After taking over as general manager of
TANK a little more than one year ago, Andrew Aiello has already made meaningful changes in the community that have been recognized.
Aiello was recently awarded with the first Young Visionary award from
Vision 2015
for his work with TANK. "It's always inspiring receiving recognition
for the work you do. It just makes you want to work harder," says
Aiello.
Vision 2015 is an organization that was launched in 2005 to develop a
10-year plan to create a vibrant and sustainable community in Northern
Kentucky. One of Aiello's noteworthy accomplishments is the U-Pass
program that teams up with NKU to give students free access to all of
TANK's bus routes.
"In our discussions with NKU and the market research we had done, we
realized that one of the biggest hurdles for people using public transit
is that leap people have to take public transit for the first time,"
says Aiello. "Removing barriers is an easy way to ease that step and NKU
was willing to help offset the cost so more people take that first step
and start riding public transit."
Aiello and his team at TANK have continued to work with NKU to make
positive changes to their programs, many of these focus on technology.
Again, teaming up with NKU, TANK has installed Wi-Fi technology, they
have also created iPhone and Android apps to help ease finding bus
routes and making rides more productive.
As a smaller public transit system, TANK is able to look at regional and
national transit companies and learn from them. "Just based on
geography, we aren't competitors to other transit systems, so there is a
very open exchange of information in the industry," says Aiello. "Since
we are smaller we have the ability to sit back and see which
technologies are really gaining traction."
This keen eye for changes that encourage people to use public transit
has made Aiello successful in his short time as general manager of TANK
and help create a more sustainable community.
Do Good:
Buy a pass. TANK offers many different passes to meet your public transit needs.
Ride. TANK offers several Park and Ride locations. Bus it to work!
Volunteer. Vision 2015 is always looking for volunteers who want to help in many different ways.
By Evan Wallis
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