The APTA Business Member Board of Governors met recently to discuss key issues facing the public transportation industry and develop a work program for their activities over the next two years. APTA Chair Flora Castillo and APTA President and CEO Michael P. Melaniphy welcomed the group of 100 members and speakers, reinforcing the importance of the private sector in public transit.

This theme was reiterated by Angela Iannuzziello, new chair of the APTA Business Member Board of Governors (BMBG). “This is an important meeting for APTA’s private sector in that it shapes the priority issues we will be pursuing for the next few years,” said Iannuzziello, AECOM vice president and leader of its Canadian transit practice within its Americas transportation business.

“Authorization and advocacy about the need for reliable funding is at the top of our list, but right behind it are the issues of making it easier for the private sector to invest in our industry; optimizing industry practices to ensure successful best-value competitive procurements with fair and reasonable risk sharing; and prioritizing investment in our human resources to ensure the future of our industry.” She also noted that business must have “a strong voice” in APTA’s activities and said a work program was developed at this meeting to “make that happen.”

In her remarks, APTA Chair Flora Castillo reiterated the importance of including private-sector voices in APTA’s advocacy initiatives. “We need to build an army of advocates to take the business message to elected officials to ensure that our industry remains healthy,” she said. She also pointed to the need to focus on developing the industry’s workforce, building on her yearlong theme, “It’s All About the People.”

“Our workforce is the lifeline of our industry,” she said, “and it is imperative that we act now to grow our future leaders. … Public transportation is a lifeline for our riders and we need to continue to reinforce the value of public transit in the lives of every American.”

The BMBG’s Annual Business Meeting, held this year in Florida, also featured sessions on building new relationships between public transit and equity markets and transportation funding and finance beyond MAP-21.

APTA President and CEO Michael P. Melaniphy called on the industry to develop new strategies for financing capital projects and building new relationships with the financial community.

Mike Schneider, HDR/Infraconsult, moderated a panel on new investment strategies that included Karen Hedlund, deputy administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration; Sonia McMillan investment manager, infrastructure, InfraRed Capital Partners; Ray DiPrinzio, senior vice president, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation; and Lowell Clary, president Clary Consultants, who discussed Florida’s private investments in transportation projects. Sharon Greene, Sharon Greene & Associates, also a co-chair of APTA’s Authorization Task Force, spoke about private investment provisions that will be needed in a new authorization bill.

Participants in a panel to discuss public transportation issues and projects in Florida were Lisa Bacot, executive director, Florida Public Transportation Association; Jack Stephens, deputy executive director, South Florida Regional Transportation Authority; Steven Myers, director, Lee County Transit; and Ysela Llort, director, Miami-Dade Transit.

The final session addressed the political environment in Washington, DC, and its impact on transportation funding, the diversity of financing opinions, and the importance of strengthening coalitions in advocacy efforts for reauthorization.

Moderator Ed Mortimer, URS Corporation, was joined by Sean O’Neill, director, congressional relations, infrastructure advancement, Associated General Contractors of America; Joung Lee, associate director, finance and business development, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO); Jeffrey Soth, assistant director, legislative and political affairs, International Union of Operating Engineers; and Brian Tynan, director, government relations, APTA. Lee explained AASHTO’s idea to create a new sales tax on motor fuels, among other ideas, to help overcome the deficit in the Transportation Trust Fund.

Panelists and other attendees emphasized the importance of business members advocating for public transportation in person with Congress and inviting them to visit their offices and plants. “Seeing the faces of their voters who are making the products that are used in public transportation—not just buses and railcars but also the filters and switches and motors—is a powerful message to elected officials,” Iannuzziello said, “as are those working in offices designing new bus and rail projects and creating new technology applications.”

She asked business members to keep APTA staff informed about their legislative outreach and said promoting such efforts would be a regular discussion at future meetings.

Photo by Huelon Harrison Panelists at the Florida transportation issues session were, from third from left, Jack Stephens, Steven Myers, Ysela Llort, and Lisa Bacot. At left are APTA Chair Flora Castillo and APTA President & CEO Michael Melaniphy.