SGA Safe Ride Van

Starting on Thursday 9/18, the new SGA Safe Ride Van will start for the academic year.

At this time, the shuttle will run only Thursdays-Saturdays from 10pm-2:30am. This excludes college break and extremely inclement weather.

If you are interested in become a driver, please contact the Fleet Office or Public Safety. If we can recruit more drivers, we will be able to run the service more during the week.

The shuttle will be on a loop system on campus. The van will arrive at its assigned stop every 30 minutes. The stops are:

1. 1837/Mandelle Lot, waiting area at the lamp post near the blue light phone
2. Chapin Rd (for the Rockies & Mary Woolley Hall), waiting area at the PVTA bus stop
3. Gateway Rd (for Brigham & the Library), waiting area at the speed limit sign on right
4. Gateway Rd (for Psych & Ed Building), waiting area at the lamp post
5. Dunlap Place (for the Betty Shabazz Center), waiting area at the blue light phone
6. Equestrian Center Drive (for the Equ Ctr/Lot), waiting area at the blue light phone
7. Park St/Ham/McG Drive (for Ham/McGregor), waiting area at the lamp post on left
8. Lower Lake Rd (for the Art Museum area), waiting area at the PVTA bus stop
9. Lower Lake Rd (for the rear of Blanchard), waiting area at the blue light phone
10. Blanchard Circle (for Mead & Wilder), waiting area at the lamp post on the right
11. Faculty Lane (for Dickinson Hall), waiting area at the blue light phone
12. Gorse Lot Front, waiting area at the blue light phone
13. Gorse Lot Rear, waiting area at the blue light phone
14. *Fleet Parking lot, waiting area at the blue light phone

*The SGA Ride Van does not usually go into the Fleet Vehicle parking lot. However, drivers who are returning fleet vehicles between 10pm-2:30am, can be picked up in this lot by calling Public Safety dispatch, who will radio the van driver to go into this lot on the next circuit.

The Safe Ride Van is for safety purposed for MHC students traveling alone & has limited capacity. If you are going to your final destination in a group, please do not ask for a ride.

Big Y & Mall Shuttle

Do you want to go to the Holyoke Mall to shop? Or do you need to pick up some groceries?

Well, here is your change to head that way!

MHC offers a shuttle every Thursday and Friday during the academic year (excluding breaks). The bus leaves from Blanchard PVTA bus stop and heads to Big Y in town and then to the Holyoke Mall.

The schedule is:

Departing from Blanchard-
4:30pm
6:30pm

Depart Big Y-
5:30pm
7:30pm

Depart Holyoke Mall-
7:05pm
9:05pm

You will need to purchase a ticket to take advantage of this wonderful shuttle. The tickets are $1 and are available at the Blanchard Info Desk.

Community Service

The Community Service shuttle starts on Monday 9/8/2008!

The shuttle runs Monday-Friday, excluding breaks.

The shuttle ONLY goes to South Hadley & Holyoke locations.

The schedule is-

Departure from Blanchard PVTA Bus Stop-
12:15pm
1:15pm
2:15pm
3:15pm
4:15pm

Departure from South Hadley or Holyoke locations-
12:45pm
1:45pm
2:45pm
3:45pm
4:45pm
5:30pm

Its September

Its September and you know what that means......you have to get all of your ducks in a row to be able to drive fleet vehicles for all of your school needs.

So, check with Student Programs regarding the vehicle authorization forms. The org fair is this week, so check with them when you can get your things all set to use the fleet vehicles!

Also, check out the list of fleet orientation classes on the right side to see when you can obtain your fleet "licence". If you want to sign up for one, please contact the fleet office!

Welcome Back!

Yeah! Another academic year is upon us. We are ready to assist you with any fleet matter (and of course if you have any other matters, we can help guide you with that too)!

If you are with a student org, please check with Student Programs to check in to see when the Student Org fair will be held for all of your paperwork needs.

Fleet Orientation classes will be set up VERY shortly and will be posted soon.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Fleet Office at x2826 or email Amanda Florek, the Fleet Coordinator, at aflorek@mtholyoke.edu

Good Luck to everyone for a brand new school year!

2008 Toyota Sienna's

We have two new vehicles in our fleet. They arrived a couple of weeks ago! They are two new brand new Toyota Sienna's (but white, not maroon like the picture below).

