GVFHenry

Congresswoman Schwartz

We recently hosted our first event of 2012 focusing on where we are in the legislative process on transportation funding.  This years event focused on where we are in PA and the U.S.

The morning kicked off with a moment of silence for GVF’s recently departed first Executive Director Peter Quinn.   I then welcomed our newest partners from Bergman Associates, Continental Bank, Econsult, KinderCare Gulph Mills, King Limousine, TimHaahs Associates and the Valley Forge Casino.

GVF's newest partners

We then moved onto Jason Wagner the managing director for the Pennsylvania Highway Information Association (PHIA).  Jason focused on PA and where we are or rather where we aren’t with funding transportation funding.  To date the House and Senate have been very active and are trying to develop consensus with Governor Corbett on how to fund transportation moving forward.  Jason was hopeful that the Governor would release his thoughts on how to fund transportation soon as the House and Senate are ready to work with him to move things forward.

Kurt Imhoff, Rob Henry, James Fitzpatrick and Jason Wagner

Next up was the focus on the U.S. and we kicked it off with Kurt Imhoff from Senator Bob Casey’s office.  Kurt discussed the Senator’s involvement with MAP 21, the Senate’s transportation bill, and how things are looking st the Senate is currently debating MAP 21.  Following Kurt was James Fitzptrick from Senator Pat Toomey’s office.  James highlighted the Senator’s focus while stressing the Senator is looking to manage costs in federal programs.

The morning was keynoted by Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz.  The Congresswoman has been a leader on transportation and served on the transportation committee when the current bill was passed.  Congresswoman Schwartz touched on how important the stimulus program was for PA as over $1 Billion dollars was invested in PA.  She also focused on how the region has also benefited from the Tiger program.  At this point the Congresswoman is hopeful that House will develop a bipartisan bill or move to adopt MAP 21 when it comes out of the Senate.   The Congresswoman  stated that she feels we are and will continue to be one of the greatest countries and she remains hopeful that the House can come up wiith a bill that can be supported by both the Senate and the President.

Spring 2012 PPQ Intern Megan Needham

On Tuesday February 28th we hosted our first ever GVF TMA Foundation Reception at Philadelphia Country Club.  By all accounts it was a success and we were able to raise additional funds for our scholarship program.  During the evening we were able to have some great networking with food, cocktails and a terrific cross section of our industry.  I applaud all those who came out to our first annual reception and hope they will be stewards for our future events.  Attendees also had the opportunity to bowl and purchase items from our silent auction.

Bowling at the first GVF TMA Foundation Reception

They were also given the opportunity to meet our current Peter P. Quinn intern Megan Needham who will be receiving a $1,200 scholarship at the end of her internship.  Megan is a Senior at Villanova University graduating in May with a degree in Philosophy.  The reason Megan was interested in pursuing our internship is that she’s contemplating attending law school after college with a focus in either public policy or sustainability.  Megan has also been very active at Villanova and has been a leading force in trying to get the campus to implement a bike share program.  She’s been a terrific intern for GVF and I hope through the exposure we’ve provided her we’ve opened doors and ideas on what she would like to pursue in her future.  Thanks again to all of our great sponsors: Best Western Plus The Inn at King of Prussia, Boles Smyth Associates, ClimeCo, GVF and Unruh Tuner Burke & Frees.   Hopefully we’ll see everyone next year and have others join in on the fun.

Hopefully the title got your attention and if  you haven’t already signed up for our first annual GVF TMA Foundation reception please do now!  Our  reception will be on Tuesday night February 28th from 5:30-8:30 at the Philadelphia Country Club.  This years reception will have bowling, hors D’ouevers, cocktails, networking, a silent auction and fun!  This is an opportunity for you to get have some fun while helping us raise money to support our scholarship program.  To date we have awarded two scholarships and currently have a wonderful student from Villanova University interning with GVF now.

The foundation is also looking to secure funding so that we can raise awareness on the importance of a great infrastructure system in our region.  We all take it for granted but we are also letting it deteriorate.  Our infrastructure keeps our economy humming along, it allows our children to get to school safely, it keeps our husbands and wive’s safe when traveling to work and running errands.  It also allows us to travel freely throughout our wonderful country and generates significant dollars when others visit our wonderful towns.

