Recently the ITE and WTS student chapters were given a technical tour in Jacksonville, Florida. The first stop was the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) facilities. First, they learned about the history of JTA. Employees shared their work experiences with many having worked there for over 10 years. Then they met two bus driving trainers who explained the importance of being a defensive driver and showed them their training facilities. The bus simulator represented the training for all drivers before they hit the road. All bus drivers that are involved in a crash or a collision need to pass the safety training provided by JTA’s Bus Driving Simulator.

All of the students had the opportunity to explore the bus simulator and engage in five different scenarios: roads with parallel parking, vehicles running a red light, managing multiple turns (left and right), pedestrian, cyclist and animal crossing, and parking area. The ITE members had the opportunity to drive the bus simulator and react to the different unexpected scenarios. At the end of each demo, the coaches explained to what they did wrong and demonstrated how it should be done to guarantee safety.

Their second stop was the Jacksonville Port Authority. Susan Stewart, Legislative Aide of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, gave them a tour of the Blount Island Marine Terminal. They learned how vehicles are stored and shipped to different locations all around the world. That day, they were able to view BMW vehicles that were being shipped to Australia. Additionally, the students were given the opportunity to explore the goods container storage. The operator in charge explained how the goods were stored and the coordination it took to increase the productivity of the port to make shipments on time.

Their final stop was the Jacksonville International Airport. Debbie Jones, Community Relations Administrator of Jacksonville Aviation Authority, give the students a tour of the airport terminal A, including the hold baggage screening (HBS) area and the airport operations control center (AOCC).