The 2012 APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference is less than a month away—May 6-9 in Long Beach, CA. Register now to participate in four days of educational opportunities, hear a variety of speakers, and attend the Bus Roadeo Banquet honoring North America’s best bus operators and maintenance teams.

Highlights of this year’s schedule include:

* A half-day session conducted by the National Transit Institute, “Leading as a Mid-Manager in Today’s Public Transportation Environment.” The program will help public transportation professionals in supervisory and mid-level positions with skills to lead, manage, and supervise from the middle of the organization. It covers diversity and generational differences, emotional intelligence, time management, and leadership skills.

* APTA President & CEO Michael Melaniphy will meet informally with conference participants, sharing his vision for advancing the association’s agenda and discussing members’ ideas of how APTA can make their membership even more valuable.

* “Integration and Coordination: Transit, Paratransit, Human Service Transportation, and Regional Needs.” This session will examine ways that public transit providers—including those using complementary Americans with Disabilities Act paratransit—can offer service between regions with multiple service agencies. It will cover using transportation resources in new ways; creating alternative services; and examining how community partnerships in Hawaii, southern California, and Rhode Island have led to coordinating and streamlining multiple specialized operations.

* The third annual “Walk and Roll” Wellness Event, co-sponsored by Easter Seals Project ACTION and Long Beach Transit. Speakers and audience members can walk and/or roll along a predetermined route through downtown Long Beach, emphasizing the need to support accessible transportation for persons with disabilities. Accessible transportation will be available.

* The Bus Display and Bus Products & Services Showcase. Expert personnel will be on hand to answer your questions as they exhibit what’s new and innovative in the world of bus equipment and services.

More information about the APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference, including how to register, is available at the APTA website.

Also, business members are reminded to register by April 16 for the May 7 Business Member Networking Breakfast if they want their names to appear in the brochure. The registration form is available here.

Destinations Magazine The exterior of the Long Beach Convention Center, site of the 2012 APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference.