Denver Transportation

DENVER TRANSPORTATION COMPANY
BILL HALL had just entered his office when the telephone buzzed, and he picked up the
receiver:
Bill, this is George Willis, Mountain Airlines; you boys have fouled up again.
The crew on 3! this "orning were #ept waiting an hour for a car to ta#e the"
to their hotel, and the captain$s "ad as hell. %f you can$t prevent this we$re
going to have to "a#e other arrange"ents.
%$" awfully sorry, George & %$ll loo# into it right away. We$ll give you good
service. We$re wor#ing on i"prove"ents in airport dispatching right now.
The conversation ended shortly afterwards
!o"plaints such as this were of #reat concern to Hall $ne year a#o he had been brou#ht
in as $perations "ana#er for %enver Transportation !o"pany with instructions to
i"prove its service, and he was not at all satisfied with his pro#ress He has done
everythin# within his knowled#e to i"prove operational procedures and plannin#, to train
and increase supervision, to fir" up supervisory responsibilities, and to better
co""unication facilities &'(hibit )* +urther, he had secured sufficient additional drivers
and e,uip"ent to handle the rapidly increasin# airport and tourist business +or the "ost
part Hall-s activities were well received by drivers, supervisors, and dispatchers .till
co"plaints ca"e in They were ite"s such as /the buses were late/0 /they were
overcrowded/0 /the wron# type of li"ousine was sent/ They were bein# caused by
errors in jud#e"ent and plannin# on the part of supervisors and dispatchers, and Hall did
not know what to do about it
%enver Transportation !o"pany, known as %T!, was founded in )122 to provide
transportation for airline passen#ers and crews to and fro" the %enver airport It had
#rown by addin# si#htseein# buses, chauffeur driven li"ousines, ta(is, and 34drive cars
as well as airport buses as the airport and tourist business e(panded After 5ulf 6ar there
was a "ushroo"in# of tourist trade and considerable #rowth in #eneral business and
+ederal 5overn"ent operations in this city, and %T!7s business e(panded vi#orously
Their )118 fleet of )2 buses, 9: ta(is, ))chauffeur driven !adillacs and crew cars, and 9)
34drive cars had increased three4fold by )112, and the passen#er "iles operated
)
had
increased even "ore
%T!-s business ca"e fro" three sources:
) +ro" individuals who decide on their own to take a %T! bus, ta(i, or li"ousine
; +ro" various a#encies that sell tickets for airport to hotel transportation and for
si#htseein#0 this would include travel a#ents, hotel desks, and airline tour
depart"ents
)
<u"ber of passen#ers carried ti"es "iles traveled
)
= +ro" or#anizations that contract with %T! for transportation services, this
includes transportin# airline crews to and fro" the airport in special cars and
"any charter bus assi#n"ents ordered by airlines and others
>ana#e"ent considered the latter two sources to be the "ost i"portant These
or#anizations de"anded top service fro" a #round transportation fir" because their
custo"ers bla"ed the", not %T!, for poor #round transportation
In airport and si#htseein# activities %T! had the bulk of the %enver business
prior to 5ulf 6ar 6ith the #reat e(pansion in the area after the war, co"petition "oved
in %T! was not only unable to develop fast enou#h to hold all of the new business but in
addition its service had deteriorated to the point where in recent years so"e custo"ers
were bein# held "ostly by pro"ises and personal friendships of %T! "ana#e"ent
The owners of %T! were intent on "aintainin# leadership control of the %enver
Transportation activities in which they were en#a#ed They had recently secured capital
for additional e,uip"ent, and it was up to Bill Hall, the $perations >ana#er to obtain
drivers to put the new e,uip"ent to opti"u" use and to #ive the kind of service that
would satisfy the airlines, hotels, and travel a#ents The airport, ta(i, and si#htseein#
depart"ents were all receivin# co"plaints, and Hall realized that so"ethin# would have
to be done to correct the poor jud#"ent and plannin# e(hibited by the supervisors and
dispatchers involved '(hibit ; shows the )112 or#anization chart of the operations
depart"ent '(hibit = represents a pa#e fro" the co"pany-s operations "anual
indicatin# the duties of various supervisors and dispatchers '(hibit 9 lists the )112
