At Valley Metro, we value our ridership and want customers to have a great experience riding with us. That's why we have a new app available. This app will allow riders to view their bus or rail in real-time in addition to other valuable features. Listen as Brittany and Madeline chat with Customer Service Manager, Diana Kebbekus, and Enterprise Systems Engineer, TJ Thornal, as they discuss the app's development and how it will help customer service.

Download the new app at the App Store or Google Play.

If you have ideas about a future episode of Shifting Ears, email them to podcast@valleymetro.org.

Thanks for riding with us!

Madeline Phipps: Brittany, did you know that we've hit another major milestone in Valley Metro history?

Brittany Hoffman: Tell me what it is.

Madeline Phipps: Okay. For almost a month now... I can't believe it's been a month. The streetcar vehicle has actually been out testing on its route in Tempe. So it went out there for the first time on June 28th, completed a whole bunch of tests, went through the entire alignment, all went well. And now it's just out there, like almost every week, completing all these tests.

Brittany Hoffman: And those are the shiny green cars rolling through Tempe. Right Maddie.

Madeline Phipps: Yes. They're hard to miss if you're out there in Tempe and you were there at the right time, I'm sure you've seen it because they're very bright also. Cause we're in testing. They're being accompanied by a lot of, uh, our valley Metro coworkers wearing bright orange safety vests, walking alongside them, uh, too.

Making sure that all the testing is going well. And to watch how those streetcar navigates throughout and interacts with all kinds of different things. So it's pretty hard to miss. It's kind of a fun caravan. Um, but yes, they have been out there for almost a month now and we're really making a lot of great progress on the testing schedule.

Brittany Hoffman: Maddie. I haven't really dealt with Tempe streetcar much. Cause that's your area so far, I've handled light rail because it's service. And I know that the, it has to go through a lot of testing and different things to get ready for passenger service. So you said we're already out for testing. How long does that have to go on.

Madeline Phipps: Well, it's going to be a couple months, so not all the tests happened. Right away in the same day. A lot of them, you do a test find out something that needs to be fixed, go out and test it again after it's fixed. So they kind of build one on top of the other, which is why it takes a couple months to complete all the testing.

And we also have to make sure that the vehicles themselves. Good enough testing. So they each will have to do what's called burn-in, where they travel a certain amount of miles on the track to make sure that they're all in good working order. So that also is going on at the same time while we're testing the whole system and how the car integrates with the system.

Brittany Hoffman: Now, Maddie, obviously you've been with this project from day one, um, since starting with valley Metro, and you've really gotten in the trenches per se. Um, but do you know everything there is to know about Tempe streetcar?

Madeline Phipps: Definitely not. Um, I've been here two years now, actually officially two years. Um, so certainly a lot has happened in those two years, but of course this project has been going on for way before that, if you want to talk about the planning and design phase, even like 10 or 15 years ago, it was one that started.

So I got here when construction was underway and then kind of saw the completion of construction, but we of course, had to take this one to the expert. To really find out all we need to know about three-car testing. So today we're talking with mark , who is kind of the guru overseeing all of the streetcar?

testing for these next few months.

Hi, I'm mark and I'm blah, blah, blah.

Brittany Hoffman: Yeah.

Madeline Phipps: Okay. What Do we think? Do we need more or less?

Brittany Hoffman: Do you want us to redo anything?

Madeline Phipps: Also realize that like work from home days. I like don't talk to anyone. So my voice is like kind of tired still. So I just wake up and like work. So I talked to my dog, but No,

this is the shifting gears.

Brittany Hoffman: we will. I was going to say we will use probably a bite or two from him for storylines, but okay.

Madeline Phipps: it's Monday. It's Okay.

First thing. Oh,

Okay. Also, I mean, we don't want, I don't want to give too much information away cause he, mark has like the real meat of it, so,

Brittany Hoffman: right.

Madeline Phipps: and he was good, so, okay.

Brittany Hoffman: Engaging as some would say.

Madeline Phipps: Oh.

Brittany Hoffman: The wrong testing.

Madeline Phipps: Oh,

Brittany Hoffman: Oh,

Madeline Phipps: Oh good. Yeah, that was probably because they have that tow vehicle for if, when like someone crashes it or like there's a

Brittany Hoffman: Hey

Madeline Phipps: and I have to tow around it. Like that's, I think that's probably what they were doing. Practicing that part. Not as

Brittany Hoffman: that's kind of, I don't understand why we can't tow the car. Like if your car is parked in the line, cause what are you going to do? Oh, it's still parked there. The next car that comes around, you gotta tow every single car, no tow the car. Instead of the trains, you're going to have to tow every train around.

That's stupid.

Madeline Phipps: Yeah,

Brittany Hoffman: Yes.

Madeline Phipps: whatever. Okay.

