Business View Magazine Apr-2023

134 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 4 Drivers receive training in CPR/First Aid, disability sensitivity, assisting passengers with service animals, communicating with hearing or visually impaired customers, maneuvering and securing mobility devices, and transferring individuals from mobility devices to a seat. “Accessibility is important to us and is one of the reasons that our services are so popular with residents,” Capelle says. Laketran tries to operate all of its buses sustainably through a cost-effective lens. The majority of the Dial-a-Ride fleet vehicles run on propane, which is both cleaner and less expensive to run. Propane costs around 70 cents a gallon compared to $3 a gallon for diesel fuel as of February 2023, according to Capelle. The majority of Laketran’s fixed route fleet – about 60 percent– are electric. Through investment in on-route charging, the buses charge at strategic stops along their routes during the day rather than using traditional depot charging in a garage overnight. On- route charging saves on maintenance and operational costs, as well as the need to purchase additional transit buses. “It’s just more cost- effective than operating electric buses that can only be charged in the garage,” Capelle says. He adds that Laketran began its journey with the electric business in 2016. Transitioning the fleet to electric buses was a progression that took up to five years from securing grant funding and the procurement process, to building the charging infrastructure and manufacturing the buses. Today, Laketran uses all of its electric buses to their fullest potential, operating four of its nine fixed routes daily completely running on electricity. With over 250 employees, Laketran is funded by a 0.5 percent sales tax within the county. That sales tax was increased by .25 percent by a majority vote of county residents in the 2019 election. “It was the latest example of how valuable the county considers this public transit system. Even though the COVID pandemic began a few months later, the increased funds have allowed Laketran to expand over the last three years, with new vehicles, more employees, and added services,” says Capelle. Laketran’s 2021 operating expenses were $23 million with nearly 60 percent of the cost toward labor and benefits. Its recent increase in employees was a result of a targeted campaign to fill its driver and mechanic needs. This was originally difficult given the challenges in the labor market and the demand increase brought on by higher ridership. “We were able to recruit and hire more than 75 new employees in the second half of 2022 alone,” says Capelle. Part of the reason Laketran was able to hire a larger group of drivers was an updated and improved pay structure to attract