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APTA's Ford, Skoutelas Address COMTO Meeting

APTA Chair Nathaniel P. Ford Sr. helped kick off the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials’ (COMTO) recent 47th Annual National Meeting and Training Conference in Baltimore during the Opening Plenary Session, joined by COMTO Chair Warren Montague; Neil Pedersen, executive director, Transportation Research Board; and keynote speaker, Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn.

Ford greeted attendees, acknowledging the leadership of Montague and COMTO President & CEO Brad Mims.

He highlighted the strong, successful and complementary 20-year working relationship between APTA and COMTO, and their mutual mission to increase diversity in the industry and access to opportunities for minorities through advocacy, training and professional development. He noted the benefits he has gained as a member of COMTO as part of his own professional development and acknowledged the organization for presenting him with the Thomas G. Neusom Founders’ Leadership Award last year.

Ford said the close collaboration between APTA and COMTO is more important now than ever. He explained that the new mobility paradigm is here, driven by the “Mobility as a Service” megatrend, and disrupting the public transit industry as we know it.

“We need to embrace the change,” he continued. “Earlier this month, we conducted APTA’s first Mobility Summit, ‘The Future of Mobility—From Transit Authority to Mobility Integrator,’ bringing together global thought leaders to address the seismic shift in the way we think about transportation—and it will continue to grow and become more interconnected.”

Ford announced that APTA has decided to induct the co-founders of COMTO, the late Rev. Jerry Moore and the late Harold Williams, into the APTA Hall of Fame at the 2018 Annual Meeting in Nashville. His announcement was met with a resounding standing ovation. He also acknowledged Bacarra Mauldin, chair of the APTA Awards Committee, for her leadership and hard work.

Skoutelas on Panel at Luncheon
APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas was a panelist during COMTO’s Legislative Luncheon, joined by moderator Anibar Basu, chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group; FTA Acting Administrator K. Jane Williams; Maryland DOT Deputy Secretary R. Earl Lewis Jr.; and Michelle Pourciau, director of Baltimore DOT.

In response to the questions “How do we better predict the future of transportation?” and “What do you think is the next frontier for transportation and what are the responsibilities of the public and private sectors in guiding this process?”, Skoutelas noted how the mobility paradigm is transforming the public transportation industry, from one of operators of vehicles and fleets to becoming managers of a community’s mobility options. He listed new technology and business partnerships connecting complementary services, including public transportation, ridesharing, bike and scooter sharing and autonomous vehicles.

Photos by Frank T. Martin

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