November 13, 2015
APTA MEMBER PROFILE
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Meet David Stackrow!

David M. Stackrow, CPA

Board chair, Capital District Transportation Authority, Albany, NY, 2009 APTA Outstanding Public Transportation Board Member; member, APTA Board of Directors; chair, Transit Board Members and Audit committees; co-chair, APTA Task Force on Member Collaboration; member, Legislative, Finance, Procurement Steering committees.

Please describe your agency’s scope.

CDTA operates a four-county system in the Capital Region of New York State, ­servicing a 2,300-square-mile area. We operate fixed route, paratransit and ­commuter bus service. We also own and operate the Rensselaer and Saratoga Springs Amtrak stations. We employ 650 people and have a fleet of 300 revenue vehicles. Our annual operating budget is $79.9 million and annual ridership is 17.2 million.

What attracted your interest in the industry?

I was appointed to the CDTA board in October 1995 by then-Gov. George Pataki. I was asked to be on the board because of my business background and because of my volunteer efforts assisting other organizations in our community. At the time, I had reservations because I knew nothing about the business of public transportation. I guess it’s a good thing that I’m a quick study because 20 years later, I’m still learning.

I was attracted to the industry because of the challenges. The need for advocacy is constantly present. For many of our customers, we are a lifeline service. We provide their only available means of transportation to work, medical, play, family and so on. For many others, we are a mode of choice. Protecting service for all of our riders has become ever more challenging with the shortages of available funding at federal, state and local levels.

Please describe your involvement with APTA and note what’s rewarding about it.


I attended my first APTA Legislative Conference in 2003. Our CEO at that time was Steve Bland, and he encouraged me to become more involved in transit at the national level. After that, I began to attend annual conferences.

In 2010, Lynne Morsen literally tapped me on the shoulder and said, “You should consider becoming more involved in the Transit Board Members Committee.” She introduced me to the committee chair who subsequently appointed me to an open regional representative seat. That appointment put me on the executive council for the Transit Board Members Committee. Due to conflict with a family vacation, it wasn’t until 2012 that I was able to attend a Transit Board Member/Board Support seminar.

The experience of attending a seminar with my peers was incredible. I met a lot of new people and we all shared the same goal. Everyone was so open and willing to help and share experiences. That conference energized me to do more, and I’ve been very fortunate to have come into contact with many APTA members and staff who have been willing to promote me so that I can do more.

What have you found to be the most valuable APTA benefit or resource?


There are four resources in APTA’s library that I rely on regularly as a board member, and I would encourage all board members to use these resources: the Transit Board Member’s Handbook, ADA Essentials for Transit Board Members, Transit Procurement: A Guide for Transit Board Members and Assessment of the General Manager.

More valuable than this, however, are the people. Everyone I encounter is open to discussing problems and issues and offering a solution or opinion on how to resolve the matter. There is a depth of knowledge that is invaluable as a resource.

Sharing data and best practices is very helpful to me in doing my job as a transit board member. Attending conference sessions provides an educational tool that assists me in being a better board member.

What do you like most about your industry involvement?


Our industry faces a variety of challenges, and those challenges keep things interesting. We can never sit back and be content with where we are. I enjoy the networking and the education that comes with being a transit board member.

At CDTA, we embrace challenges head-on. We have a great board and staff who work together to provide the best service to our riders. The same is true at APTA. We’re all rowing our boats in the same direction.

What is unique about your agency? What would readers be surprised to learn?

CDTA just celebrated its 45th anniversary and has completed the past two years with record ridership.

We have begun testing of CDTA’s Navigator, our new fare collection system that will be the country’s first simultaneous rollout of smart card and mobile payment platforms. CDTA’s Navigator will offer two easy choices for customers when paying their fares—a durable plastic smartcard or the ability to load fares directly onto their smartphone through our free iride application.
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