James Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 News Release IMMEDIATE RELEASE Edmonton will search immediately for new Transportation General Manager Edmonton, February 8, 2007 – The City of Edmonton will immediately begin a national search for a new Transportation General Manager, following the resignation of Rick Ducharme for personal reasons. "In his time here, Rick demonstrated tremendous understanding of the growth issues facing Edmonton," said Al Maurer, City General Manager. "His enthusiasm and leadership were appreciated and quickly gained him the respect of Council, his colleagues on the Senior Management Team, as well as his team in Transportation. We wish Rick every success in his future endeavours." "This decision was one of the most difficult of my career," said Mr. Ducharme. "My time here has been nothing but positive – I worked with great people and had bought a house and was looking forward to living here. It's very unfortunate my personal circumstances didn't work out, but I will have fond memories of my time here." Mr. Ducharme came to Edmonton from Toronto at the beginning of October, 2006. *** Talk about sudden shocker.. Too bad.. He seemed a little more interested in Transit than many others. I hope the best for him and hope we get someone with more transit in mind like him or better soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Parsons Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 Talk about sudden shocker.. Too bad.. He seemed a little more interested in Transit than many others. I hope the best for him and hope we get someone with more transit in mind like him or better soon! Damn. I think it's safe to say he was a lot more intersted in transit than many others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted February 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 Damn. I think it's safe to say he was a lot more intersted in transit than many others. your right.. a LOT as he was the former head of ttc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captaintrolley Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 Yeah, I hope we get someone that has a real personal interest in running a transit system, not just in it for the pay cheque. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T6H-5307N Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 One of us could take the job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yrt304 Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 One of us could take the job I'd Like to See Terry Be GM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted February 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 I'd Like to See Terry Be GM Lol this is GM of the whole transportation Department. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captaintrolley Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 I'd Like to See Terry Be GM Hey, I got a fan :angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yrt304 Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Hey, I got a fan :angry: Yep All The Way From Toronto where we need Trolleys anyway back on Topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted February 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Apparently, Richard Ducharme, will still stay on for about 2 more months while a new GM is found then will leave due to family reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captaintrolley Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Yep All The Way From Toronto where we need Trolleys anyway back on Topic OK. Let's start with what I would do as GM. I would take some lightly used excellent quality OH and special work from Innsbruck (where they are converting to electric tramway) and some very smart and good looking OH technicians / installers from Innsbruck, and bring them to Edmonton to bring our OH network up to European Standard. No more shoddy OH/special work. The Epcor trolley crew will be made to watch and take notes. I would also have a separate facility for trolley operations. Nothing elaborate, just efficient and functional. The best trolley operators and EVMs would be working out of this facility. The trolley training would be upgraded. There will be classroom, ride along, driving, more classroom, Q & A, more driving, exams. Very intense stuff. After passing this initial level of trolley training, the rookie would be paired with a trolley ambassador/mentor for a week or so (this would be done on his / her own time). After the rookie has demonstrated TSA approved skill and attitude, he/she will be awarded with a pin and certificate which would be recognized world wide. Also the Routes and Schedules would be revised so that major connections actually work, and service levels are matched up more with the demand at all time periods (ie: 15 minute service on the Route 3 during midday and 30 minutes in the evening/late nights). I would also implement a community shuttle for China Town, the Route 888 ! I would also check into the feasibilty of reconfiguring the Routes 3 & 7 to spread their time more evenly. The Route 7 would do the 124 Street, 118 Avenue, 156 Street portion and the Route 3 would go along 107 Avenue to JPC. The rest would remain the same. This would give the Route 3 more time and take up some of the 20 minute layover that the Route 7 currently experiences. I would also put up signs in the buses that read "Not Responsible For Lost Articles". (And maybe take 'BOB' down). What would you do if you were GM ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Parsons Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 I would take some lightly used excellent quality OH and special work from Innsbruck (where they are converting to electric tramway) and some very smart and good looking OH technicians / installers from Innsbruck, and bring them to Edmonton to bring our OH network up to European Standard. No more shoddy OH/special work. The Epcor trolley crew will be made to watch and take notes. Please don't complain about the EPCOR trolley crew. I believe they are doing they best they can with the resourses they have. I believe any major changes need to be approved from higher up. I don't think the trolley crew can just go out and rebuild a portion of an intersection because they don't think it's right. I believe a forum member (Obe of Bund) talked to them once while they were stringing Rossdale wire and they made a comment they wouldn't be putting the wire up the way they where, except they had been told to, or something to that effect. A few months