We have some great people registered for the reception and we have some terrific sponsors such as, Boles Smyth Associates Inc., Unruh, Turner, Burke & Frees, The Best Western Plus the Inn at King of Prussia and GVF.  To register visit the GVF TMA Foundation website at www.gvftmafoundation.org  Thanks and I’m looking forward to see you there!

The New 2012 Upper Merion Rambler

When I started at GVF in 1999 we ran a few shuttle’s but we were really just starting to cut our teeth in the business.  Today I was looking through some old shuttle pictures and going over ridership numbers and I was impressed with how much we’ve grown.  Over the years we’ve managed shuttles for fortune 500 companies, Universities, local government, business improvement districts, the national park service and the largest mall in the United States.  We’ve also been a contractor with the Federal Transit Administration and the Department of Interior.

King of Prussia Mall Shuttle

We’re still managing many of those types of shuttles today but now we are experts in the field as our shuttles have carried over 725,000 riders.  This number is probably higher but some of older data has been lost.  We’ve also developed the ability design wraps for the shuttles and maximize efficiencies through GIS and years of experience.  Our Rambler system is now in it’s thirteenth year of service, the Cruise Line service has been running for over ten years, the Montgomery County Community Shuttle system just passed 10,000 riders and we’re preparing to bring back the visitor shuttle for Valley Forge Park.  The evolution of GVF’s shuttle systems have also had a profound impact on our environment as these shuttles have saved many pounds of CO2 emissions.

If you think your employer or local community is interested in a shuttle system please let us know as this is what we do extremely well.

D.C. Metro Station

I just returned from a trip to Washington D.C. where I participated at the ACT National legislative summit.  Since that trip many things have changed and yet nothing has really changed.  When we were in D.C. I met with staff from Senator Casey, Representative Gerlach, Meehan and Schwartz’s office.  While at our local offices we advocated for increasing the transit benefit to $200 and lowering the parking benefit to $200 from $240.  At the end of the 2011 the transit benefit was reduced from $230 to $120 and the parking benefit was increased from $230 to $240.  This was baffling to many and while we understand the concerns for balancing the federal budget we do have a solution.  ACT has worked with our colleagues in D.C. and if we increase the transit benefit to $200 and decrease the parking benefit to $200 then it becomes revenue neutral.  ACT is still awaiting a response on the tax extender bill but we’re hopeful that we can get this included and have parity back in place later this year.

While in D.C. we also advocated for a new transportation bill with the both the House and Senate.  I was able to participate in a meeting with EPW staff from Senator Boxer and Senator Inhofe’s office to dicuss MAP 21, the Senate bill, and in particular having employers engaged in the planning process.  Our idea’s were well received but we’re still a long way from consensus.  Since my D.C. trip the House has released their proposed bill and it has met with stiff opposition.  As of today APTA, AASHTO, the U.S. Chamber, ACTand many others have come out against the bill.  While the term looks great the details are not as rosy.   The Senate’s bill’s details look a little brighter but it’s only a two year bill.  Yesterday President Obama introduced his 2013 budget and transportation was one of the major priorities.  He asked for increased spending at levels that everyone in the industry was very pleased about.  On a positive note transportation funding is getting increasing attention, however the various bills are so far apart it will be difficult to come to consensus.

Capital Bike Share

The process can be very frustrating as we currently have a lot of debate and unfortunately our roads and bridges continue to crumble.  We’re also seeing our transit agencies struggling to survive while ridership and demand for their systems continue to increase. If we are going to continue to be an economic superpower we need to invest in our system today, not tomorrow.  Thankfully many public private partnerships are helping to keep things moving but they can only do so much.  One of the great programs in D.C. is the capital bike share program.   When the program started I remember reading  that it would not work and as of today it’s thriving as a model program with over 1,200 bikes available through out the D.C. area.   This is also in interesting parallel to transportation funding as we seem to be paralyzed today by a lack of fortitude to move transportation forward.  I believe we still have the vision but what we need is take the steps necessary to make the vision become reality.