Transit mangers, riders, labor and business leaders drove home the message that transit is critical to New York’s economy and quality of life during Transit Awareness Day on Tuesday, February 2.  The event, which culminated with a pro transit Summit, emphasized the significant value of public transit and the importance of increased transit investment. “Every day, New Yorkers make over 9 million trips on public transit to get to work, to businesses and shopping, and to schools and health care.  We are absolutely vital to New York’s economy,” said Carm Basile, President of the New York Public Transit Association.

NYPTA Board Member, and former NYPTA President, Ray Melleady has written an article entitled “7 Key Considerations for Your Fleet Procurement Process. It was posted to Metro Magazine on January 25^th.
Fleet procurement comes with a set of challenges, many of which are unique to public-sector spending. Moreover, the process of fleet specification and procurement will result in one of the most critical and long-lasting decisions in a managers’ career. Managers should understand this and do everything in their power to optimize the process for the best possible long-term results.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced there were a record number of riders on the Metro-North Rail Road in 2015. More than 86 million people rode on the commuter rail system that connects New York City, its northern suburbs and Connecticut, the MTA said. Officials say there was also an increase of riders on the Long Island Rail Road, the nation’s largest commuter rail system. The LIRR saw the highest number of riders since 1949 with a total of 87.6 million commuters last year.

The RTS Transit Center was awarded the “2015 Project of the Year Award” in the $25 – 75 Million category by the Genesee Valley Branch of the American Public Works Association (APWA). Both RGRTA and the City of Rochester received the honor at the annual awards banquet on January 28, 2016. The $50 million, 85,000 sq. ft. transit center opened on November 28, 2014.

Former Ithaca public works superintendent Bill Gray has taken over as chair of the Tompkins Consolidated Ara Transit (TCAT) Board of Directors. The long-time local transit proponent will serve a one year term. Gray most recently served as the Board’s budget committee chair.

In order to engage the public in the planning stages of a Downtown White Plains Transit District, the mayor’s office has launched a project website. The site contains background information, maps, information about upcoming public engagement sessions, and contact information for those who wish to submit a comment, idea or question. White Plains was awarded a grant of $1 million from Governor Cuomo’s Cleaner, Greener Communities program for preliminary planning, design and engineering related to the White Plains Transportation Center area.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and rail subcommittee chief Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) said Amtrak should hire a new chief that has "the necessary vision and management skills to successfully implement new reforms and improve Amtrak’s performance. Amtrak's current CEO, Joe Boardman, is planning to retire in September after nearly a decade at the helm of the national railway system.

Internet connectivity is expected everywhere as people are increasingly becoming more and more used to being connected wherever they are. The latest figures show global mobile data consumption has increased by 55% over the past 12 months. Rob Taylo, CEO of Singlepoint Communications says “Today, rail and bus agencies [and coach operations] with passenger Wi-Fi enjoy a competitive edge. However, Wi-Fi will be an increasingly expected element in the public transportation experience, as riders enjoy staying connected wherever they go”.

The Board-Savvy CEO

Tomorrow, February 10, 2016 at 2:00 PM EST
This PTLI event is open to all public transit professionals.

Register now.

The long-term success of public transportation authorities in terms of financial and political stability, operational performance, and system growth heavily depends on the strong leadership of a rock-solid board-CEO strategic governing team. And experience has taught that CEOs who are truly “board-savvy” must take the lead in building such partnerships. Webinar presenter Doug Eadie will draw on his newest book, The Board-Savvy CEO, in providing participants with detailed, practical and thoroughly tested guidance for becoming truly board-savvy CEOs. Doug will describe the key characteristics of board-savvy CEOs and will explore the primary partnership-building roles of the board-savvy CEO, including: Chief Board Developer; Chief Governing Process Designer; and Chief Governing Relationship Manager. Doug will pay special attention to the role of the board-savvy CEO in turning board members into satisfied owners of their governing work.

Register here.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

NYPTA has set up a Maintenance Directors Network (MDN) to connect maintenance professionals from throughout the state. The MDN offers a wonderful opportunity to enhance knowledge on maintenance specific topics, hear from experts in the field and gain a sense of comradery. A MDN list-serve has also been set up to assist in communicating.  If you or someone you know would like more information or to be added to the MDN, please contact info@nytransit.org and we will add you to the list.

We invite you to share your expertise on Transit, Technology & Smarter Communities at the New York State Public Transit Fall Conference & Expo, October 24-26, 2016 in Albany, NY.

Please consider submitting a presentation proposal today related to our theme. Proposals that tie to the conference theme will be given priority.

To submit a proposal, complete the attached Call for Proposals form and return it to the New York Public Transit Association no later than March 16^th.