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May 22, 2020 | An APTA Publication
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APTA Hosts 2020 Virtual Fly-In, Advocating for Additional Emergency Funding
APTA hosted a day of virtual congressional advocacy for Business Members and Transit Board Members May 19, with 85 member participants holding 141 meetings via phone and video conference with congressional offices and staffers. In the meetings, APTA members reiterated the vital role public transportation has played in their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing healthcare professionals to the frontlines, delivering groceries and medicine to at-risk populations and connecting essential workers to their places of work.
“We appreciate members of Congress and their staffs taking the time to meet with our public- and private-sector members and discuss the essential role public transportation is playing in keeping our society working, and the indispensable role it will play in America’s social and economic recovery,” said APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas. “Despite the ongoing challenges presented by the COVID-19 crisis, dedicated APTA members carved out time in their schedules to advocate on behalf of the critically essential public transportation industry.”
Leading the fly-in efforts were Hugh Harrison, chair of APTA’s Business Member Board of Governors; Kevin Holzendorf, chair of the Transit Board Members Committee; Ray Melleady, chair of the Business Member Legislative Committee; and Doug Tisdale, chair of the Transit Board Members Legislative Subcommittee.
As part of the fly-in, APTA members are urging Congress to provide $23.8 billion in funding for COVID-19 Emergency Response and Recovery, including $19 billion provided through the Emergency Relief Program and $4.75 billion through certain formula programs. The Emergency Relief funding would be distributed proportionally to all public transit agencies with a demonstrated need and would be provided at a 100 percent federal share.
APTA also urges Congress to provide the public transportation industry with long-term certainty by enacting the Surface Transportation Authorization Act prior to its expiration in September.
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APTA Releases Pandemic Virus Service Restoration Checklist
APTA has unveiled a new
Pandemic Virus Service Restoration checklist (PVSRC) to provide information and resources to assist public transit agencies as they start to restore service. The checklist is based on best practices from transit agencies, information from the CDC and EPA and other expert input and analysis.
The PVSRC, an outgrowth of an APTA Standards Technical Advisory Group, covers
extraordinary aspects specific to a pandemic virus that are not normally covered in an all-hazards Continuity of Operations Plan or a Contagious Virus Response Plan. It will support the APTA Mobility Recovery & Restoration Task Force’s efforts as it develops further guidance.
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Public Transit Agencies Highlight Impact with APTA’s Industry Footprint
APTA’s newly redesigned
Industry Footprint allows public transit agencies to calculate their local economic impact, access determinative demographic data and showcase the extent of the supply chain—all on one site.
APTA’s
Industry Footprint is a visual tour de force that dramatizes the impact of public transportation in each community in the U.S. APTA members can use the tool to communicate their impact to local, state and federal representatives.
Learn more.
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Public Transit Sounds The Horn!
Hundreds of public transportation systems across North America honored their employees, May 21, in the second
#SoundTheHorn campaign, thanking them for the essential services they provide on the front lines during coronavirus. This effort was spearheaded by the New York MTA, NJ TRANSIT, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Amtrak, NYC Ferry and other regional bus and ferry operators. See examples on
https://twitter.com/APTA_info.
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Public Comment on Draft APTA Standards Ends June 6
APTA’s Standards Development Program has advanced eight documents to the review and comment phase by bus and rail executive-level administrators, operators and transit security professionals. This public commenting period is an essential component of APTA’s consensus-based standards development process. The deadline is June 6.
Security
- Development and Implementation of a Security and Emergency Preparedness Plan (SEPP)
- Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) for Transit Facilities
- Security Lighting for Transit Passenger Facilities
- Anti-Vehicle Barriers for Public Transit
- Identifying Suspicious Behavior in Mass Transit
Commuter, Intercity and Highspeed Rail
- Inspection and Maintenance of Type H Tightlock Coupler Systems
- Purchase and Acceptance of Type H Tightlock Coupler Systems
- Secondhand and Reconditioned Type H Tightlock Coupler Systems
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REGISTER FOR THESE APTA EVENTS
Public Transit’s Response to COVID-19 Webinars
Future of Capital Projects and Construction after COVID-19
May 28, 2020
3:00-4:15 p.m. Eastern
As public transit agencies continue, restart or accelerate selected projects, this webinar will offer a perspective from project owners and contractors on how to resume project delivery while complying with health officials’ guidance and managing schedule and budget constraints.
Register here.
Restoring and Reimagining Transit Service in a Pandemic-Transformed World – Part 1
June 4
3:00-4:15 p.m. Eastern
This webinar, the first in a three-part series, will highlight how public transit agencies are developing recovery plans for service restoration and how they are reimagining service to keep Americans moving while ensuring the health and safety of riders and operators.
Register here.
TRANSform Conference & EXPO
Anaheim, CA
Oct. 11-14
Join your peers at APTA’s TRANSform Conference & EXPO and connect to what’s now and what’s next in the public transportation industry. Held every three years, APTA’s TRANSform Conference & EXPO is where the public transportation industry converges to learn, share and network. APTA’s “worry-free registration” policy protects your investment, in the unfortunate event that the association needs to postpone the conference.
Learn more and register.
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ELSEWHERE IN THE MEDIA
While underinvestment in transit infrastructure is not new,
inequities to access and opportunities—such as riders’ neighborhoods, income levels and ability to work remotely—are being brought to the forefront in the coronavirus era.
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American Public Transportation Association
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