020 graduate of the University of Hartford with a Bachelor’s in Communication with a double emphasis in Advertising & PR and Media Strategies. She began her professional journey working for a nonprofit organization specializing in paratransit, vanpools, and commuter benefits programs. Her career move to CTtransit shifted her focus from vans to buses. In her work as CTtransit’s Multimedia Manager, Isabelle is responsible for digital communications through our social media platforms and website. Isabelle loves writing, crocheting, exploring nature throughout Connecticut, coffee, and animals.

KENNY FACEY Vibe Views / Videographer / Photographer

Kenny is a proud Jamaican who packed up and moved to the USA to turn his entrepreneurial dreams into reality! By day, he's a passionate cinematographer with nearly five years of experience capturing life’s most memorable moments on film. By night (or whenever the party calls), he's spinning tunes as a DJ with his own wedding company. When not behind the camera or the decks, you’ll find him outside, fishing, playing soccer, and soaking up everything nature has to offer!

LUKA BETSEY

Designer of Vibes / Creative Services & Graphic Designer

Luka is a talented graphic designer and Hartford native who received a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design from Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). Luka has a passion for design and has worked in various work-study roles across several CCSU departments, developing skills in visual communication. Luka's expertise moved to LAZ Parking, where more impactful designs were created. Passionate about aesthetics and storytelling, Luka brings innovation and love to every project. Outside of design, Luka adores Sassy, a 16-year-old cat who has been a beloved companion through the years.

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CRAIG HUNTE

Vibes Specialist / Marketing Specialist

Craig is enrolled at the University of Hartford pursuing a degree in business. He has spent a lot of time working with people, whether helping students as a teacher assistant or as a customer service representative. As vice president of his school’s business club, he helps plan events and connect members with the community. Craig is also big on baseball, hiking, and volunteering, which keep him active, adventurous, and involved with his community.

DANIEL MACEACHERN Scribe of Vibes / Copy Editor and Communications Coordinator

Daniel has joined CTtransit after a nearly 30-year journalism career that took him all over his native Canada. After growing up in the Canadian North, he spent nearly two decades as a reporter and editor at newspapers in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Daniel then joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, producing work for the public broadcaster’s radio, television and digital platforms. He recently moved with his wife to Stamford, where they’ve enjoyed all that Connecticut and the northeastern U.S. have to offer, from restaurants to hiking to Broadway shows and NHL games.

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