Congress Adjourns Without Passing Commuter Tax Benefit

Congress adjourned for 2013 without passing legislation to preserve tax parity between commuter tax benefits and parking benefits. On Dec. 18, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, released details on a possible tax extenders package. With the House adjourned for the year, any final action on tax extenders will not come until after the New Year.

APTA Still Soliciting Comments on ANPRM

APTA encourages all members to submit final comments on FTA's Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on its safety plans, certification, state of good repair, and transit asset management programs. More than 600 people participated in APTA's five webinars about collaborating to draft the association's recommendations. APTA and several of its members, recognizing the rapidly approaching deadline, have requested that FTA delay the deadline, which is now set for Jan. 2.

SAVE THE DATE

APTA's 2014 Transit CEOs Seminar will be held Feb. 8-11 in New Orleans, LA.  Participation is reserved for chief executive officers and their deputies of APTA-member public transportation systems. Registration is now open!

IN THE MEDIA

Orlando the guide dog saved his owner Cecil Williams after the 61-year-old man lost consciousness and fell in front of an oncoming Metropolitan Transportation Authority train in New York. The black Labrador barked loudly and leapt on Williams, gaining the attention of bystanders and the train's operator.

The quarterly television show 'Metro Motion,' produced by the Los Angeles Country Metropolitan Transportation Authority, promises to reveal the connection between ice age creatures and the Metro Purple Line. Go here to watch the show.  

The commuter rail industry is unequivocally committed to implementing new, innovative safety technologies, writes APTA President & CEO Michael Melaniphy in USA Today.