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Staying ahead of the curve: continually pushing the envelope offers unique opportunities for an agency and its community.

Article Excerpt
State-of-the-art technology and a familiar staff makes the award-winning St. Cloud Metropolitan Transportation Commission (Metro Bus) an agency worth visiting and a place I didn't want to leave. Although that could have had more to do with the impending bombardment of snow heading through the area as I left. The middle of winter may not be the best time to head to the north, but the trek provided insight into how this agency stays at the leading edge of transit in its operations.

Metro Bus was named the best transit system of its size in North America by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) in 2007. It also won this prestigious award back in 1990 and David Tripp, Metro Bus' executive director, is proud to quickly point out that it is the only agency in Minnesota to have won that award twice. Numerous reasons account for the 2007 win and the tour allowed me to see first hand what some of those qualities are.

Not only is it the extensive use of technology throughout the operations, the familiar staff makes you want to feel a part of the team. Before even arriving at the agency, the hospitality had shown through. Marketing Director and Planner Tom Cruikshank orchestrated a day of activity that involved various members of the staff and also a tour at New Flyer's manufacturing facility in town with New Flyer Program Leader Paul Hatton.

PART OF A COMMUNITY

I ask Tripp what he attributes the agency's success to. "We're autonomous," he answers without skipping a beat. "I think that's the big reason.

"We're not part of a...

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