Cameron McKnight’s leadership as the Bionic Bus supervisor has been transformative despite service challenges over the past year. Rider demand for Bionic Bus service has nearly doubled in the past year and McKnight helped lead two key projects that improved CAMBUS’ capacity to keep up with campus needs.  McKnight continued the implementation of Spare, CAMBUS’ Bionic scheduling platform that includes a driver and rider app. 

Additionally, McKnight collaborated with full-time staff in the implementation of the non-CDL Demand-Response Driver (DRD) position. The position allows students to work at CAMBUS without getting a CDL, resulting in quicker hiring and training period. This was a strategic accomplishment that significantly advanced demand-response operations. 

It is one small step for McKnight, one giant leap for Bionic Bus. Without the success of the Spare app and the effectiveness of the DRD position, the Bionic Bus team would be in a different position. McKnight says, “Since DRDs are strictly Bionic operators, they can understand the passengers' needs on a deeper level, building personal relationships while providing the best service possible.” 

Thanks to his leadership, innovative thinking, and dedication for excellence these services have continued to adapt and expand to support the ever changing UI campus community.

When asked what his favorite part of the job was McKnight said, “CAMBUS has given me the ability to meet and foster relationships with so many people from different walks of life that are truly grateful for the service we offer. Being able to be a part of it has made an extraordinary difference in my life.” 

Rachel Woodley has made her mark as the staffing supervisor at CAMBUS putting up record-breaking hiring numbers. CAMBUS started fall 2023 with a 37% vacancy rate in student driver positions, resulting in temporary service reductions across the system. Woodley has an unwavering dedication and has yielded remarkable results for hiring over the past six months at CAMBUS.  

Woodley says, "I was able to be so successful in hiring over the past 6 months because of the team I was working with especially from the CAMBUS Personnel Supervisor – Alyson Holevoet.

Some processes I changed were when we were bringing groups of people in for orientation, I would have them send their class schedule (or availability to work) to me prior to coming to orientation. This way the trainers were able to create schedules for their training and have them already scheduled once they attended. This helped get new hires started quicker and therefore through the trainer process sooner." 

As a direct result of Woodley’s efforts, CAMBUS restored all reduced services at the beginning of the spring semester and will continue to help staffing demands as campus grows.

CAMBUS searches for employees like Woodley and thankfully she is in the right position to help choose the future employees of CAMBUS. Woodley’s impact has been transformative to CAMBUS’s hiring and her ability to execute has been monumental.