As public transit’s advocacy education campaign, “Where Public Transportation Goes, Community Grows,” takes shape during congressional discussions to authorize the next surface transportation bill, Passenger Transport had an opportunity to ask ­several attendees at the recent Legislative Conference about their grassroots advocacy initiatives. Their responses follow:

What are your organization’s advocacy goals, and what plans and practices are in place for achieving them?

David Armijo
General Manager
AC Transit, Oakland, CA
AC Transit is located in the San ­Francisco Bay area, where there’s a history of activism on a range of community issues—from public transportation to sports. We are seen as a leader in this area. We have three areas of focus:

First, to quote the late U.S. Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill, “all politics is local.” Public transit systems need to have good relationships with the congressional delegation from their area—not just their individual members of Congress—but with all of them and with staffers too. They need to know about you, your board members, and your advocacy priorities and goals. Share your success stories, newsletters, advocacy fact sheets . . . it’s all fodder for their social media.

Second, use APTA and its networks. For AC Transit, that means the California Transit Association and, of course, APTA itself. I can call or email my colleagues on the Legislative Committee with questions and get good insight right away. You’re never really alone.

Third, build relationships. Get to know people so you hear from them and they hear from you throughout the year. We’ve discovered that a winter meeting can be especially productive. It’s a good time to interact with members of Congress because they’re home, holding events and meeting with voters.

Jeffrey Wharton
President, IMPulse NC LLC
Mount Olive, NC
Here at IMPulse NC LLC we spend time to develop a personal relationship with our members of Congress. We have multiple congressional districts that cover where the factory is located and where the employees live (and vote).

We have invited our elected representatives to visit our factory and meet our employees. Not only does it provide an opportunity for the member of the House or Senate to see what we do, but it also allows our local community leaders to show their support and reinforce our message for greater investment in public transportation funding for the betterment of the ­community and state.

Andy Jazwick
Vice President, Legislative Liaison
Cubic Corporation
Arlington, VA
At Cubic, we are currently focused on the renewal of the two-year transportation reauthorization bill, MAP-21. A key priority in our view is to advocate for greater use of information technology to improve transportation efficiencies and the traveler experience.

One example is to show how “big data” technology can help transportation authorities and operators more efficiently optimize resources and plan changes to their transportation infrastructures. Another important agenda is restoring parity to the benefit program that enables employers to subsidize employees’ parking and transit costs with pre-tax payment.

While there are many aspects to an advocacy program, one often overlooked platform is an automated letter writing campaign tool you can use with your own employees. For example, at Cubic we use Rally Congress, an online service that enables our employees anywhere in the country to just enter their home zip code and then automatically send an advocacy email letter that we wrote to their representatives.

Targeted advocacy by transportation industry technology and infrastructure providers can help influence political priorities, agendas, and policies, contributing to more efficient use of financial resources and better services for riders. In addition, the ubiquity of email, the Internet, and social media creates new ways to achieve these goals efficiently and effectively.

Bridget Hennessey
Chief of Staff/Intergovernmental Affairs Officer
North County Transit District
Oceanside, CA
Our board adopts an annual legislative agenda. This year, we’re transitioning from the plan we had in place for the last four years when we focused on funding for PTC. That’s now fully funded, so we’re shifting toward state of good repair and our Camp ­Pendleton project, where we want to build a ­transit center on base. Camp Pendleton is the ­largest employer in San Diego County—75,000 people enter that base every morning and they’re building a hospital so the number of people entering the base is expected to triple in the next three years.

Our focus for this project right now is to educate the California delegation and to partner with the Department of Defense. We’ve just received a letter of support from the Secretary of the Navy expressing support for the transit center. We’re in the early stages of the project, talking with our board members to educate them so they can help expand the voice and reach of the agency.

It’s all about building relationships—telling your story and making sure you help your friends and advocates tell your story. And it’s always ideal to build those relationships when you’re not asking for anything. It’s much harder to start building relationships when you’re asking. And be sure to keep your state delegation in the loop on projects.

Ivan A. Rodriguez
Government Relations Officer
Jacksonville Transportation Authority, FL
At the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA), led by our new CEO Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., we solidified the JTA’s vision for the future with the Blueprint for Transportation Excellence (BTE), a 20-year strategic plan to transform travel in Jacksonville and stimulate the economy in Northeast Florida. From the BTE, we created Blueprint 2020, a list of ready-to-go initiatives that can be implemented in the next five years to help achieve the vision.

Providing excellent customer service, modernizing the transit system, and preparing for the future by implementing cutting-edge technology are the cornerstones of our mission. Three interconnected initiatives are currently underway: Route optimization, which restructures the JTA’s route network to improve frequency and make routes more direct; real-time passenger information to help customers track the location of the next bus; and First Coast Flyer, a new service that will take customers where they want to go more quickly.

The JTA executive leadership team is advocating for these initiatives by engaging with public officials at the federal, state, and local levels, and through citizen advisory groups. We are also partnering with such organizations as the Florida Public Transportation Association, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, and APTA to draw from their expertise.



To find details and to get involved in this advocacy outreach campaign in your community, visit the APTA website
to find authorization recommendations and resources, research-based strategies, ready-to-use ad templates, and other tools to help you translate national messages and activities for local impact.