For David Williamson, transportation isn’t his job—it’s who he is. As Georgia Tech’s associate director for parking and transportation, Williamson helps keep the school’s trolley and bus system moving on a daily basis. But this is just the latest stop on his 40-year career of keeping people on the move.
Where did you do your transportation work prior to Tech?
I started with Regional Atlantic division transit in Richmond, Va. I spent 10 years with them. Then I moved here and went to work for MARTA. I spent 20 years with them, then came to Tech nine years ago.
How much has the fleet of trolleys and buses grown since you’ve been at Tech?
When I came on board, the system had pretty well just begun. The system that’s running as you see it today, it’s grown a couple of buses.
What’s the lifespan of a bus or a trolley?
Our expectation with the buses is 10 years. The trolleys are very similar. They’re sitting on the same frame; they just have a different body on them.
What powers the fleet?
When I first came on, we had diesel buses, and the trolleys were natural gas. Now, we run biodiesel through them all.
What are some of the challenges you face in your work?
It’s about peak times of the day. Ours starts at 7 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m. You’re constantly trying to meet the demand at those times of day. You have the challenges of the class schedule and trying to meet that. We’re in an urban area, another huge challenge for us.
How much do the buses and trolleys run each year?
Our principal measure is hours of service. The trolleys, with the schedule we draw up, if you added it up for a year, it’s probably 20,000 hours of service. If someone’s butt is in that seat, that’s an hour of service. On the bus side, it’s 27,000 per year.
How much maintenance do the vehicles require?
We have eight trolleys and 13 buses. Six of the trolleys and 10 of the buses are in service each day. The rest are out for the maintenance people to work on them.
What do you do with vehicles that can’t run anymore?
These vehicles are expected to last 10 years. At the end of this contract [with Groome Transportation], these vehicles will go away, and I expect to get new vehicles. The downside to that is, year nine and year 10, things are starting to show their wear.
What do you think Georgia Tech transportation does well?
You don’t really have to pay any attention to the clock if you’re a rider. You can just get out there, and a trolley will come soon. That’s a very high level of service.
What’s your favorite part of the job?
I love working with these students. It’s a great environment. If I can get one or two of these kids interested in going into this arena … I know we’ve churned out civil engineers; if I can get somebody interested in this field, that’s good enough for me.
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