FaithHealth Recording

I presented to FaithHealth today and was grateful to tell stories from the bus. 

You can hear the recording and view the slides.

FaithHealth Slides

Tomorrow is the big day. 

I hope you can join me to hear stories from my year of driving a city bus. I learned a lot about the social determinants of health. 

Come to the 10th Floor of the Wake Forest Baptist Health Comphrenshive Cancer Center at 9am to hear the presentation for FaithHealth. 

I have the slides ready to go!   

Bed Bugs

Even the thought of bed bugs makes my skin crawl.   They are a mysterious cause for concern.

But as I read more about them I feel even more sad about the stigma that I have witnessed.  The stigma that is based on irrational fear about how they are spread and the assumed failure of anyone who has been exposed. It is breaking my heart. 

A colleague who is a brilliant doctor and medical director for infection prevention and health system epidemiology sent me an email that taught me a lot. Below are the materials he recommended that I read.

1. A detailed plan of how to deal with bed bugs with a lot of great tips (including protection of staff)
2. Very nice intro into the bed bug problem with great tips

I am working as the night monitor at the overflow homeless shelter and we follow these guidelines.  

While I was a bus driver the hysteria of concern about possible bed bug infestation would come up with drivers. I am realizing that our ignorance about the issue is a potential barrier to compassion.  Public servants from volunteers in shelters to bus drivers need more education about bed bugs so they don't perpetuate the stigma.  

Greater understanding of bed bugs enables us to be compassionate, not frightened. 

FaithHealth Divisional Rounds

I am excited to be lecturing at the FaithHealth Divisional Rounds on Wednesday, January 22 at 9 A.M.  I will share stories and insights about the public health importance of public transportation in the Wake Forest Baptist Health Comprehensive Cancer Center Conference Room 10B.  You are welcome to come.

FaithHealth Divisional Rounds offer an opportunity to highlight the complex and relevant work of FaithHealth in Forsyth County (and surrounding) communities. Focus is given to the hands-on work of those inside and outside the walls of the hospital, connecting our most vulnerable persons to resources that improve health and wholeness.  These resources include a wide network of faith communities, local agencies, and clinical partners.

Please join us on Wednesday, January 22 at 9AM in the Cancer Center Conference Room 10B, all who are interested in the topic are welcome.

CV

CV is short for Curriculum Vitae, a Latin phrase meaning "course of life."

I recently updated my CV and included it as a tab on the navigation bar for easy access. My life followed an interesting course in 2019. It turned down a road of solidary with the poor and it followed a calling for radical advocacy for the expansion of public transportation to improve mobility.

As I ponder what is next professionally I feel open to what 2020 has in store.  Please check out my CV and reach out to me with job offers!

Hours, Rides, and Pay

I began working for the Winston-Salem Transit Authority on Monday, January 28th and ended my tenure on Friday, December 13th. I learned a great deal about the public health importance of public transportation during the course of the year of our Lord 2019.

I worked 2,037 hours providing an estimated 24,721 rides (hours multiplied by rides per hour ratio) and earned $26,764 in take-home pay.

The chart below shows that my hours were trending up from an average of 43.3 hours per week.  My longest week was 55.8 hours which resulted in an estimated 832 rides.

The average American works 1,811 hours in a year (TMFBookNerd).  I worked 226 hours more than that which helps me rationalize the completion of my goal of driving for a year. I logged 8 weeks of working 50 hours or more.

My income was below the federal poverty line for a family of 5.

View analysis of my hours, rides and pay online in this spreadsheet. Data comes from the ADP App of my pay stubs; any error in data entry or analysis is my own.

All Aboard!

This video is highlights of the last few days and features an opera singer singing the Latin prayer Dona Nobis Pacem.  The prayer translates as "grant us peace." 

Friday is my last day as a driver.  Check my route calendar to find a time to ride along. 

Please join us in public transportation advocacy, sign up for updates! 

Gratitude

This Thanksgiving I am grateful for how public transportation makes provision for my family and our community.  Driving is rewarding because I see how rides to daycare, work, healthcare, school, and the grocery store support life.

Having a holiday off gives me time to reflect on how interacting with passengers can be so meaningful.  Sometimes space opens up and they share stories from their life.  Listening to those stories gives me hope for our community.

I am thankful for you as a reader of this blog.  Please complete this form to share your contact information.  I hope to contact you about advocacy opportunities to help improve public transportation.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Vacation Analysis

I accrued 17 hours of vacation for 2020. It made me wonder how I compared to my fellow drivers.

Table 1 shows the breakout of allotted vacation hours by the number of drivers. You can see that the 5 most senior drivers (whom each get 6 weeks off) account for almost 15% of all the allotted vacation hours. By comparison, my classmates (4 drivers) account for .08%.  The average driver will get 80 hours of vacation in 2020.

Table 1: Vacation Allotted by 102 Drivers
Allotted Hrs	N Drivers	%	Vacation Hrs	%
240	5	4.9	1,200.0	14.6
200	3	2.9	600.0	7.3
160	13	12.7	2,080.0	25.3
120	11	10.8	1,320.0	16.1
93	1	1.0	93.0	1.1
90	1	1.0	90.0	1.1
80	23	22.5	1,840.0	22.4
62	1	1.0	62.0	0.8
40	13	12.7	520.0	6.3
36.6	4	3.9	146.5	1.8
29.9	2	2.0	59.9	0.7
23	1	1.0	23.0	0.3
20	2	2.0	40.0	0.5
19.9	2	2.0	40.0	0.5
17	4	3.9	68.0	0.8
13	1	1.0	13.0	0.2
10	2	2.0	20.0	0.2
7	1	1.0	7.0	0.1
0	12	11.8	0.0	0.0
1,261.6	102	100	8,222.4	100

Creating groups makes it easier to visualize the fact that 30% of the drivers do not ave much vacation.

Using seniority as the primary means of bestowing benefits tilts the scale in ways new drivers feel but often lack the words to express. It works against newbies.  New drivers are doing extra work to cover for everyone else's vacation. The current policy forces them to wait to years to receive one week of vacation.

Figuring out an equitable vacation policy would reduce the high intitiation burden that new drivers face.   Addressing such issues would aid in the retention of drivers.

Here is the link to the data.

Operator Survey

Alfredo and I conducted a survey of fixed-route bus drivers for their suggestions regarding routes and schedules.   Below are the tables of our findings. 

Table 1. WSTA Driver Schedule Survey N =79	Total	%
A ten-hour shift 4 days a week starting in the morning	57	72.2%
A ten-hour shift 4 days a week starting in the evening	30	38.0%
An early morning 8-hour straight shift 5 days a week	22	27.8%
A Late 8-hour straight shift 5 days a week	16	20.3%
Split shifts 5 days a week	5	6.3%
Night runs with weekends off	18	22.8%
Provide a suggestion of a schedule	8	10.1%

Table 2. Route Suggestions
Route	Suggestion
89	More time on the route
93	Route needs to be cut short
93	Service Castle Heights or 331 and North Hampton Dr; Change time points on the outbound trip
95	Cut out Strattford and Knollwood
99	More time on the route
103	Move final time point back so you can get to TC earlier
104	Changing inbound time points for a bathroom break at the TC on Route 104. The new time points could be [5. Old Lexington 6:05] [6. Waughtown and Vargrave 6:10] [7. Waughtown and South Main 6:15 [1.TC 6:20].
104	Adjust so you can get a bathroom break
105	More time on the route
105	Not go up Argonne