There is still time to register for The New York State Public Transit Industry Connections Conference and Expo, opening one week from today at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center & Hyatt Regency. Join more than 200 public transit professionals and nearly 70 exhibitors. Register here. More information below.

 

Moody’s credit-rating agency issued a “credit positive” rating for the joint state and city agreement to fund the MTA's capital plan. The agency does have some concerns, though, over the source of the funding.  The Executive Director of Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Veronica Vanterpool, appeared on Time Warner Cable’s Capital Tonight to talk about how the payment for the MTA affects transportation for New Yorkers.

In the wake of the deal for the New York City-based transit system, Governor Cuomo now faces a rallying cry from upstate and Long Island: parity. That is a word that could become one of Albany’s most over-used terms in the coming months. Communities outside New York City last week ramped up their case following the $8 billion MTA deal. Their vision of parity is the state agreeing to spend an equal amount of money on upstate and Long Island roads and bridges.

Governor Cuomo announced $7 million in funding is available for airport improvement projects across New York State. These grants, coming from the Governor’s Aviation Capital Grants Program, will go toward supporting airport infrastructure and economic development projects across the state. “For many, our airports are the gateways to New York and a significant part of economic growth and job creation,” Governor Cuomo said. “This funding will help ensure that our airports remain more accessible and convenient for travelers and remain key economic drivers for years to come.”

It’s not quite a free ride to college, but Sen. Chuck Schumer wants to slash students’ commuting costs. A bill that Schumer announced would give federal money to transit agencies around the country, offering college and grad students a 25% discount on fares. Participating transit agencies would get reimbursed by the federal government from a pot of money with at least $250 million to start, a Schumer spokesman said.

The House is rolling out a bipartisan bill to spend up to $325 billion on transportation projects over the next six years as Congress scrambles to prevent an interruption in the nation's infrastructure spending at the end of the month.  The measure would spend $261 billion on highways, $55 billion on transit and approximately $9 billion on safety programs, but only if Congress can come up with a way to pay for the final three years, according to a bipartisan group of Transportation Committee aides.

New York, NY -- In recognition of the boom in public transit construction on the continent, UITP, the international association of public transportation operators and suppliers, has opened its first North American office in New York, Railway Age reports. “UITP will for the first time have a North American office to help support the development of public transit in the region,” the organization said in a news release. “The present growth of North American cities is leading to major efforts to modernize existing transit systems, as well as build new integrated light rail transit, bus rapid transit and metro systems.”

San Francisco, CA -- The Transbay Transit Center—a new multimodal transit hub that includes a retail center and a 5.4-acre (2.2 ha) rooftop park—is under construction south of Market Street, San Francisco’s main commercial strip, which acts as a gateway to the city’s famous and well-developed Financial District to the north. What was clear from a discussion at the 2015 ULI Fall Meeting in San Francisco among the key players working on this complex $4.5 billion project is that proximity to transit was what lured private development to this area.

NYS Public Transit Industry CONNECTIONS Conference & Expo
October 27-29 | Rochester, NY
Program Highlights Include:

Program Highlight of the Week: NYPTA Honors 2015 Hall of Fame Inductees
NYPTA established the Transit Hall of Fame as a tribute to leaders who have contributed to the Association and the transit community through their tireless efforts. These outstanding leaders will be honored in Rochester for their contributions to our industry:

To learn more about education sessions and networking opportunities at the Annual Conference, visit www.nystransitconference.org.

For questions regarding registration, contact NYPTA at 518-434-9060 or email info@nytransit.org. 

Thank You Exhibitors  (Sponsors in bold.   = Bus display)

• ABT Products & Services Ltd • Altro Transflor • American Seating Co. •  AMETEK Rotron Industrial and Technical Products • Apollo Video Technology • BAE Systems/HybriDrive Propulsion System • Benzaiten, LLC • Braunability • Clever Devices, LTD • Cofely Ineo • ConSysTec • Doron Precision Systems, Inc. • Ecolane • Empire Bus Sales LLC • FAAC • Fenton Mobility Products   • Freedman Seating Co. • Get There Transit Software • Gillig, LLC  • GIRO, Inc. • GTS, Inc. • Hanover Displays, Inc. • IBI Group • Kelderman Manufacturing •  Kidde Technologies • Known Rust Control •  Luminator Technology Group • Matthews Buses, Inc. •  McDonald Transit Associates  • MGM Brakes • Motor Coach Industries, Inc.  • Muncie Transit Parts/ABC Companies • The Nevison Group  • New Flyer of America   •  Nova Bus   • Onspot Automatic Tire Chains • Protran Technology • Q'Straint/Sure-Lok   • The RCA Rubber Company • Roscoe Vision Systems   • RouteMatch Software • Seifert Transite Graphics • Seon • Shepard Bros.,Inc. • SPX Genfare • Stewart & Stevenson Power Products LLC-Atlantic Division / PENN Commercial Vechicle Solutions  • Syncromatics • TAPTCO • Transit Marketing Group • Urban Engineers of NY, PC • Urban Solar Corp. • USSC Group • Voith Turbo, Inc. • Wendel Companies • Westmatic • White Associates • XL Hybrids