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This content was published: March 12, 1997. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.

PCC Parking and Transportation Services Has New Boss with New Ideas

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Rod Bartholomew has been hired to head up PCC’s Parking and Transportation Services office, a job for which he has much experience. The former deputy general manager of San Francisco’s transit system, Bartholomew says he’s got some new ideas for the program. "We want to be more customer friendly. We are striving to make Parking and Transportation Services more accessible, convenient and helpful. To that end, we’re planning on doing a number of new things over the next few months."

The department plans to install bike racks on all the vans to encourage use of both the bike and the shuttle. This should happen by June, said Bartholomew.

Bartholomew is also proposing new signage for the parking lots, similar to the type of signage used at airports and commercial lots. At Sylvania Campus, street signs will also be installed. He hopes to have the new signs ready for fall term 1997.

In order to get feedback from the customer, the department is sponsoring a committee to review ways to encourage the use of bicycling as a commute option.

A committee is also being formed to discuss parking and transportation problems and issues. Recommendations that come out of the committee, said Bartholomew, will help guide department policy.

And work is now underway on restriping campus parking lots.

Other changes, which Bartholomew admits will not be as popular, are hand-held writers to save parking staff time making citations. The department also will refer unpaid tickets to a collection agency.

However, Bartholomew said the department is looking at setting up "forgiveness days." In other words, waiving doubled fines at certain times during the school year. "The slate’ll be wiped clean so students and staff have a chance to pay off their tickets," he said. Bartholomew said he would have more details on this at a later date.

He’s also looking at a system which would encourage prompt purchase of parking permits.

Bartholomew’s career has been divided between transportation and real estate. He served as a real estate broker, director of training and also brokerage manager from 1981 to 1996. Before that, from 1962 to 1981, as deputy general manager of the San Francisco Transit system, Bartholomew had 2,100 personnel reporting to departments under his supervision — operations, transportation, parking, scheduling, training, security, transit police, administration, finance, elderly and handicapped, passenger relations, government and media relations, labor relations and union negotiations, and some maintenance functions.

He was on active duty in the Navy from 1959 to 1961 and served on the USS Ranger. Bartholomew has also taught as an adjunct instructor at City College of San Francisco and at one point was president of the Transport Workers Union, Local 100.

For general information about parking and transportation services at PCC campuses and centers, please call 977-8181. Bartholomew can be reached at 977-4998 and says he encourages feedback from the customers.