When you return to campus, they will waiting for you to use (under fleet rules & regs of course).

Attention Student Organizations

I know its early, but I've already received requests for fall reservations from many different student organizations and I need one piece of paper to make those reservations come true! You know, its not a fairy godmother or anything like that, its so much simpler then that.

What I need is a vehicle authorization form from Student Programs. Student Programs handles the paperwork since they are in-charge of all the stu orgs for the campus. They know all and when I receive that form from them, it is letting the Fleet Office know that your stu org is meeting their standards. That means all financial responsibilities are taken care of along with following the rules and regulations of stu orgs.

So, contact Student Programs to find out when you will be allowed to fill out the form. Usually at the beginning of the year they have a massive meeting with everyone representing their orgs and then the paperwork starts to flow to the Fleet Office. Then we can work on your reservations!

Take me out to the ball game......

The Fleet Office hosted an employee bus trip to see the Red Sox play the Baltimore Oriels on Friday 7/11/2008. The night was a perfect summer evening for a baseball game. The weather was warm with a nice summer breeze flowing through the stadium.

The game was good, even though nothing too exciting happened. There was an almost home run where the ball bounced off the wall back into fair play and a couple of double plays. The Red Sox did end up losing 3-7, but it was nice to be out with my fellow employees for a night of baseball.

Entrance to the park

Before game entertainment

Our seats where under the jumbo-tron

View of the green monster

Thats where all the reporting action takes place

View from our seats during the game

Even Summer Conferences Use Us!

Can you believe it? The summer conference season is in full swing around here. We have many different camps and conference here with us this summer that range from sport clinics to research for adults. Its amazing the groups of people we have around here (along with the normal brilliant employees and students we typically have).

But with all this hard work these conferences do to achieve their goals, they still need down time too. So, the summer groups still use the fleet programs from the sedans all the way up to the buses for field trips all over New England.

Here are some of the locations we have brought our talented visitors to: the Morse Hill Ropes Course, the New England Air Museum, Nomad's Indoor Adventure, day trips to Boston, DAR Beach and the mall. These are just a few locations where we take them for some much needed down time.

So, we are not just an academic department, we are here year round to assist in your field trip needs!

When you think you are above the law!

An off-duty police officer, familiar with radar guns,
drove through a school zone within the legal speed limit
when the flash of a camera went off, taking a picture of
his license plate.

The officer, thinking the radar was in error, drove by again;
even more slowly.  Another flash.  He did it again for a third
time, at an even slower speed.  Same result.

"This guy must have screwed up the settings," the off-duty
officer thought.

A few weeks later, when he received the violations in the mail,
he discovered three traffic tickets:

Each for not wearing a seat belt!

Red Sox Game Reminder

*Reminder* Friday 7/11 Red Sox game vs. Baltimore.

We will be seated in section 37, in select seats between rows 17-19. I will hand out the tickets while you board the bus.

The bus will leave from *Kendall Lot* at 3:30pm. Game time is 7:05pm.

*There are no alcohol beverages allowed on the college bus.*

The bus will park near the ball park on Yawkey Way. Please feel free to leave anything on the bus while it is parked.

The bus will leave from the parking area a 1/2 hour after the game.

Smart Car

Its so tiny and cute, but is it safe? Does it save on fuel? Is it worth it?

According to the smart car website, the new technology is a crash box of sorts that creates a safety force field around the two passengers in the vehicle. It gives a feel of how" a nut is protected by its hard outside shell, the smart fortwo's occupants are protected by a steel housing that combines longitudinal and transverse members that displace impact forces over a large area of the car. So it's not about the amount of steel, but how that material will resist an impact. That's what the tridion safety cell is all about". The "shell" is made up from steel bars in the front and rear bumpers "that are bolted to the safety cell´s longitudinal beams via slip tubes" which help absorb any impact from minor parking lot bumps to major accidents.

With the push to own smaller cars with the ever so rising fuel costs, it does not appear that the smart car is better then a Honda or Toyota on gas mileage. The fuel efficiencies are relatively the same. The push for the smart car is safety. Te company did make a hybrid edition for the 2007 year models, but I believe that was a test of sorts to see if it would sell. No word if they will continue to make a hybrid series.

Maybe some day we will have one in the fleet?

No Swearing in MD

Keep in mind while traveling through Rockville, Maryland, that the streets there are rated G. If you possess a PG-17 vocabulary, take the bypass. Swearing from a vehicle in Rockville is considered a misdemeanor.

