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Opening Session Focuses on High Tech and Mobility Management

The future of public transportation was the central theme during the May 7 Opening General Session of the APTA 2018 Bus & Para­transit Conference in Tampa, FL, beginning with a high-energy video montage of buses in action.

APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas and APTA Chair Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., chief executive officer of the Jacksonville (FL) Transportation Authority, welcomed attendees and thanked Jeff Seward, interim chief executive officer of the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority in Tampa, and Brad Miller, chief executive officer of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority in St. Petersburg, co-sponsors of this year’s events.

Calling this “a fantastic time to be in transit,” both Seward and Miller described the innovative projects that are expanding mobility options in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area. These include an autonomous vehicle pilot in downtown Tampa, a regional fare collection system across agencies, new electric buses, partnerships with transportation network companies and real-time paratransit service.

Skoutelas spoke about the state of today’s public transportation industry, calling it “healthy, vitally important and growing.” As evidence of his assessment, he cited the recent congressional approval of $13.5 billion for transit programs—the largest ever appropriated for public transportation—$1 billion more than last year. He also mentioned the industry’s leadership in environmentally friendly alternative-fuel vehicles and in implementing new safety equipment.

Skoutelas described several groundbreaking transit projects being rolled out across the country as examples of the new mobility paradigm. Thanks to modern technology, innovative ways of operating and new partnerships with other service providers, bus ridership is on the rise in these communities.

“Whether through automation, electrification or personalized services, our industry is being redefined,” he said. “Mobility is no longer about building and operating vehicles; it’s about managing access to information and multiple integrated transportation services. Public transit agencies have to think and act boldly.”


Brad Miller, left, and Jeffrey Seward.

Ford provided an update on the five priorities he believes will take the public transportation industry to the next level.

“We are engaged in the greatest mobility revolution since the introduction of the automobile,” he said. Citing examples of disruptive change such as private ridesharing businesses and autonomous vehicles, he said, “We need to take the lead in defining the future of public transportation.”

Ford described innovations being implemented by JTA, including partnerships with taxi and on-demand services, BRT “one call-one click” trip planning and the Ultimate Urban Circulator, which will convert the city’s elevated Skyway into an autonomous transit network. “If you’re looking for a way to begin your transition from transit authority to a mobility integrator, let your vision begin here at this conference,” Ford advised the audience.

Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) and Florida state Sen. Jeffrey Brandes (R) also welcomed conference participants to Florida and expressed gratitude to APTA and its members.

Castor credited the public transit industry’s “consistent, outspoken advocacy” for winning new funding in ­Congress. She called public transit a catalyst for a better future and encouraged the audience to keep educating legislators about the need to maintain a high level of federal support for ­public transit.

Brandes advised public transit agencies to reimagine themselves as adaptable organisms rather than static systems, embrace partnerships as key to greater efficiency and focus on many options because it is too early to know for certain how transportation will evolve.

The keynote speaker was Gabe Klein, the former commissioner of transportation for Chicago and Washington, DC, two cities where he launched a bikeshare system; built protected bike lanes and better pedestrian infrastructure; helped introduce car-share and ride-share services; and revamped parking, permitting and other government services.

As the co-author of Start-Up City and founder of CityFi, he helps city leaders, CEOs and other stakeholders better understand the complexity of 21st-­century challenges.

Referring to public transportation as “the backbone of our trans­portation system,” Klein described a future defined by the question, “In what kind of cities do we want to live?” ­Concerns over air pollution, safety and traffic congestion are bringing together “the land use, mobility, technology and new business model paradigms we’re seeing today.”

He said a future built on the four P’s—people, planet, profits and sustainable progress—will be about access rather than a kind of technology or a single mode. More connectivity and a relentless focus on the customer are the key elements that will make public transportation essential to communities.

Matt Horton, chief commercial officer for Proterra, the session sponsor, showed a video about the company’s leadership in next-generation electric bus technology.

 

Nathaniel P. Ford Sr.

Gabe Klein

Matt Horton

Kathy Castor

Jeffrey Brandes

Paul P. Skoutelas

 

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