APTA’s TRANScend Explores Future of Public Transportation
 
APTA’s TRANScend virtual conference attracted more than 400 attendees this week. The conference kicked off on the morning of Oct. 21 with a welcome by APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas; APTA Chair Nuria I. Fernandez, general manager/CEO, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, San Jose, CA; and FTA Deputy Administrator K. Jane Williams.
 
Fernandez noted that the public transportation industry has played a key role as an essential service during the COVID-19 pandemic and is a “catalyst for economic recovery; a change agent on social issues like access to opportunities, homelessness and racial equity.”
 
Skoutelas recounted APTA’s successful efforts to obtain $25 billion in relief through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act for transit agencies. Additionally, he pledged that APTA will continue its advocacy efforts to secure an additional $32 billion in emergency federal funding.
 
Williams reiterated the Administration’s commitment to safety, infrastructure investment and innovation in the public transportation industry. Noting the challenges public transit agencies are facing due to the pandemic, she said, FTA is committed to working together and laying the groundwork for a “renewed, retooled and revitalized industry as we look together to the new year.”
 
Keynote speaker Tony Seba, a world-renowned author and thought leader, offered his perspective on how disruptive advances in technology will affect the industry and how transit leaders can lead rather than react to these changes.
 
Sessions that followed focused on such topics as what cities in the U.S. will look like in 2025, to how to bring back riders and instill confidence in the wake of the pandemic.
 
The day ended with a lively APTA Awards celebration, where 13 outstanding individual and agency winners were recognized for their achievements in advancing the public transportation industry.
 
On Oct. 22, Eddie S. Glaude, Jr, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and chair of African American Studies at Princeton University, offered a thought-provoking keynote address followed by a session on how the public transportation industry can best address social and racial inequity. Sessions on security and megatrends followed.
 
The upcoming issue of Passenger Transport will offer in-depth coverage of all TRANScend sessions.

Two More Big Wins for Public Transit; CFTE Launches Virtual Bus Tour
 
The Washington State Supreme Court struck down I-976 for misleading language Oct. 15. The anti-transit measure, which cut car tabs and drastically cut transit funding in the state last year, would have had major implications for city and state governments that use the fees to fund public transit and road projects. With this decision, one of last year’s biggest losses for public transit has been reversed.
 
Also on Oct. 15, Minnesota’s House and Senate voted to fully fund METRO’s D and B BRT lines, passing the $55 million in bonding needed to complete both projects.
 
APTA’s Center for Transportation Excellence (CFTE) has kicked off its 2020 virtual bus tour, talking with campaign managers for some of this year’s biggest transit ballot measures. Watch this video of Portland, OR’s, Let’s Get Moving campaign, featuring campaign manager Abigail Doerr. Also, take a look at the Transit Now campaign in Austin, TX, featuring campaign manager Mykle Tomlinson. More in the series coming soon!
 
Voters in communities across in the U.S. will head to the ballot box (unless they voted early) to both choose their elected leaders and decide on additional ballot measures that support public transportation Nov. 3. Read more here. Here you can learn more about CFTE.

Introducing APTAU CEU Academy
 
APTAU announces live and on-demand learning through the newly launched APTAU CEU Academy. Join your peers Oct. 27, 2:00–3:30 pm Eastern for New Services, New Technologies: Implications for Operations Planning. Offering 1.5 Continuing Education Units (CEU) for planners, this workshop will explore what happens when a public transit agency introduces a new type of service (BRT) and a new technology (electric buses) at the same time. Presenters will discuss challenges and lessons learned within the past year at IndyGo and Metro Transit (Minneapolis), with a focus on implications for operations planning. Learn more and register.

Public Review and Comment of APTA Draft Standards
 
APTA’s Standards Development Program has advanced six documents for public review and comment. The public commenting period is an essential component of APTA’s consensus-based standards-development process. The documents address bus transit systems; and commuter, intercity and high-speed rail (PRESS). View the documents and submit any comments by Oct. 31.