• COMMENTARY
• COVERAGE OF THE 2016 APTA ANNUAL MEETING
• APTA COMMITTEE PROFILE
• AROUND THE INDUSTRY
• PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

COVERAGE OF THE 2016 APTA ANNUAL MEETING

FTA Officials Recount Priorities

FTA Acting Administrator Carolyn Flowers brought seven members of her senior team to the 2016 Annual Meeting to answer attendees’ questions and discuss the multitude of initiatives her agency has undertaken in the past year.

Flowers kicked off the session with a video highlighting the Obama administration’s public transportation accomplishments since 2009, including the American Reinvestment & Recovery Act (ARRA); TIGER, TOD and Capital Investment grants; FTA’s new safety rules and authority; Low and No Emissions program; transit asset management; Ladders of Opportunity; civil rights circulars; Mobility on Demand; Rides to Wellness and more.

Flowers noted that this Annual Meeting, the last one during Obama’s administration, provided an opportunity to “look back to where we started in 2009 and how far we have come together.”

Notably, she said, “We’re more than an agency that awards and monitors grants; FTA is an indispensable partner.”

Before inviting questions from the audience, Flowers said, “The Obama administration has made unprecedented investments in public transportation. In turn, it is relying on this industry to help solve some of the nation’s toughest problems, not simply moving people more efficiently from Point A to Point B, but also contributing to sustainable communities, fighting climate change and building Ladders of Opportunity.”

In citing examples of federally-funded projects throughout the U.S., she praised her predecessors Peter Rogoff and Therese McMillan for their leadership and thanked APTA and its members for helping FTA to achieve so many successes.

Phillip Washington, immediate past chair of APTA and LA Metro chief executive officer, moderated the program.

Accompanying Flowers to help address specific issues were Ellen Partridge, chief counsel; Robert J. Tuccillo, associate administrator for budget and policy; Thomas B. Littleton, associate administrator for transit safety and oversight; Henrika Buchanan-Smith, associate administrator for program management; Lucy Garliauskas, associate administrator for planning and environment; Linda Ford, associate administrator for civil rights; and Vincent Valdes, associate administrator for research, demonstration and innovation.

Topics raised during the audience exchange included:

* Capital Investment Grants, of which 74 are “in the pipeline” and the news that FTA anticipated issuing $20.5 million in TOD pilot funding;
* Asset management, which FTA called “a game changer for the industry” by providing a common sense approach to keeping systems in a state of good repair;
* Safety Management Systems, the core of FTA’s new safety programs and the agency’s plans to pilot a fully-functioning SMS and culture in Chicago and with bus providers in Maryland;
* New Buy America requirements being phased in under the FAST Act and APTA’s role in shaping the final rule;
* Areas where new technologies can improve public transportation, particularly in the collection and use of data, which can lead to ­better land use, greater equity and accessibility;
* New mobility options and FTA’s “sandbox,” a safe venue to try new ideas that can provide a seamless ride for riders; and
* Workforce development, the need for more resources to ensure a supply of qualified workers, and FTA’s efforts to create a compendium of best practices for the industry.

 

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