The US Senate voted last Thursday to table a motion by Senator Pat Toomey that would have sent the Transportation and Housing Spending Bill back to committee. The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bill funds government transportation and housing agencies. Read more on the Senate debate at thehill.com. President Barack Obama urged the Senate to take swift action on a bipartisan bill to fund critical improvements in public transit. The speech referenced the importance of public transportation infrastructure. The President’s speech was given outside the Port Terminal Building in Jacksonville, FL. Read more on his speech here.
A Rockefeller Foundation survey reveals that voters in four major US cities agree an investment in public transportation is an investment in economic growth and job creation. The cities polled were Boston, Chicago, Nashville and Pittsburgh. The survey also revealed that voters are in favor of bringing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to their cities. Read more of the Rockefeller Foundation survey results here.
State News
On Wednesday Governor Cuomo announced that 100 new transportation datasets, maps and charts have been added to the Open.ny.gov website for public access. The governor said. “This information provides a detailed resource that New Yorkers, researchers and businesses can use to study the state’s transportation networks and agencies. This data has great potential to foster greater innovation and efficiency in the transit industry...” Read the press release here.
Member News
This summer 21 high school students got a taste of what it’s like to have a career in the transportation industry as a part of University at Buffalo's National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI). Students visited various Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority locations on their behind the scenes tour of the transit industry. Read more about their experience on the NFTA’s website.
Show up in style at the Saratoga Racetrack this summer on the Historic Summer Trolleys, courtesy of CDTA. CDTA is providing Free Ride Day on August 2, 2013 in honor of the Saratoga 150 community celebration. Read more about CDTA’s partnership with the city of Saratoga Springs here.
Fore! The Regional Transit Service, a subsidiary of the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA), is teeing up to shuttle spectators to the PGA Championship in Rochester August 5 through 11. In addition to the free shuttle spectators can also enjoy free parking. Read more here.
In News Elsewhere
After serving two tours in Afghanistan as a bomb sniffing dog four-year-old black Labrador Yankee is part of the K-9 unit for DC Metro Transit Police and spends his days searching for explosives in Metro stations and on trains. Watch a video about Yankee and our other four-legged heroes at MyFoxdc.com
At first glance, Central Ohio Transit Authority's new training simulator looks like a fun new video game. Drivers operate a 40-foot COTA bus and dodge school buses, dogs and drivers in a digital universe. However, the new simulator is a real training tool that the COTA and other agencies will utilize to help train their drivers and promote safety. Read more at masstransitmag.com.
The streets of Canada just became a little cleaner with the introduction of the first zero-emissions, all-electric bus designed and manufactured by BYD Ltd. Currently, two Canadian transit agencies are evaluating the all-electric bus in varying weather conditions. Read more on the BYD electric bus here.
Social Media
This week on NYPTA’s Facebook Page we shared an article from INIT Innovations in Transportation, Inc.'s on The City Car a stackable electric two-passenger city vehicle.
Conference News
Join us for the New York Public Transit Partners in Progress Conference & Expo September 11-12, 2013.
NYS DOT Commisioner to Open Thursday's Events
Join us
at 8 am on Thursday, September 12th for Commissioner McDonald's presentation. The Honorable Joan McDonald is the 11th Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation. Prior to her appointment Ms. McDonald served as the Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development for the State of Connecticut and Chair of Connecticut Innovations, an authority providing venture capital to high tech start-up companies. www.dot.ny.gov.
Register for the 2013 Fall Conference today at http://www.nypublictransitpartnersinprogress.org/index.php/conference-2013.
About NYPTA
The New York Public Transit Association, Inc. (NYPTA) is a not-for-profit association of public transportation service providers, private sector manufacturers and consultants, and state government agencies. The Association was formed in 1983 by representatives of the transit industry committed to the advancement of public transportation in New York State. After over 20 years of operation, NYPTA remains devoted to public transportation development and representing the mass transportation needs of the riding public.