But you finally did get to the sounds of the street car. You got to ride inside of it, right? What was it like riding inside? Oh, okay. Can't really use that for the podcast, but I guess it's important message to have working right now.

Brittany Hoffman: Yes.

Madeline Phipps: Um, I'm excited for when they get like the actual stop names programmed in there, because we had to do, like, I was Susan and I had to help like write them out phonetically because like Rio Salado or.

Paseo Del saber or sub bear or whatever. Like, I actually don't remember off the top of my head, which one it was but they were like, we don't know how to do this because it's pronouncing them like Rio Salado saying it weird way. So hopefully our phonetic pronunciation worked and when they actually have them in there, won't say

Brittany Hoffman: I was going to say that makes sense because, um, like when I'm in the car and I put GPS for like somewhere in baser or something, it always says weird names. And I'm like, that's not how you say that.

Madeline Phipps: Yeah, I guess they don't have one of those people working at Google to make sure all the words are proper. Yeah. Was it fun riding in there? Was there Like,

a bunch of equipment in the street card when you were in there? I know.

Brittany Hoffman: Yeah.

Madeline Phipps: Yeah. Looks it's so clean and shiny and brand new.

Brittany Hoffman: Yeah.

Madeline Phipps: exciting. Okay. Um, what do we do you need to do now? Our sign-off

Brittany Hoffman: well,

Madeline Phipps: or like a conclusion of mark

Brittany Hoffman: Yeah, a conclusion of mark, but I was going to say like, I'm so excited. Maddie went, when are we actually going to be, you know, in service you could say, I don't know Britney, but it's going to happen when we have all the cars later this year,

Madeline Phipps: by the end of this year?

Brittany Hoffman: Dane said it the other day too.

He's like, we're going to be launching this thing on December 31st. And I was like, said that. So.

Madeline Phipps: Oh,

Brittany Hoffman: I don't remember what meeting. Yeah. Oh, we were in an arts line meeting and the art department was like, so what, when are we actually doing this? I was like, that's not a good question to ask. Okay.

Madeline Phipps: Yeah.

We're going to cut this part out

Brittany Hoffman: Yeah.

Madeline Phipps: of the podcast.

Brittany Hoffman: Okay.

Madeline Phipps: Everything's fine.

Brittany Hoffman: Yeah.

Madeline Phipps: Okay.

Brittany Hoffman: Okay, Mattie mark, just give us so much great information. And now I understand why it takes so long before we can have passenger service. So when are we expected to have passenger service?

Brittany Hoffman: Awesome. So it's like our own little Christmas present.

Brittany Hoffman: I was going to say awesome. Two celebrations in December. That's easy to remember.

Madeline Phipps: Definitely. All right. Uh, Do you have any ideas for this podcast and then to us? Okay.

Brittany Hoffman: Do we need to.

Madeline Phipps: Wait really?

Brittany Hoffman: so that Monday morning vibe finally chilled Brittany out.

Madeline Phipps: um, a special thanks to Peter for getting our audio of a

Brittany Hoffman: Oh yes. Um, our mystery voice, um, I was going to say, is there any other agency news we need to put in? Cause like we're not doing front door boarding yet. Nope. That went out the window.

Madeline Phipps: And this will come out in like two weeks or like a week and a half. So yeah,

Brittany Hoffman: nothing for August. There's no holidays or anything like that. So. All right.

Madeline Phipps: no, I don't think so.

Brittany Hoffman: Maybe we could just say we're excited to see everybody back at the office and we hope you're enjoying being in person again. Yeah.

Madeline Phipps: Yeah,

For those of us who have not, or who left the office since not everyone did. Yeah. Remember, oh,

Brittany Hoffman: ice cream over there.

Madeline Phipps: wow.

Brittany Hoffman: Oh,

Madeline Phipps: Oh,

who's your V Mac person.

Cause they should be in charge of

Brittany Hoffman: Yeah. I'm like don't you guys have one over there? Hmm.

Madeline Phipps: They let it lapse. Maybe you should do it.

Brittany Hoffman: Yeah,

Madeline Phipps: be the VBAC rep for the OMC, and then you could have all the parties.

Brittany Hoffman: then you can have parties and not invite us.

Madeline Phipps: Yeah, that's true.

Brittany Hoffman: Oh yeah. You got to do

Madeline Phipps: One for each shift. Yeah.

Okay. right. Um, well, thanks so much for joining us today. Remember if you have any ideas, questions you want answered stories. You want us to dive into send us an email@podcastatvalleymetro.org.

And we also want to send out a big, thanks to Peter Corkery on our communications staff for going out and getting that sound on Tempe street call and getting that sound on Tempe street car while they were testing.

For valley Metro I'm Madeline.

Brittany Hoffman: I'm Brittany,

Madeline Phipps: Thanks for riding with us

Brittany Hoffman: we'll meet you at the next stop.

Madeline Phipps: BP. We can put a little street car beep.