Dont' Talk & Drive

Massachusetts is in the process of putting a law through to ban talking/texting on your cell phone while you drive. But, while you are using a fleet vehicle you MAY NOT talk and drive no matter what the law states. If you are caught talking/texting while driving a college vehicle, you will lose your driving privileges.

If you want to check out the individual laws that are in your state so you know what is going on while you are in your personal vehicle, check out Cellphone Laws.

Just keep in mind, even though it may not be a law in your hometown, it is a distraction to talk or text while driving your vehicle. It can be a hazardous condition for those around you while you take your eyes off the road for a second. You never know what you could come across while driving without a sufficient reaction time or even if your car drifts into the on-coming traffic for a second, it can be disastrous.

No Burn-Outs in Kansas

In Derby, Kansas, it is considered a misdemeanor to screech your tires while driving. This abominable act can cost you 30 days in jail.

PVTA

If you need to get to any of the other 5-Colleges, use the PVTA (the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority) bus line. You can check the website to see the routes and times for the bus. The bus does not run during the summer and for some breaks.

They also post regional route maps so if you choose to use the bus to get to MHC for work, check out the website for further information.

The base fares are-

• Adult $1.00 (.90 if purchased at the Customer Service Center)
• Transfer .25 (regular & children)
• Elderly (with valid PVTA ID) .50, transfer .10 (To receive reduce-fare privileges you must have a valid PVTA photo ID or statewide Access Pass. This ID is process while you wait at the Customer Service Center at 1341 Main St. Springfield)
• Children under 6 years of age ride the PVTA for free
• Children 6-12 years of age pay .75
• Passengers 13 years of age and up pay the adult fare.

The fixed route fare-

31-Consecutive Day Passes

• Regular 31-day, monthly cost $36.00
• Elderly & Disabled 31-day, monthly cost $18.00
• Regular 7-day cost $10.00
• Regular day pass, cost $3.00

Fares for ADA & Senior Van Service-

• $2.00 within an adjacent community.
• $2.50 outside a non-adjacent community.
• $3.00 out of county/non-adjacent communities

When boarding the bus you must have the exact fare. Operators do not carry change and are not allowed to search purses, pockets or backpacks for customer's fare.

How can I drive a fleet vehicle?

If you have always wanted to become a fleet certified driver, there are a few things you need to do first before driving the wonderful fleet vehicles.



Step-One
You must attend a fleet orientation class. These classes are set up when they are needed (for the summer, its only when requested, during the school year they are typically every two weeks). You must contact the fleet office (or coordinator) to sign up for a class. The classes usually run about an hour.

Step-Two
You must submit your driving history from your home state. You do not need this paperwork for the class, but if you already have it, you may become approved sooner. You can check with your home states website (or call) to see how to obtain the form.

Step-Three
Turn in all required paperwork for review.

When you have become approved, the Fleet Coordinator will send you an official email letting you know you are all set to drive.

Please keep in mind, annually all fleet drivers must submit a credential form to maintain the ability to drive. You will receive an email letting you know when this must be done.

Why not?

Keep in mind while in Connecticut, this odd law before you paint your car orange or camouflage deco!

• No need to get your Lexus Sport Luxury Sedan painted blaze orange. Hunting from cars in Connecticut is illegal, even during deer season.

Alaska's Bizare Law

Today's bizarre law is from Alaska. My question for this one is, who did this to make it a law?!?!?!

• Contrary to public opinion roof racks are not specifically designed for skis, snowboards and cocker spaniels. Or at least not in Alaska, where authorities have found it necessary to declare it illegal to tether a dog to the roof of a car.

California Bizare Driving Laws

Keep these is mind while you are in California!

• No matter how luxuriously comfortable that divided highway may look, it is illegal in Eureka, California, to use a road as a bed.

• In order to save money on having to crop dust their streets, officials in Chico, California, have made it illegal to plant rutabagas in roadways.

• Officials in Glendale, California, no doubt, caved in to insurance lobbyists when they inexplicably decided to make it illegal to jump from a car at 65 mph.

• Don’t expect to find any salt-rimmed curbs in Hermosa Beach, California. Officials there have made it illegal to spill your Margarita on any street.