later a span wire gets snagged by a trolley pole and down comes the traction pole. I wouldn't being special work from Innsbruck. Curve segments and hangers maybe. Special work, no. It's K+M and K+M special work is being removed in Edmonton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T6H-5307N Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 I'd definitly revise the transfer timing. A good transfer only happens when all the routes arive at the same (or close to) the same time. I would instruct the drivers to look and see if any routes are coming in before they leave a transit center. I experienced bad timing twice yesterday. I get off the 41 at Southgate just to see the 33 leaving and have to chase it down a busy street to see if the driver will let me on, then after getting on and making it to WEM, I have to run off the 33 and try to catch the 109, which just happens to be leaving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Marriott Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Simply switching the west end routing of the 3 and 7 would just move the reliability problems over to the 7 from the 3. Now, the best solution would be to give the 3 as it is more time to complete the round trip, but as that is unlikley to happen. I think a solution would be to have the 3 and 7/133 do a different leg on each direction. For west bound trips, the 3 and 7/133 would follow their existing routes. For eastbound trips, the 3 would turn right at 107 Ave and go straight down to Cromdale, while the 7/133 would do the trip up through the NW Ind before heading to downtown and the south side. For this routing, arrival times at Jasper Place would stay the same. The 3 would gain an extra 7 minutes of layover time, as it would now sit at Jasper Place unti 7/37 instead of leaving on the hour and half hour, and the 7 would leave at quater to/quater past instead of 22/52 (and the 133 and route 3 extras would see a similar shift in rush hour). As a result, the 3 would get more layover time, the 7 would lose some and there would be a low cost to ETS (the route 7 would need to have its half hour service extended to matcht the 3's on weekday evenings and Saturday mornings) with a major improvement in reliability. OK. Let's start with what I would do as GM. I would also check into the feasibilty of reconfiguring the Routes 3 & 7 to spread their time more evenly. The Route 7 would do the 124 Street, 118 Avenue, 156 Street portion and the Route 3 would go along 107 Avenue to JPC. The rest would remain the same. This would give the Route 3 more time and take up some of the 20 minute layover that the Route 7 currently experiences. What would you do if you were GM ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captaintrolley Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Please don't complain about the EPCOR trolley crew. I believe they are doing they best they can with the resourses they have. I believe any major changes need to be approved from higher up. I don't think the trolley crew can just go out and rebuild a portion of an intersection because they don't think it's right. I believe a forum member (Obe of Bund) talked to them once while they were stringing Rossdale wire and they made a comment they wouldn't be putting the wire up the way they where, except they had been told to, or something to that effect. A few months later a span wire gets snagged by a trolley pole and down comes the traction pole. That is indeed unfortunate. There should be only one right and proper way to erect and maintain overhead (and that is to high standards with quality workmanship and quality products) and the necessary resources should be made available to those performing this function. There should be no exception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modulator Posted February 14, 2007 Report Share Posted February 14, 2007 Please don't complain about the EPCOR trolley crew. I believe they are doing they best they can with the resourses they have. I believe any major changes need to be approved from higher up. I don't think the trolley crew can just go out and rebuild a portion of an intersection because they don't think it's right. I believe a forum member (Obe of Bund) talked to them once while they were stringing Rossdale wire and they made a comment they wouldn't be putting the wire up the way they where, except they had been told to, or something to that effect. A few months later a span wire gets snagged by a trolley pole and down comes the traction pole. That's because the trolley crew handles "maintenance", but construction replacement is a "capital improvement". Which means it comes out of a different budget and is handled by someone else. What I'm not sure of is whether ETS or Epcor is responsible for designing new installations. I think the design work for the SLRT catenary was done by the city, even though Epcor will be maintaining it and a separate contractor will be installing it... Welcome to Edmonton--where efficiency is spelled with a capital 'e', after it's been approved by six departments with the requisite forms filled out in triplicate after a consultant adds value to the best practices surrounding quality corporate enterprise in the new public management sphere of excellence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captaintrolley Posted February 14, 2007 Report Share Posted February 14, 2007 Welcome to Edmonton--where efficiency is spelled with a capital 'e', after it's been approved by six departments with the requisite forms filled out in triplicate after a consultant adds value to the best practices surrounding quality corporate enterprise in the new public management sphere of excellence. Boils down to the old adage of "Too many cooks spoiling the broth" Or the definition of 'A Camel' which is a horse built by a committee. By the time the six departments get together to approve something and sign triplicate forms, the problem will have gone away or solved itself (which is what they are hoping for). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2020 Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 I hope its not health reasons why he is stepping down. But wouldn't it be interesting if he returned to Toronto to sit on the GTTA board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Walton Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Like a former NDP cabinet minister in Ontario, who quit 2 different portfolios under a cloud, Ducharme is a "recycled resignee". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now