NEWS HEADLINES

U.S. Public Transit Ridership Climbs: 10.4 Billion Trips in 2011

U.S. public transportation ridership in 2011 totaled 10.4 billion trips, 2.3 percent more than the 2010 total and the second highest annual ridership since 1957. This represents 235 million more trips than were taken in 2010. [More]

LaHood Gets Standing Ovation for Support: ‘If You Pass a Transportation Bill, You Pass a Jobs Bill’
BY SUSAN BERLIN, Senior Editor

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood brought more than 700 people to their feet at the Opening General Session of the APTA Legislative Conference in Washington in recognition of his stalwart support of federal funding for public transportation. [More]

 

House, Senate Budget Chairs Release FY 2013 Budget Outlines

This week, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) released his Committee’s Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2013, setting broad guidelines for spending and revenues, including policy guidance aimed at shaping the spending and tax provisions of the budget. [More]

DOT Report: Raise Investment Levels

Current levels of transportation funding are far below where they should be if the nation is to maintain its public transportation systems and highways, according to a new DOT report titled 2010 Status of the Nation's Highways, Bridges, and Transit: Conditions and Performance. [More]

APTA Members Meet with White House Officials

Public transportation industry leaders met with White House officials March 13. They discussed authorization, ridership growth, and how public transportation helps people deal with the high cost of gas. [More]

LaHood Proposes Streamlined NEPA Process

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Peter M. Rogoff, administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), have announced proposed changes that “would significantly cut red tape for certain public transportation projects under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and dramatically speed some  of them toward completion.” [More]

Santa Clara VTA Receives FFGA for BART Extension

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in San Jose, CA, recently received the largest grant in its history: a $900 million funding commitment from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) through the New Starts Funding Program for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) Silicon Valley Berryessa Extension Project. [More]

DePallo Testifies Before House DHS Appropriations

Michael DePallo, chair, APTA Security Affairs Steering Committee, and director and general manager, Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation, testified recently before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security during a hearing on public transportation security investments for Fiscal Year 2013. [More]

DesignLine Corporation Announces New Leader

DesignLine Corporation, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, has announced the appointment of Joseph J. Smith as interim chief executive officer, effective immediately. [More]

COMMENTARY

Focus on Member Value, Agility, and Thought Leadership
BY MICHAEL P. MELANIPHY, APTA President & CEO

I would like to take this opportunity--now that I have been “on the job” for just over four months--to give you an update on what the APTA team and I have been focusing on and where we are headed. [More]

APTA MEMBER PROFILE

Meet Christin Wegener!

This is the latest in an ongoing series of columns showcasing APTA members. The subject of this profile is Christin Wegener, chief, Fairfax Connector Section, Fairfax County DOT, Fairfax, VA, Leadership APTA Class of 2011. [More]

MEET THE APTA STAFF

Meet Saahir Brewington!

This is the latest in an ongoing series of stories showcasing members of the APTA staff. The subject of this profile is Saahir Brewington, program manager-bus standards, Member Services/Technical Services Department. [More]

APTA NEWS

Bus Conference to Feature Networking, Keynote Speaker

APTA invites its business members attending the APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference in Long Beach, CA, to participate in a networking breakfast Monday, May 7. [More]

Two Washington State Agencies Achieve Gold
BY KYLE BELL, APTA Program Manager-Environment and Infrastructure

Two Washington State public transportation agencies—Intercity Transit in Olympia and Sound Transit in Seattle—recently became the first U.S. agencies to achieve Gold-level recognition for their efforts in support of the APTA Sustainability Commitment, of which both were founding signatories in 2009. They are the second and third APTA members to achieve this status, following TransLink of Vancouver, BC. [More]

APTF Recognizes Premo

The American Public Transportation Foundation (APTF) announced the Jerome C. Premo AECOM Scholarship—the third of five named scholarships being created under the APTF’s “Take Us There” Campaign—during the Opening General Session of the APTA Legislative Conference. Premo is global transit director/executive vice president, AECOM. [More]

2012 APTA LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE COVERAGE

Szabo, Rogoff: Stay Focused on Safe, Dependable Transit
BY SUSAN R. PAISNER, Senior Managing Editor

The afternoon General Session on March 12—“Update from the U.S. Department of Transportation”—was spirited, with Administrators Joseph C. Szabo of the Federal Railroad Administration and Peter M. Rogoff of the Federal Transit Administration providing their candid views on authorization and the future of public transportation. [More]

Cummings, Norton, ‘Advocacy Guru’ Address Conference
BY SUSAN R. PAISNER, Senior Managing Editor

Participants in APTA’s Legislative Conference heard from Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) and Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), as well as “advocacy guru” Stephanie Vance, at the March 13 “Get Started with Members of Congress” General Session. [More]

Garrett Cites Congress for Lack of Bipartisanship
BY SUSAN BERLIN, Senior Editor

“I’ve covered Congress, on and off, since 1990, and I’ve never seen anything like the past two years. What I’m seeing is a tolerance of minimalism and mediocrity that could be a threat to the nation…. In the past, it wasn’t considered an accomplishment that Congress didn’t shut down the government and did raise the debt ceiling.”

National Journal reporter Major Garrett emphasized the polarization of Congress and the difficulty of compromise, both between the two parties and between the House and Senate, in his March 11 remarks before the APTA Legislative Conference. [More]

Congressional Staffers Provide Bill Updates
BY CHAD CHITWOOD, Program Manager-Communications

A strong panel of congressional staffers presented an update on Capitol Hill activity at a March 12 session during the APTA Legislative Conference in Washington. Their conversation took place in the same week that the Senate passed a transportation authorization. [More]

APTA Partners Discuss Need for Authorization Bill
BY KATHY GOLDEN, Editor

At a March 12 General Session, “The Transit Coalition: Partners in Transportation Authorization,” representatives of stakeholders in the authorization process discussed their respective organizations’ advocacy efforts on behalf of a surface transportation bill and called for quick passage. [More]

Scenes from the 2012 APTA Legislative Conference

Here are a few scenes from APTA's 2012 Legislative Conference in Washington, DC. [More]