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UITP Summit Features Special APTA/CUTA North America Day
An APTA delegation of more than 12 members participated in North America Day May 16, sponsored jointly by APTA and the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) during the International Organization for Public Transport’s (UITP’s) Global Summit and Exhibition in Montréal. [More]
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COMMENTARY |
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Public Transportation and the Emerging Mobility Ecosystem, by Richard A. White, APTA Acting President & CEO
Our long-standing notions about mobility are about to change: In the emerging mobility ecosystem, public transportation will be more important than ever. Why? Because it will function as the backbone of a multimodal system involving many different partners and interests. [More]
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NEWS, PHOTOS FROM THE BUS & PARATRANSIT CONFERENCE |
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Bus Conference Focuses on Best Practices, Priorities, Trends
Nearly 700 industry professionals gathered for APTA’s annual Bus & Paratransit Conference and some 439 participants joined in the International Bus Roadeo, May 5-10 in Reno, NV, to learn and share, network, see the latest products and services and gain insights on industry topics. [More]
Speakers Note Industry's Value as Economic Engine
The economic benefits of public transportation and the need for greater federal investment in the industry were major topics addressed during the Opening General Session, starting with APTA Chair Doran J. Barnes. Barnes, executive director, Foothill Transit, West Covina, CA, thanked Lee Gibson, executive director, Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County (RTC), and his team for hosting the conference and recognized Gibson for his leadership in electric vehicle technology. [More]
FTA's Welbes: Existing Funding Provides 'Stability and Predictability'; Thanks APTA, Members for Support
FTA Executive Director Matthew Welbes thanked APTA and its members for their strong support when he addressed the FTA Update General Session, specifically noting the association’s advocacy efforts for retaining public transit funding at FAST Act levels in the recently passed FY 2017 omnibus appropriations bill, which will provide “stability and predictability for FTA grantees.” [More]
Denver RTD Crowned Roadeo Grand Champion: RTD Also Wins Top Maintenance Crew; Best Bus Operators Named
Denver’s Regional Transportation District was named grand champion at APTA’s 42nd Annual International Bus Roadeo, having earned the highest combined team score for both operators and maintainers during the event, held May 5-9. [More]
Public Transit Agencies Win Top Safety, Security Honors
APTA presented the annual Bus Safety & Security Excellence Awards during the conference to recognize public transit agencies for innovative programs dedicated to improving safety and security for their employees, passengers and the public. [More]
APTA Recognizes 'Industry Giant' John Walsh
In a moving tribute, members of APTA’s Bus Technical Maintenance Committee recognized their colleague John Walsh with a special award during APTA’s Bus & Paratransit Conference. [More]
Shared Ride Services Changing Transit's Landscape
With the growth of ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft and the increasing presence of autonomous vehicles, public transit agencies are seeing the landscape shift around them, issues a panel of experts—including representatives of agencies, FTA and Uber—considered during a May 9 General Session. [More]
Closing Session: Update Routes to Meet Rider Needs
A public transit system should change its routes according to “what makes sense for riders” rather than just doing what it has always done, W. Curtis Stitt, president and chief executive officer, Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) in Columbus, told the May 10 Closing General Session. [More]
APTA, Reno Leaders Greet Sen. Dean Heller
Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) and APTA and conference leaders met informally prior to Heller’s remarks to attendees and the conference’s official start. [More]
Customer Service Challenge Winner
Benito Zavalza, Omnitrans, San Bernardino, CA, won first place in the annual Customer Service Challenge, which tests participants’ professionalism, customer service and problem-solving skills. [More]
Talking Business at the Conference
APTA’s business members, including representatives of OEMs, A&E firms, suppliers, consultants, DBEs, small businesses and contract operators, gathered for a popular networking breakfast during the conference to strengthen their existing relationships and find new partners in a special session that provides an opportunity to connect, business-to-business. [More]
Concurrent Sessions Offer Topic-Specific Learning
In addition to the four large General Sessions covered elsewhere in this issue of Passenger Transport, the conference featured approximately 50 smaller sessions on a wide range of topics, including special technical workshops affiliated with the International Bus Roadeo, BRT Tuesday, programs for mid-level managers and training co-hosted by the National Technical Institute. [More]
All About the Bus
Click here to see a page of photos from the APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference. [More]
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AROUND THE INDUSTRY |