supervisory and dispatchin# e"ployees and their back#rounds
>ana#e"ent had always believed in seniority and in pro"otin# "en up throu#h
the ranks for dispatchin# and supervisory jobs0 the position of $perations >ana#er was
the only e(ception to this policy <ew "en were started as ta(i drivers, "oved up to
Airport drivers, then to si#htseein# bus or li"ousine drivers, and finally to dispatchin# or
supervisory jobs The drivers and dispatchers were "e"bers of the tea"sters union, and
"ana#e"ent-s seniority and pro"otion policies were spelled out in the contract:
Section 5. Seniority. In the event of any layoff of e"ployees, e"ployees with the
least a"ount of seniority shall be laid off first In the event of any rehirin# of
e"ployees, the e"ployee with the "ost seniority shall be rehired first
In "akin# pro"otions, if there is no "aterial difference between ,ualifications of
applicants, the one havin# the #reater len#th of continuous service will be
selected If there is a "aterial difference between the ,ualifications of the
applicants, the best ,ualified applicant will be selected0 however, he shall be on a
probationary period for si( &2* "onths
In )118, %T! had been able to secure plenty of youn# "en who were willin# to
start out as ta(i drivers +urther"ore, dispatchin# and supervisory jobs were si"pler
then, and so "ana#e"ent-s pro"otion policy worked well In )112, Hall was havin#
;
considerable difficulty in e"ployin# ta(i drivers who had the ability to pro#ress in the
co"pany There were in fact plenty of ta(i drivers available, but they were not "en who
possessed the characteristics that would enable the" to be #ood si#htseein# drivers,
dispatchers, or supervisors
Ta(i drivers received a #uaranteed salary of ?;;: per "onth or 98 per cent of
#ross revenue produced whichever was #reater .ince anyone who owned an auto"obile
could start a ta(i fir" by payin# a s"all business license fee and fir"s were unrestricted
as to the nu"ber of cabs that they "i#ht license, co"petition was keen +or several years
the %T! ta(i depart"ent had represented little "ore than a break4even operation for
%enver Transportation !o"pany Ta(i co"petition held down the nu"ber of trips
available to a %T! driver, and as a result his salary and tips were low This, coupled with
the lack of presti#e involved in /operatin# a hack/ and the availability of #ood jobs in the
co""unity, did not serve to encoura#e able youn# "en to beco"e ta(i drivers @ecently,
Hall had su##ested to the president that the ta(i depart"ent be eli"inated, for it caused a
#ood deal of the dispatchin# load and was relatively unprofitable The Aresident,
however, felt stron#ly that a ta(i depart"ent was necessary to #ive ;94hour service to the
hotels and airports, for the "any independent ta(i operators only worked durin# the peak
hours, and the airlines, hotels, and others relied on %T! for service at odd hours
Hall could find plenty of "en who would like to drive a si#htseein# bus or li"ousine
Here the pay was #ood, the tips were hi#h, and there was a certain a"ount of presti#e
These jobs re,uired "en with #ood appearance, "anners, and personalities $n the
si#htseein# buses the driver had to speak well over a "icrophone, know his tour
thorou#hly, be able to handle a #roup of people skillfully, and be entertainin# .o"e of
the tours lasted for si( to ei#ht hours To keep =8 people interested in this len#th of ti"e
re,uired a personable driver4conductor
Thou#h to a lesser de#ree, Hall would also be able to find #ood "en to start out in
airport bus work They pay was #ood, and the job was only one step re"oved fro" a
si#htseein# assi#n"ent In fact, since airport buses were used for si#htseein# work on
occasions when the airport was not very active and the si#htseein# load was heavy, it was
necessary for the day shift airport drivers to be able to handle the shorter si#htseein#
tours 6ith the co"pany policy of pro"otin# airport drivers to si#htseein# jobs, a #ood
percenta#e of the "en reachin# the airport4driver level should have the characteristics
necessary to "ake #ood si#htseein# drivers The turnover rate a"on# ta(i drivers was =B
per cent a year0 a"on# airport drivers, ): per cent a year0 and a"on# si#htseein# bus and
li"ousine drivers, 2 per cent year
As %T!-s operations e(panded, the job of dispatcher or supervisor beca"e