Average Fuel Cost *OUCH*

If you want to follow the daily change of fuel prices in Massachusetts, check out Fuel Gauger Report. This will allow you to compare the current day fuel cost along with yesterdays, a month ago and even a year ago cost. *CAUTION* this website may cause you to become nauseous (with the way the fuel costs continue to rise).

You can also check on the national average of fuel & other state's average while you are visiting the sight.

New Fleet?

Its the new Harley Davidson division of the Fleet Office? What do you think? Naa, its just two of the Public Safety Officers showing off their bikes. Officer Wojcik is on the red bike & Officer Ayers is on the other. Nice bikes though!

Hybrid Buses

Wow! Can you believe it? Larger cities like Honolulu are incorporating Hybrid buses into their fleets. It will be some time before MHC will be able to afford this type of vehicle, since the latest one that Honolulu mass transit purchased was over $200,000 back in 2004.

The buses are also 75-passenger capacity. Holy cow! I bet that would be wonderful for our bus trips to NYC and to see the Red Sox!

Along with fuel costs and larger seating capacity's, the hybrid buses are said to have better brake life, provide a smoother ride, are quieter and release less emissions into the environment. All great perks for a hybrid bus. It helps everyone on all aspects!

If you want to know how the hybrid works on a bus, check out the lovely diagram below!

Also, while visiting NYC in the past I have seen hybrid buses in their mass transit fleet as well. I'm sure there are other cities out there taking action too and its great! It good to know that the larger city's are taking the environmental issues we all face into consideration.

If you want to ready the entire article on hybrid buses in Honolulu, check out the Honolulu Adviser's article.

Fuel Saving Tips

With the fuel prices out of control these days, everyone is looking into saving as much money as they can at the pump (or other places so they can purchase the fuel). I guess the easiest way would be not to drive your car and use the gas, but how many of us can do that? Not many at that and it doesn't matter if you are a student or employee, the cost of fuel effects us all in so many ways.

With that in mind, here are some fuel saving tips that can help get you that extra mile -

1. Observe the speed limit - of course you should be doing this to begin with (definitely in a fleet car), but if you tend to have a slight lead food in your personal car, you may want to drive the speed limit to help conserve fuel. According to fueleconomy.gov, "While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph".
2. Remove Excess Weight - avoid storing heavy items in your vehicle for a long period of time, especially things over 100 pounds. The extra weight could reduce your MPG by 2%.
3. Avoid Excessive Idling - this is especially in a fleet vehicle, but even in your personal vehicle try to avoid idling.
4. Use Cruise Control - in many vehicles, this will assist with saving fuel since your foot isn't always pressed on the gas petal. Its also a bonus since you will remain at a constant speed so you don't go over the speed limit & now you are using two steps to conserve fuel.
   
5. Keep your car in shape - the fleet vehicles are regularly checked by the college's mechanic but on your personal vehicle make sure your tires are properly inflated, your engine is properly tuned (not to a radio station mind you!), check your air filter regularly and use only recommended oil grades for your vehicle.

These are just a few simple steps to assist you & your wallet in these times of ever changing fuel prices. Good luck!

Helpful Fleet Tip #5

Don't be late, for your very important.......date?

Helpful Fleet Tip #4

Make sure your belongings are taken out of the vehicle.

Helpful Fleet Tip #3

No speeding!

Helpful Fleet Tip #2

Note any new damage on the trip sheet!

Class of 2008

Congratulations Class of 2008! You made it! Thanks to all those loyal & joyful graduates who were a part of the Fleet Program. You will be missed!

Helpful Fleet Tip #1

Be Honest About Accidents.

Banana Test

Today's post is not even closely related to fleet in any way shape or form. Its a personality test. Lets see if you can reveal anything new about yourself today. Here is goes.........

*********************

There is a very, very tall coconut tree and there are 4 animals, a Lion,
a Chimpanzee, a Giraffe, and a Squirrel, who pass by.

They decide to compete to see who is the fastest to get a banana off the
tree.

Who do you guess will win? Your answer will reflect your personality.

So think carefully . . . Try and answer within 30 seconds.

Got your answer?

If your answer is:

↓

↓

Lion = you're dull.

Chimpanzee = you're a dummy.

Giraffe = you're completely out in loony land .

Squirrel = you're just hopelessly out of touch.

A COCONUT TREE DOESN'T HAVE BANANAS!!!!!!!!

**Thanks Barbara**