Rick Ramacier
General Manager
Central Contra Costa Transit Authority (County Connection)
Concord, CA
Chair, APTA Access Committee
How many people work at your agency?
County Connection has 258 direct employees. Our subcontractor, First Transit, applies another 50- 60 to our paratransit service.
How long have you worked in the public transportation industry?
It will be 24 years in September.
What drew you to a career in public transportation?
Originally I was drawn toward a career in policy development and managing public service in general. After I earned my master of public administration degree from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, I was looking for a job in local or regional government that would put me on the path to becoming a city manager or something similar. I came to County Connection in 1989—shortly after getting my degree—and have stayed here ever since, except for a very brief period in 1991 when I worked for a consulting firm. I became general manager in January 1998.
How long have you been an APTA member?
Technically, since I joined County Connection—an APTA member system—in 1989. I personally became active with APTA in 1994.
What have you found to be the most valuable APTA benefit or resource – that helps you do your job?
The information we receive on the legislative process and what’s happening in Washington, DC. This is where the APTA staff really shines.
Please explain why or how this has helped.
We’re a smaller organization without a presence in DC. We appreciate that APTA is on the ground, knowing what’s going on and providing us with information. We also benefit greatly from the work APTA does on behalf of the public transportation industry as a whole.
What is unique about your agency (what would readers be surprised to learn)?
People might be surprised at the extreme diversity of our ridership because we serve an area that, on paper, looks affluent. People often think we mainly carry students to school and help seniors get around their communities, and that’s all. In reality we serve a lot of passengers from a lot of different backgrounds.
Many of our riders are transit-dependent and would not be able to get to work, or to critical appointments, without our service. We also provide to-and-from rides to about 2,500 BART passengers every day.
Secondly, we have developed a strong working relationship with both our employees and their unions. Our employees maintained their high morale as they have worked through this difficult economic situation. This has included service cuts, employee layoffs, as well as wage and benefit freezes. I remain very proud of the workers as they really understand the meaning of public service and demonstrate that each day.
County Connection is surrounded by a number of neighboring public transit agencies. Do they coordinate their services?
County Connection has evolved over time, somewhat in line with major population growth spurts. AC Transit once was the only bus agency in the county, but as population and job centers developed in central and eastern Contra Costa County, new and appropriately designed bus agencies emerged in each area. Geological features such as hills separate our service areas and, historically, government services are subdivided into three or four regions. These agencies have a good working relationship. We come together to coordinate funding, fare policy, and transfers, just to name a few things.
We hope to become part of the Bay Area’s Clipper card system in the next 18 months or so. We do offer our riders the BART Plus ticket. We track ridership and share the revenues according to a formula. This fare instrument has worked well for our joint passengers for many years. But, we do look forward to the day that our MPO (MTC) brings Clipper out to the suburban bus systems of the East Bay.
What do you like most about your job?
It’s the working with people, both our employees and the policy makers I report to. I enjoy guiding policy makers to make sound decisions, and supporting our employees any way I can so they, in turn, can successfully and efficiently provide service to the public.
Make sure you see Rick Ramacier’s video, now that you've read this!
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