increasin#ly "ore co"ple( Airport supervisors who used to keep the schedules of plane
arrivals, %T! e,uip"ent available and other such infor"ation in their heads now had to
resort to schedulin# on paper and lon# ran#e plannin# Better coordination had to be
"aintained with central dispatchers %ispatchers who in the past were able to #et by
when sendin# a si#htseein# bus a little late to a hotel to pick up a load of people now
found these errors were co"pounded when two or three buses were called for, and a
=
hundred or "ore people were kept waitin# .o"eti"es, when the dispatchin# loads
would #et heavy, the dispatchers would ne#lect to #ive ta(i and bus drivers sufficient
infor"ation about a particular assi#n"ent Bill Hall knew that in followin# up the
>ountain Airlines co"plaint at the be#innin# of the case he would #et an answer such as
this fro" the airport supervisor:
I was really busy then 4 three planes had just arrived, and the buses were
fillin# up !entral dispatch told "e the crew car was on its way, and
I thou#ht it would be ri#ht alon#
Then Hall would say to hi"self:
This "an should have found out when the crew car left downtown and
e(actly when the dispatcher thou#ht it would arrive at the airport He has
instructions to send the crew in ta(i cabs at our e(pense if a crew car is
not available He just doesn-t use his head The rest of the supervisors
are not any better 4 e(cept To"
;
He is certainly i"proved the schedulin#
on the late airport shift, but the "en don-t see" to like hi" yet
Bill Hall had studied the drivers carefully and felt that the current supervisors and
dispatchers were the best available a"on# the work force .o"e of the si#htseein#
drivers were "ore intelli#ent than their supervisors and dispatchers, but they lacked any
desire to assu"e supervisory responsibility They were e(troverts and thorou#hly
enjoyed #uidin# tourist .everal of the" had been supervisors or dispatchers at one ti"e
or another and had been transferred back to drivin# because they did poorly or because
they disliked the job and re,uested the transfer >any of the si#htseein# and airport
drivers felt fully ,ualified to be supervisors and even thou#h so"e did not want
supervisory jobs, Hall thou#ht they see"ed resentful when To" 5oodhue, a %T!
accountant, was #iven the position of assistant airport supervisor
In Hall-s jud#e"ent, %T! drivers, especially the old4ti"ers, very loyal to the
co"pany and hi#h "orale was evident +or "any years the co"pany had "aintained
benefits such as one week-s paid vacation, life and hospitalization insurance on a joint,
e"ployee4e"ployer contribution basis, and a no4interest loan policy 6hen bus drivers
beca"e too old to handle a bi# bus, they were #iven li"ousine assi#n"ents or work on
one of the co"pany-s several co""ercial parkin# lots !o"pany parties for drivers and
their wives or #irl friends were held several ti"es a year and were thorou#hly enjoyed by
the workers The s"all e(ecutive force of the co"pany knew all the drivers by their first
na"es and "aintained a #enuine /open4door policy/
$n their own the si#htseein# drivers had for"ed a s"all cowboy band which
played at co"pany parties 6hen bi# tourist #roups were #oin# on ei#ht4hour
si#htseein# tours, they were supplied with bo( lunches and the cowboy band played for
the" durin# the lunch period This "ade a bi# hit with the tourists and was a stron#
;
To" 5oodhue was an accountant who had been transferred to operations two "onths a#o because of
developin# eye trouble
9
sellin# point for %T! with travel a#ents The band had "ade up a vocal nu"ber entitled
/.i#htsee with %T!/ which they played often at #atherin#s The co"pany planned to use
this son# for pro"otional purposes
The tea"sters union had "oved in seven years a#o throu#h the or#anizin# help of
several %T! ta(i drivers >ana#e"ent believed that the union was voted in at the <L@B
election only because of the lar#e nu"ber of relatively new ta(i drivers in the total
drivin# force Cuite a few of the old4ti"ers went to "ana#e"ent and asked the"
whether they should join the union >ana#e"ent had encoura#ed the" to join on the
#rounds that they wanted "en on their side within the union rank and file 3nionizin#
had i"proved the relations between %T! drivers and the e"ployees of "any of %T!-s
custo"ers such as the hotels &do "en, railroads, and airlines* +urther"ore, when %T!
