The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is preparing for the arrival of thousands of visitors attending the 2016 Republican National Convention, July 18-21 at the Quicken Loans Arena, by extending the hours and frequency of its Downtown Trolley service thanks to the generous donation of the host committee and Destination Cleveland. [More]

NEWS HEADLINES

Public Transit on the Nov. 8 Ballot; Record Amount of Funds at Stake

'Our Hearts Are Broken': Remembering DART Transit Officers

Dallas Area Rapid Transit police officer Brent Thompson, one of five Dallas police officers fatally shot in a sniper attack July 7 during a protest in the city’s downtown, was the first DART officer killed in the line of duty; the agency founded the police department in 1989. [More]

SEPTA Keeps Commuters Moving with Leased Railcars

Thanks to the lease of 18 passenger railcars and three locomotives from neighboring agencies, Philadelphia’s Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has restored some of the regional rail service it had been forced to cut while the entire 120-car Silverliner V fleet is undergoing repairs for a structural defect, taking 13,000 seats out of service. [More]

rabbittransit Expands Service to Three New Counties

Maryland DOT Secures $5.6 Billion in Funding for Purple Line

Maryland DOT (MDOT); its public transportation subsidiary, Maryland Transit Administration (MTA); and Purple Line Transit Partners LLC, the private partner of MDOT for the light rail project, recently signed the final financial documents on the $5.6 billion, 36-year Purple Line P3 contract, the nation’s first P3 light rail project, officials said. [More]

New VVTA Route: 'Godsend' for Needles, CA, Residents

Residents of Needles, CA, now have a public transit connection to the nearby cities of Barstow and Victorville—a round trip of more than 350 miles—with the recent introduction of service on the Victor Valley Transit Authority’s (VVTA) “Needles Link” route, which agency Executive Director Kevin Kane called “a worthwhile convenience for many residents of Needles and a godsend for some.” [More]

New 'VIVA' Routes Begin in San Antonio

VIA Metropolitan Transit in San Antonio, TX, recently introduced its new VIVA service at The DoSeum, a destination on one of three bus routes that connect riders with historic sites, art, dining and entertainment spots and opportunities to learn and discover in the heart of the city. [More]

Moses to Step Down as COMTO President and CEO

Mioshi Moses, president and chief executive officer of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) since July 2015, has announced that she will step down from that position effective Aug. 5. [More]

COMMENTARY

Foxx: Transportation Facing a 'Tsunami' of Change; Now's the Time to Rethink Challenges, Opportunities

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx recently kicked off “The Future of Transportation,” the speaker series conducted by Volpe, the National Transportation Systems Center. Foxx’s remarks focused on major changes and trends influencing transportation and challenged industry leaders and policymakers to consider better ways to integrate transportation and technology in communities to “close the opportunity gap.” His comments follow. [More]

AROUND THE INDUSTRY

Denver RTD Breaks Ground for Civic Center Station Renovation

The Regional Transportation District (RTD) in Denver broke ground recently to commemorate the start of renovations to the downtown Denver Civic Center Station, described by RTD General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Dave Genova as one of “the transit center bookends of RTD’s 16th Street Mall shuttle service … a critical backbone to our region’s transportation plan and providing first-and-last-mile service to downtown commuters.” [More]

Houston Introduces New Bus Route

Houston’s Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) introduced service July 3 on the 38 Manchester/Lawndale bus route, part of METRO’s ongoing New Bus Network project. [More]

Ongoing Station Renovations for Metra; 19th-Century Station Gets Facelift

Metra commuter rail in Chicago recently completed renovation of one station, began work at a second and approved a contract for work at a third as part of an ongoing construction program that includes approximately $200 million in multiyear infrastructure improvements to 27 stations, 21 bridges and 24 road crossings and the replacement of 120,000 railroad ties. [More]

WMATA Continues on 15 Rail Safety 'Surges'; Work Will Achieve State of Good Repair for Metrorail

As Passenger Transport went to press, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) was implementing the fourth of 15 “safety surges” as part of its SafeTrack program to improve the six lines of the Metrorail system. [More]

NJ Transit Halts Projects

As Passenger Transport went to press and was released electronically, no change has been seen in the shutdown of New Jersey Transit Corporation's ongoing transportation projects funded through the state’s Transportation Trust Fund Authority (TTFA) that began 11:59 p.m. July 8, as a result of an executive order from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie stemming from an impasse concerning replenishment of the TTFA. [More]

FTA Officials Tour OCTA Regional Hub

FTA officials Carolyn Flowers, acting administrator, and Vincent Valdes, associate administrator for research, demonstration and innovation, joined employees of the Orange County (CA) Transportation Authority (OCTA) for a tour of the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center, the beginning of the line of OCTA’s new limited-stop Bravo! Route 560 route. [More]

MTI: Americans Support Paying for Transportation

Most Americans will pay increased taxes if officials apply the revenue to transportation improvements, according to a recent Mineta Transportation Institute national survey. [More]

FTA Seeks Nominations for Safety Committee

FTA is accepting nominations from the public transportation safety community for membership in the Transit Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS) until Aug. 31. [More]

Linking PATH to New York Subway Hub

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority recently opened the Dey Street Concourse, a 350-foot-long, 27-foot-wide pedestrian tunnel passage that connects a concourse of the Fulton Center facility and the Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation’s World Trade Center transportation hub, both in Lower Manhattan. [More]

Milestones: Transit Celebrates Anniversaries

Here’s a roundup of public transit agencies—and one ­business—celebrating major anniversaries. [More]

Industry Briefs

Here are some brief news items from around the public transportation industry. [More]

APTA NEWS

We Love L.A.!

The 2016 APTA Annual Meeting is less than two months away—Sept. 11-14 in beautiful Los Angeles! [More]

Transit Curriculum Now Available from APTA

The National Transit Curriculum is now available for download from APTA, which worked with numerous partners on its development. [More]

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Who's Doing What in the Industry

Passenger Transport announces the following hirings and promotions in public transportation agencies and business members. Items appear in People on the Move in the order in which they are received. [More]