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New CEOs Named
Five public transit agencies, businesses and employee unions have announced new and interim chief executives. [More]
WSP Renames, Rebrands
WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, a global engineering and professional services firm, is now operating as WSP worldwide and WSP USA in the United States. [More]
DTC Opens Transit Center
The Delaware Transit Corporation (DTC) expanded its service to the state’s beach resorts with ribbon-cutting ceremonies May 12 to open the first phase of the Lewes Transit Center, attended by Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and state Transportation Secretary Jennifer Cohan. [More]
Metra's Two Ground Breakings
Metra commuter rail in Chicago broke ground May 16 for the system’s first new station since 2011—the Romeoville Station on the Heritage Corridor Line—and earlier this month began construction on renovations to the Healy Station on the Milwaukee North Line. [More]
GCTD Breaks Ground for 'Green' Facility
Gold Coast Transit District (GCTD), Oxnard, CA, broke ground May 10 for an operations and maintenance facility that will serve a fleet of up to 125 buses with an eight-bay maintenance and repair building, a CNG fuel station and bus wash while meeting LEED certification requirements. [More]
Calgary Starts BRT Construction
The city of Calgary, Alberta, recently broke ground for the 17 Avenue S.E. BRT, the first stage of a two-part project to build the line with dedicated, bus-only lanes that will connect the southeast region of the city to its downtown. [More]
MARTA Celebrates Chamblee TOD
Keith Parker, general manager/chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), joined other agency representatives and project partners to break ground at “Trackside,” a $25 million TOD project near the Chamblee MARTA Station, on May 10. [More]
Luminator Group Acquires Apollo Video Technology
Luminator Technology Group, a provider of passenger information systems based in Plano, TX, has acquired Apollo Video Technology, a supplier of public transit bus mobile video surveillance systems headquartered in Bothell, WA. [More]
BART's New Station Entrance Links to Union City TOD
Until May 12, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District’s (BART) Union City Station had only one entrance, requiring pedestrians to walk a half mile to reach fare gates. [More]
NVTA Celebrates Completion of Multimodal Center
At ceremonies May 18, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) marked the completion of a new multimodal facility in Arlington that offers increased bus capacity, enhanced street infrastructure and improved access to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Crystal City Metrorail Station, located in suburban Washington, DC. [More]
PART Opens Coble Intermodal Center
The Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART), Winston-Salem, NC, dedicated the Coble Intermodal Transportation Center in Greensboro at ribbon-cutting ceremonies May 17 [More]
MBTA Opens Boston Landing Station; New Balance Financed Construction of $20 Million Station
With Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito in attendance, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) opened its newest commuter rail station—Boston Landing, financed in full by New Balance at a site near its world headquarters—with a ribbon-cutting ceremony May 17. Regular service to the station begins May 22. [More]
Nashville RTA Breaks Ground for State's First TOD Project
The Regional Transportation Authority of Middle Tennessee (RTA) in Nashville broke ground May 10 for a new Music City Star rail station in Hamilton Springs, TN, as part of the state’s first TOD. [More]
TransLink Launches Electric Bus Trial
TransLink, Vancouver, British Columbia, recently began a three-month pilot program to test an electric battery-powered bus, the latest effort in several environmentally friendly bus technology initiatives the agency is conducting to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [More]
GCRTA Extends Trolley Route
Joe Calabrese, general manager of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA), recently cut a ribbon to mark the extension of RTA’s C-Line trolley service to the Flats East Bank neighborhood starting May 26. [More]
TRB Seeks Nominations for Sharon D. Banks Award
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is seeking nominations by July 31 for the Sharon D. Banks Award for Humanitarian Leadership in Transportation. [More]
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APTA NEWS |
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Rail Conference Session Confirmed
Learn how 2016 became a record year for public transit ballot measures at a General Session at the 2017 APTA Rail Conference, June 11-14, Hilton Baltimore. [More]
APTA Website in Top 10
The Global Grid, an online website for daily news related to urban planning, has named APTA’s website one of transportation’s Top 10 “most essential and most visited” sites for 2017. [More]
Mark Your Calendar
Deadlines for two APTA programs are approaching. [More]
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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE |
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Who's Doing What in the Industry
Passenger Transport announces the following hirings and promotions in public transportation agencies and business members. Items appear in People on the Move as space permits.
Click here to see the latest. [More]
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