May 24, 2010

In This Issue

» NEWS HEADLINES

» COMMENTARY

» APTA NEWS

The classifieds in this issue offer eight Help Wanted positions, including two chief executive posts!

The presidents of four of the largest national transportation-related organizations discussed their concerns about the Kerry-Lieberman climate change bill with reporters on May 19 in a conference call and vowed to keep advocating that 100 percent of transportation revenues be invested back into the transportation system, as has been the practice for the last 50 years. [More]

Rogoff Addresses Funding Backlog at Boston Summit

Public transportation agencies throughout the nation are facing a $78 billion backlog of deferred maintenance projects, the administrator of the Federal Transit Administration announced at a May 18 event in Boston. [More]

FRA Proposes Ban on Distracting Devices

On May 17, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) proposed a rule that would restrict, with certain exceptions, the use of mobile phones and other potentially distracting devices by on-duty railroad employees. [More]

Comprehensive Bus Guidelines Now Available

For the first time, all of APTA’s Standard Bus Procurement Guidelines (SBPG) standards—technical specifications as well as commercial terms—are available in a single volume, released by the APTA Standards Development Program during the APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference. The original version of the document contained only the commercial terms, known as the terms and conditions; the technical specifications were viewed as a later phase of the effort that has now been completed. [More]

Pistole TSA Nominee

President Barack Obama nominated John S. Pistole, current deputy director of the FBI, to serve the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as assistant secretary for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The Senate must approve the nomination. [More]

Van Ark to Head California High-Speed Rail Authority

Roelof van Ark, who will become the new chief executive officer of the California High-Speed Rail Authority on June 1, brings extensive experience with two rail manufacturing firms to his new position in Sacramento. He is only the second CEO in the authority’s 14-year history, succeeding Mehdi Morshed, who recently retired. [More]

Jeanne Neese Dies; Longtime SEPTA Employee

Jeanne E. Neese, 60, of Rosemont, PA, an attorney and director of government affairs for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in Philadelphia for more than three decades, died April 28. [More]

Omnitrans Driver Dies; Memorial Fund Established

Omnitrans in San Bernardino, CA, announced the first death of an agency employee on the job in its 34-year history. [More]

Public Transit Reaches Out to Older Americans

To highlight the growth in the aging population, the U.S. Conference on Aging declared May to be Older Americans Month. APTA, through its Telling Our Story initiative, developed Older Americans Outreach, May 8-11, with public transit systems nationwide showcasing specific services targeted to older Americans. [More]

COMMENTARY

The Search for a National Solution to Our Transit Woes

BY DAN GRABAUSKAS AND PAUL REGAN

Red Sox and Yankees fans can agree on one thing—how to get to the game. In New York, about 45 percent of ticketholders take public transportation. In Boston, more than 50 percent of ticketholders take the T—a percentage higher than any other professional sports franchise in any city in the country. Yet, even as hundreds of thousands pour into rail cars each season, most are unaware that the trains are running on empty. [More]

Water Wonderland in R.I.

The ferry between Providence and Newport had been a delight for those who took it, but in recent years its future hung by an annual thread, only to be saved by a last-minute reprieve. The service seemed to have only nine lives, for it ended after its ninth season in 2008. The Rhode Island Transit Authority says it will not return this year. [More]

APTA NEWS

Attend the Rail Conference

What’s not to be missed at the 2010 APTA Rail Conference, June 6-9 in Vancouver, BC? [More]

Thanks to Bus Conference Sponsors

APTA and the International Bus Roadeo Committee wish to thank the sponsors of the 2010 Bus & Paratransit Conference and International Bus Roadeo in Cleveland. [More]