Following three years of construction, Los Angeles Metro recently opened Division 13, a new, state-of-the-art bus maintenance and operations facility with a multi-level parking garage that accommodates 200 CNG-powered buses, fueling equipment, transportation offices and support areas. [More]

Transfort Unveils New Service

Transfort, Fort Collins, CO, recently introduced a new weekday express service between Fort Collins and ­Boulder that provides a one-seat ride with limited stops, funded through a federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality grant administered through the Denver Regional Council of Governments. [More]

APTA Chair McCall Addresses National Conference of Regions

APTA Chair Valarie J. McCall recently addressed members of the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC), calling for even greater cooperation between the organization and APTA in remarks that emphasized her central theme as the association’s chair. [More]

AVTA on Track to Be 100% Electric by 2018

The Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA), Lancaster, CA, has awarded BYD Motors a contract for up to 85 electric-powered buses over five years, moving the agency closer to becoming a 100 percent electric public transit fleet. [More]

APTA Chair McCall Visits MCI and New Flyer

APTA Chair Valarie J. McCall recently visited the manufacturing facilities of New Flyer and Motor Coach Industries (MCI), the country’s largest public transit bus manufacturers, and addressed a joint session of sales executives to discuss her major priorities as chair, including her initiative to enhance collaboration among APTA, business members and transit board members. [More]

New CEOs Named

A public transit agency and an infrastructure firm have announced new chief executives and a state DOT has named an acting secretary. [More]

What's New from FTA

FTA recently released a proposed rule for the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (Agency Safety Plan), a notice of availability for the proposed National Public Transportation Safety Plan (National Safety Plan) and a new Transit Award Management System (TrAMS) to award and manage federal funding. [More]

BJCTA, Partners Launch Airport Shuttle Service

The Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority (BJCTA), also known as MAX, recently introduced a new pilot shuttle service connecting downtown Birmingham, AL, with the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, partnering with the Greater ­Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau and major hotels. [More]

New York MTA Issues 'Green Bonds'

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) offered its first-ever “Green Bonds” to the public Feb. 17-18, promoting them with a targeted marketing campaign on websites and area radio stations. [More]

Construction Begins on San Diego Area BRT

Representatives of the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), Caltrans and the city of Chula Vista, CA, broke ground Feb. 17 for the South Bay Rapid project, a BRT service that will operate on a 21-mile route between downtown San Diego and the Otay Mesa Point of Entry on the Mexican border. [More]

RTD Sets One-Day Ridership Record for Broncos Parade

Denver’s Regional Transportation District announced the highest single-day ridership in its history on Feb. 9, when more than one million fans of the Super Bowl 50 champion Denver Broncos attended a downtown victory parade. [More]

PSTA Thanks Riders on Closing Day of Bus Hub

The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) held a “We Love Our Riders” event in advance of Valentine’s Day to mark the agency discontinuing its use of Williams Park in St. Petersburg, FL, as a bus hub and transfer center after 50 years. [More]

HART Welcomes Farmer's Market at Transfer Center

The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, Tampa, FL, recently partnered with Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful and local farmers at Florida Urban Organics to host a biweekly farmers’ market at the netp@rk Transit Transfer Center. [More]

Apply Now for Eno Center for Transportation's Transit Senior Executive Program

The Eno Center for Transportation is accepting applications through Feb. 26 for its year-long Transit Senior Executive (TSE) Program. [More]

In Memoriam

Passenger Transport recognizes the passing of a past DOT secretary, a former FRA administrator and a co-creator of Chicago's Regional Transportation District. [More]

PT: A Real Page Turner

Passenger Transport is also available in a hard-copy format that makes it easy to pass along to colleagues, mark up with handwritten notes, display in your reception area or office and annotate with post-its for future reference. Get your own printed copy today. [More]

IN-DEPTH

Connecting the Sectors: Part II

Click here to see the second part of a two-part story about public transit agencies working with private transportation providers such as Uber to extend service. See Part I here. [More]

APTA MEMBER PROFILE

Meet Lester W. Bryant!

This is the latest in an ongoing series of columns showcasing APTA members. The subject of this profile is Lester W. Bryant, board secretary, VIA Metropolitan Transit, San Antonio, member of the APTA Board of Directors, American Public Transportation Foundation Board of Directors, Legislative Committee and Higher Education Subcommittee and secretary of the Transit Board Members Committee. [More]

APTA NEWS

APTA Award Nominations Due April 15

APTA invites its public transit agency and business members to submit nominations by April 15 for its annual awards program, which recognizes excellence in the public transportation industry in North America. [More]

Safety, Security Award Nominations Open

APTA is accepting nominations through March 1 for its 2016 Bus Safety & Security Excellence Awards and through April 1 for its Rail Safety & Security Excellence Awards. [More]

Stop Requested: APTA Offices

Bus manufacturer BYD brought one of its new 60-foot articulated electric battery buses to Washington, DC, and gave APTA staff a private ride, demonstrating the bus's maneuverability in city traffic. [More]

APTA, NFC Sign Memo of Understanding

APTA announced a ­Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the nonprofit NFC Forum on Feb. 17 that will enable the organizations to educate the industry on near field communication (NFC) technologies, which provide a wireless connection between mobile phones and wireless readers such as those seen in gated fare collection for public transportation systems. [More]

Busy Season for APTA Conferences

As spring approaches, APTA encourages members to mark their calendars now for one of the many conferences scheduled in the coming months. [More]

COMMENTARY

Riders Overestimate Wait Times at Bus, Rail Stops; Basic Amenities, Countdown Clocks, Trees Help

Waiting at a bus stop or a subway station, it can feel like the minutes stretch on forever, forever, forever, foooooooorever, for-ev-er before the train or bus finally (finally!) arrives. This isn’t because your local transit agency is conspiring to make your life miserable. Your brain perceives the minutes spent waiting as longer than they actually are. [More]

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Who's Doing What in the Industry

Click here to see the latest hirings and promotions in public transportation agencies and business members. Items appear in People on the Move in the order in which they are received. [More]