was asked to handle conventions &which were very profitable*, they chartered buses fro"
the local transit syste" and trucks to carry lu##a#e fro" a "ovin# co"pany .ince all of
these fir"s were tea"ster or#anized, their drivers used to resist workin# with %T! &since
it was non4union*, and "any difficulties resulted
In the seven years in which the tea"sters union had been bar#ainin# a#ents for
%T! workers, they had been unsuccessful at increasin# wa#es e(cept to partially cover
cost4of4livin# rises 4 and these s"all increases were offered by "ana#e"ent
independently <o chan#es had been "ade in workers frin#e benefits, and "ana#e"ent
felt that the %T! $ld4ti"ers were responsible for the lack of union a##ressiveness Hall
realized that any activities on the part of "ana#e"ent that reduced the driver "orale
could very well increase the union-s stren#th with %T! drivers +urther"ore, as the work
force #rew lar#er and, as a result, less fa"iliar with "ana#e"ent, Hall was afraid of a
correspondin# increase in union power He feared this especially because lar#e wa#e
andDor frin#e benefit increases would work a real hardship on %T! service fir" such as
this has wa#es as its "ain ite" of e(pense, and its rates were pretty well set by what the
custo"er considered /fair/ Any increase in rates could very well discoura#e people
fro" si#htseein# andDor increase co"petition
There were several reasons why "ana#e"ent established the policy of pro"otin#
"en throu#h the ranks0 those "ost often cited were:
) >ana#e"ent felt that able and senior workers should be rewarded
; >ana#e"ent felt that a "an who had had e(perience in all of the operations
would "ake a better supervisor or dispatcher
In re#ard to the second reason the president felt that a supervisor could better
understand the drivers and their proble"s, havin# been a driver hi"self He felt that it
would b difficult to absorb the "any details of a supervisory job without havin# had
drivin# e(perience The sa"e applied to dispatchin#, for drivers and custo"ers would
ask a dispatcher a "ultitude of ,uestions involvin# train and fli#ht departures, street and
buildin# locations, rates for trips between two points by ta(i, si#htseein# tour infor"ation
and rates, and airport bus schedules and rates +urther, it was felt that a supervisor or
dispatcher e"ployed fro" the outside would have difficulty #ettin# the cooperation of the
:
drivers $n the other hand, Hall pointed out that in two "onths To" 5oodhue had
learned the airport job and was already outperfor"in# the old supervisors in duties such
as plannin# and schedulin# Hall realized, however, that 5oodhue had not as yet #otten
the full cooperation of the drivers and that it would not be wise to put hi" in full char#e
of an airport shift until he did
2
Exhibit - 1
Major Steps Taken to Improve Supervisory and Dispatchin E!!ectiveness" 1##5-#$
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
) 6orked personally with each supervisor and dispatcher, fir"in# up his authority,
responsibilities and functions
; Had weekly "eetin#s attended by supervisors, dispatchers, and the sales "ana#er
to iron out proble"s and to plan ahead
= %iscussed co"plaints with the dispatcher andDor supervisor involved, tryin# to #et
at the cause and to help the "an prevent "akin# the error a#ain
9 Added one "an to the dispatcher force and increased airport supervision by one
6arner added to dispatchin#0 ."ith and 5oodhue to airport supervision0 ."ith to
replace Be"is, 6horetired, and 5oodhue as additional help
: Assisted in the trainin# of the new supervisors
2 'stablished an auto"atic telephone e(chan#e for %T! which enabled dispatchers
and supervisors to contact drivers at ta(i stands, ter"inals, hotels, the airport, etc,
by dialin# a local rather than #oin# throu#h the old %T! switchboard The sa"e
dial service allowed the driver to contact his supervisor or dispatcher directly as
