Rogoff: Make the Case for American Jobs Act
BY SUSAN BERLIN, Senior Editor

“If the president of the United States can make the case for public transit, surely you can do the same thing,” Peter M. Rogoff, administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), told a packed audience at the Oct. 3 Opening General Session of the APTA Annual Meeting and EXPO in New Orleans. [More]

EXPO 2011: Bigger and Better Than Ever

To the sounds of a New Orleans jazz band, thousands of U.S. and international public transportation professionals streamed into the massive exhibit space of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center for the gala opening of the 2011 EXPO—at the conclusion of APTA’s Opening General Session. [More]

APTA Officers Inducted

The APTA Board of Directors inducted its 2011-2012 officers at its meeting Oct. 1. [More]

APTA Releases Reports at Annual Meeting & EXPO

On Oct. 4 in New Orleans, APTA released a newly updated report making the case for investment in the public transportation industry by detailing the enormous growth in ridership, service provided, and funding levels. The report, The Case for Business Investment in Public Transportation, demonstrates that public transit has undergone steady growth over the past three decades and is now a $55 billion industry. [More]

Omnitrans Begins Work on First BRT Line

Omnitrans in San Bernardino, CA, launched construction Sept. 29 on the region’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, the E Street Corridor sbX line, with approximately 200 people in attendance. The $192 million project is one of only 10 Small Starts projects in the nation to receive Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding in Fiscal Year 2011. [More]

Carpenter to Succeed Aesch in Rochester, NY

The Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA) Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve Bill Carpenter as the authority’s next chief executive officer, effective Oct. 1. Carpenter, who most recently served the agency as chief operating officer, will succeed Mark R. Aesch, who served in the position for seven years. [More]

Bennett Is New CEO of Proterra

Proterra, a manufacturer of zero-emission public transportation vehicles based in Greenville, SC, announced the appointment of David Bennett as its new chief executive officer. [More]

NEWS FROM THE 2011 APTA ANNUAL MEETING & EXPO

FTA Officials Present Priorities and Updates
BY STEPHANIE BRUNO, Special to Passenger Transport

Audience members attending the 2011 APTA Annual Meeting crowded into a conference room Oct. 4 to hear Peter M. Rogoff, administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), speak about the agency’s priorities and updates. [More]

RTA Recovering and Thriving Post-Katrina Through Hard Work and Partnerships
BY KATHY GOLDEN, Editor

The Oct. 4 Host Forum at the 2011 APTA Annual Meeting and EXPO highlighted the efforts of the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005—for which APTA honored the agency with its first Special Recognition for Extraordinary Recovery. [More]

APTA Honors ‘Best of the Best’ at Awards Luncheon

The public transportation industry honored its top leaders and agencies in North America at the Oct. 4 APTA Awards Breakfast, held during the 2011 APTA Annual Meeting and EXPO in New Orleans. [More]

2011 AdWheel First-Place and Grand Award Winners

 Here is the complete list of first-place winners in the 2011 AdWheel Awards competition. [More]

‘How We Commute Matters’: Florida Keynotes General Session
BY STEPHANIE BRUNO, Special to Passenger Transport

“The systems you build and the battles you fight in the face of an unbelievably uninformed public are truly heroic,” Richard Florida told an audience of public transportation industry professionals at an Oct. 4 General Session during the 2011 APTA Annual Meeting. [More]

More Scenes from the 2011 APTA Annual Meeting and EXPO

Here are more scenes from the 2011 APTA Annual Meeting and EXPO in New Orleans.  [More]

COMMENTARY

Mass transit can help revitalize neighborhoods, too
BY ERIKA D. SMITH

Marcus Saloane has lived along College Avenue near East 28th Street for almost two decades.

He’s watched the neighborhood change from a place where young men would brazenly stand in the streets to shoot people to a place where young professionals are moving in with their families. The blight and the crime aren’t gone, but redevelopment efforts are slowly picking up speed.

But to kick that redevelopment into overdrive, Saloane and many of his neighbors hope to capitalize on a potential commuter rail line that would run between Noblesville and Downtown Indianapolis. [More]