May 27, 2016
COVERAGE OF THE BUS & PARATRANSIT CONFERENCE
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Two Special Diversity Sessions

Diversity and inclusion were prominent and timely topics at two special sessions conducted during the Bus & Paratransit Conference.

At the APTA-COMTO Assembly May 17 that detailed the role of public transportation in U.S. civil rights history, APTA Acting President & CEO Richard White told attendees the session was about “the promises, protections and provisions of public transportation for all.”

Mioshi James Moses, president and chief executive officer of COMTO, served as moderator and spoke about the “long and storied relationship” between the two organizations. “We are here today to support Charlotte to help protect the rights of all people, especially stakeholders in public transportation, which is a cornerstone of the civil rights movement and core missions of both APTA and COMTO,” she said.

Panelists with backgrounds in civil rights presented a range of perspectives. Leslie M. Proll, director, DOT Department of Civil Rights, talked about the historical nexus between civil rights and transportation. She assured listeners of the department’s ongoing commitment to diversity and access.

Connie J. Vetter, a local attorney focusing on LGBT issues, described North Carolina’s HB 2, a statewide law that excludes sexual orientation or gender identity from discrimination protection. It also requires people in government facilities to use the restroom that corresponds with the gender on their birth certificate. The bill, which overturned a Charlotte nondiscrimination ordinance, was signed into law March 23.

John M. Lewis Jr., executive director, Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), the host agency, spoke about how taking the bus shaped his youth. He grew up in Baltimore where his grandmother, who did not own a car or have a driver’s license, was his caretaker during the day while both his parents worked. “The bus provided access to everything that a city had to offer—grocery store, work, friends,” he said. “The actions that Rosa Parks took [on a bus in 1955] at the end of a long day of work—out of that grew the civil rights movement,” he added.

Freddie C. Fuller, II, COMTO’s first vice chair and a member of APTA’s Executive Committee, closed the session, explaining that the decision to come to Charlotte following the passage of HB 2—when many municipalities restricted their employees from attending meetings in North Carolina—was not an easy one for APTA’s leadership, but “in the end it was the right one.” He quoted Martin Luther King Jr.: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

“The Power of Diversity: What it Means to Be an Inclusive Industry” featured panelists who addressed North Carolina’s HB 2 law and the challenges and opportunities ahead for greater diversity and inclusiveness in public transportation.

APTA Vice Chair Doran Barnes, who also leads the association’s Diversity Council and its LGBT task force, moderated the session. He described how and why APTA’s Executive Committee made its decision to hold the conference in North Carolina in light of HB 2. Barnes said APTA leaders ultimately believed that holding the conference was in the best interest of the industry, CATS and the city of Charlotte.

Paul J. Larrousse, vice chair of APTA’s Higher Education Subcommittee, co-chair of the task force and director of the National Transit Institute, spoke about the need to make the public ­transit industry more LGBT friendly.

Ryan Popple, president and chief executive officer, Proterra Inc., Burlingame, CA, said his company was torn over whether to attend the conference in the wake of the North Carolina statute. “HB 2 is a real problem for the state of North Carolina. We had to think long and hard about attending this conference,” Popple said. But he added that Proterra’s buses help improve communities and furthering technology is key to his company.

Chad Ballentine, director, paratransit and operations technology, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Austin, TX, called Charlotte a “huge welcoming community” and said he was pleased to be part of the panel for a “long-overdue conversation about the place of LGBT people in the public transportation industry.”

Eve Williams, chair, BMBG Small Business Committee, and president and chief executive officer, Dikita Engineering, Dallas, said she is not part of the LGBT community but as an African-American female, she has experienced discrimination in her career. “A lack of diversity breeds ignorance,” she said.

Matt Hirschy, director of advancement, Equality North Carolina, an LGBT advocacy group, provided a broad overview of the HB 2 law, which he called “problematic and an anti-working and anti-labor bill.”


Panelists at the APTA-COMTO Assembly discussed issues related to public transportation’s role in the civil rights movement. Speakers were, from left, APTA Acting President & CEO Richard White; Freddie Fuller, APTA Executive Committee; COMTO CEO Mioshi Moses; local attorney Connie Vetter; DOT Director Leslie Proll; CATS Executive Director John Lewis; and APTA Vice Chair Doran Barnes.

Panelists at the “Power of Diversity: What It Means to Be an Inclusive Industry” session, from left: moderator Doran Barnes, APTA vice chair; Matt Hirschy, Equality North Carolina; Paul  Larrousse, National Transit Institute; Chad Ballentine, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority; Ryan Popple, Proterra Inc.; and Eve Williams, Dikita Engineering.


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