well
F Had constructed a "a#netic dispatch board for the purpose of spottin# the
location of each %T! vehicle and pointin# up which were busy and which were
available for hire This replaced a clu"sy pe# board used for the sa"e purpose
B I"proved the for"s used in the operations depart"ent A "ajor i"prove"ent
was the establish"ent of one for" with carbons to trans"it orders fro" sales to
supervisor to dispatchers to drivers This replaced several separate for"s and the
chan#e of errors in ti"e, date, place, etc, in transcribin#
1 %eveloped a chart allowin# the airport supervisor and dispatchers to keep track of
all arrivals and departures on one "aster sheet, rather than separate sheets for
each airline
F
'(hibit4;
DE%&E' T'(%S)*'T(TI*% +*M)(%,
*'-(%I.(TI*% +/('T
B
M a i n t e n a n c e
D e p a r t m e n t
S h o p F o r e m a n
A i r p o r t
D r i v e r s
A i r p o r t
D e p a r t m e n t
A i r p o r t
S u p e r v i s o r
S i g h t s e e i n g
D e p a r t m e n t
T o u r S u p e r v i s o r
S i g h t s e e i n g B u s
& L i m o u s i n e
D r i v e r s
C e n t r a l D i s p a t c h i n g
D i s p a t c h e r s
T a x i D r i v e r s
T a x i D e p a r t -
m e n t , N i g h t a n
D a ! T a x i S u p r "
# - D r i v e
D e p a p r t m e n t
# - D r i v e M a n a g e r
C o m p t r o l l e r $ p e r a t i o n s M a n a g e r S a l e s M a n a g e r
% r e s i e n t a n
& e n e r a l M a n a g e r
B o a r o ' D i r e c t o r s
Exhibit 01 2unctions o! Supervisors and Dispatchers" 1##$.
Airport .upervisors
) %irect "ove"ents of airline passen#ers and crews to and fro" the airport by bus,
ta(i, or crew car
; Geep in close touch with airlines as to passen#er load, ti"es of arrival and
departure, special fli#hts, and related infor"ation
= Infor" central dispatchin# as to fli#ht ti"es and the nu"ber of types of vehicles
needed
9 Answer ,uestions of passen#ers, assist in the loadin# of buses, and record the
passen#ers per bus for control purposes
: Train airport drivers
Tour .upervisors
) .chedule si#htseein# buses and li"ousines accordin# to presold tickets and
anticipated cash business
; !oordinate lar#e "ove"ents and clear the" with the policy depart"ent, hotel
door"en, and other interested parties
= Infor" central dispatchin# as to the ti"es of tours and the types of vehicles
needed
9 Train si#htseein# bus and li"ousine drivers
Ta(i .upervisors
) .chedule "a(i"u" ta(i covera#e for peak hours and for special downtown
events
; Infor" central dispatchin# of such schedules
= .pot check %T! ta(is on the road
9 Train ta(i drivers
%ispatchers
) .upply vehicles at the ti"es ordered by supervisors
; Take telephone orders for ta(is and dispatch the"
= Take telephone orders for buses and li"ousines and supply the" after clearin#
with the supervisor involved
9 Handle all custo"er calls at ni#ht when the sales office is closed If people call
about si#htseein# tours, try to sell the" on #oin# by %T!
1
Exhibit 31 *perations )ersonne4" 1##$.
5555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555
Hears of Arevious
44444444444444444444444
<a"e Aosition A#e .ervice '"ploy4 'ducation
"ent
AbottI 34%rive >#r 9; )8 >echanic )) #rade
!andis %ispatcher ;B B >iner ); #rade
5oodhueI AsstAirport .upervisor =: : Accountant !olle#e
HallI $perations >ana#er 9: ) Traffic
>ana#er
!olle#e
Hay"anI Tour .upervisor 91 )2 Bus driver F #rade
JacobsI AsstAirport .upervisor 98 )) +ar" hand )8 #rade
Johnson <i#ht ta(i .upervisor :2 ;8 Truck %river 2 #rade
Gelly Airport .upervisor :) )B !arpenter 1 #rade
>atola %ispatcher =2 2 Ta(i driver )8 #rade
Aollock %ispatcher =8 2 !lerk ); #rade
@oscoe AsstAirport .upervisor =B ); >iner F #rade
."ith AsstAirport .upervisor 99 : >echanic 1 #rade
.enta# %ay ta(i supervisor :: ;= Ta(i driver : #rade
Tri##er %ispatcher == 9 !lerk )) #rade
6arner,T %ispatcher ;F 2 3. Ar"y ); #rade
6arner, @I %ispatcher =9 )8 Truck driver )) #rade
)8
))