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| May 10, 2013 |
| NEWS HEADLINES |
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More Than 700 Attend APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference
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More than 700 public transit professionals and business leaders gathered May 5-8 in Indianapolis to participate in the 2013 APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference, hosted by IndyGo. The Opening General Session included a panel discussion on Hurricane Sandy. Other conference highlights included educational sessions, the Bus Display, the Products and Services Showcase, and a Closing General Session focused on teamwork. More details will appear in the May 20 issue of Passenger Transport.
First-place winners in the 2013 International Bus Roadeo, honored at the May 7 Roadeo Banquet, were Grand Champion Award, SEPTA; operator, 35-foot bus, Gabriel Beliz, Ben Franklin Transit, Richland, WA; operator, 40-foot bus, Paul Klimesh, Ames Transit Authority, Ames, IA; and maintenance team, Joseph Miller, Eugene Bonner, and William Beirn, SEPTA.
The following public transportation agencies received 2013 APTA Bus Safety & Security Excellence Awards:
Bus systems with fewer than four million annual passenger trips: Gold Award for Safety, SouthWest Transit Authority (SWTA), Eden Prairie, MN; Certificate of Merit for Security, SWTA.
Bus systems with more than four million and fewer than 20 million passenger trips annually; Certificate of Merit for Safety, Capital District Transportation Authority, Albany, NY; Certificate of Merit for Security, Transit Authority of River City, Louisville, KY.
Bus systems with 20 million or more passenger trips annually: Gold Award for Safety, Metro Transit, Minneapolis/St. Paul; Certificate of Merit for Safety, TriMet, Portland, OR; Gold Award for Security, Societe de Transport de Montreal, Montreal, QC; Certificate of Merit for Security, MTA New York City Transit.
Private companies providing contracted transportation management and services: Certificate of Merit for Safety, National Express Transit–Westmoreland County Transit Authority, Greensburg, PA. |
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APTA Members Among White House 'Champions of Change'
DOT Secretary Ray LaHood honored 12 transportation professionals as White House Champions of Change in the area of innovation at a May 8 event in Washington, DC. Three of the honorees are APTA members:Jeffrey Wharton, president, IMPulse NC, Mount Olive, NC, and second vice chair, APTA Business Member Board of Governors; Akira (Kevin) Koyasu, chief executive officer, Nippon Sharyo U.S.A. Inc.; and Josh Whiton, chief executive officer, TransLoc, Raleigh, NC.
SAVE THE DATE
On June 20, join APTA and the public transportation industry as we celebrate the 8th Annual National Dump the Pump Day. The day is set aside to encourage people to ride public transportation and save money instead of driving a car. APTA has developed an online toolkit to assist you.
IN THE MEDIA
In Portland, OR, getting there is at least half the fun. The online magazine Portland Afoot recently organized 200 people on 49 teams in a city-wide scavenger hunt that featured extensive travel on the TriMet MAX light rail system and Twitter updates from stations and vehicles.
When it is complete, San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center will be five levels high and serve bus lines from throughout the region, Caltrain commuter rail, and--maybe, eventually--high-speed rail. A photo essay shows what's going on with construction of this facility.
Meet bus operator Buddy Longworth, who has driven the Chittenden County Transportation Authority/Green Mountain Transit Agency LINK Express route from Burlington to Montpelier, VT, for the past 10 years.
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