Mass Transit - 33

BEST PRACTICES
to address. In the case of a hurricane,
Palm Tran monitors the wind, the rain
and any adverse effects that could affect fixed-route services. Our goal is
to maintain public transit for as long
as possible up until the point in which
conditions deteriorate and we can no
longer do so.
Palm Tran's hurricane policy requires
bus service to be discontinued if winds
reach a sustained level of 39 miles per
hour and/or if emergency operations personnel deem driving conditions unsafe.
In the event of a mandated evacuation,
Palm Tran buses will cease regularly
scheduled service and begin emergency
evacuation from evacuation zones.
All Palm Tran employees are considered to be essential first responders
and need to be prepared physically and
mentally to respond. The utilization of
Everbridge, a mass notification system,
is crucial technology when it comes to
texting, emailing and calling Palm

Tran employees in regard to work and
shelter assignments.
In addition, Everbridge is used to
communicate with the list of more than
10,000 pre-registered individuals listed
as possibly needing transportation.
Palm Tran's paratransit service, Palm
Tran Connection, takes the lead when
an evacuation order is given to transport
special needs residents to shelters that
meet their specific needs. These residents
evacuate between three and five days,
so Palm Tran Connection operators
must be prepared to transport them
along with three to five days of their
belongings to the shelters. Some of the
items brought on board include electrically-dependent medical equipment to
sustain life.
After the storm is where the real
uncertainty begins. Palm Tran will
evaluate the damage to infrastructure
to determine what appropriate actions
are plausible. In these moments, it is im-

portant to be a chameleon and understand the flexibility of what needs to be
done. Our number one resource is our
human capital so Palm Tran will take
inventory of our staff such as totaling
available bus operators and maintenance
technicians to make critical decisions on
how to respond.
In terms of protecting our bus fleet,
Palm Tran parks its buses in several different parts of the county. Palm Tran
is fortunate to have a relationship with
the county which allows it to park its
buses at public parks if needed. We recognize the importance of maintaining
solid relationships on both the county
and state levels. Ultimately, the goal is to
plan for the absolute worst while hoping
for the best. At Palm Tran, our mission
is to provide access to opportunity for
everyone, and our emergency weather
preparation plans ensure that no one
is left behind in a catastrophic weather
emergency.

GLASS SHIELD MULTI-LAYER

PROTECTION
www.Graffiti-Shield.com

L
Numb
ere
d

sW

ith Easy Pee
lP
o

t
in

er
ay

Using our patent pending peel point system, you can quickly
and easily remove each damaged layer to reveal a clean surface.

PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY FROM
* Acid etching
* Sharp object etching
* Wear and tear

* Hard water
* Construction damage
* Common vandalism

For more information, visit www.MassTransitmag.com/11299231

NOVEMBER 2019 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit |

33
http://www.Graffiti-Shield.com http://www.MassTransitmag.com/11299231 http://www.MassTransitmag.com
Mass Transit

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Mass Transit
