The MT Position

Day 1 of the American Public Transportation Association’s Annual Meeting was spent full of committee meetings and exhibitors finalizing their booth setups as they gear up for tomorrow’s start of Expo.

There are about 17,000 attendees here for Expo with 66 countries represented. There are 2,800 booths in the exhibit hall, including 51 DBEs. With 1.1 million square feet of exhibit space in the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, there’s a lot of ground to cover. There was a whirlwind of activity on the exhibit floor as people were finishing their booth set up and prepping for tomorrow when the show floor opens.  While set up isn’t even complete, it’s evident there are some really amazing things to see with vendors representing every facet of public transportation, including two full-size rail cars, two mock rail cars and more than 50 buses  that were brought in.

And even though there is 140 days 23 hours and 58 minutes until Mardi Gras 2012, the “Welcome to New Orleans Reception” at Mardi Gras World provided the festive atmosphere.  (No, I didn’t really know how long until Mardi Gras, but the Mardi Gras World website happens to have a real-time countdown.) The reception, sponsored by Orion Transit Buses and Allison Transmission Inc., gave everyone the opportunity to walk among the spectacular floats, sculptures and props used for carnivals and parades. While enjoying some traditional local foods, a band provided an evening of entertainment.

It’s always great fun to see old friends and to meet new ones and to hear about what’s happening at the different agencies and companies. Like everyone else, we have a full schedule and are out and about trying to meet with as many people as possible. If we haven’t had the opportunity to meet you, be sure to stop by our booth 3412 to introduce yourself, pick up a copy of our September/October issue (featuring this year’s Top 40 Under 40) and a copy of today’s Show Daily.

Be sure to check out our Expo photo gallery at MassTransitMag.com to see the latest event photos!

I’m back home from the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) Sustainability and Public Transportation Workshop, which was held in Los Angeles earlier this week.

There were many great sessions to pick from, a variety of exhibitors and of course a lot of people to network with to hear firsthand what’s happening in the industry.

A focus was on what the value of sustainability really is and how it can be measured. It was also great to see that there was a balance of this information coming from the private side, as well as the public side. Seeing it from the private side, the data they shared in how sustainability helps their bottom line, really helps to shift the value beyond tree-hugging planet-helping to being sustainable as in keeping these businesses in business.

Other common feedback I heard was that it’s great to see this is all becoming more relevant to the day-to-day operations of businesses/companies/agencies and it’s not so focused on simply building a “green” building or running alternative fuel. Now when we talk about sustainability, it implies we’re referring to how transportation impacts the sustainability of the community, as well.

During one session that looked at how communities can build partnerships to work together to create regional plans, a thought-proving comment was made by Robin Blair, director citywide planning and development, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, that he doesn’t think transit-oriented development exists; it’s just a building next to a transit system. The phrase he used was that they’re looking for develop-oriented transit. You can read more about the session moderated by Cliff Henke, a senior analyst with Parsons Brinckerhoff, HERE.

The closing roundtable discussion focused on a number of ways in how we can reframe our thinking to quantify the value of sustainability. Kevin Desmond, general manager of King County Metro Transit and chair of the APTA Sustainability committee, led a group of panelists that included the public and private perspectives. Read more on the variety of ways in which we can look at measuring sustainability HERE.

As usual at any conference or workshop, I heard from a lot of people that one of the best opportunities is the opportunity to catch up with other attendees to exchange all of the great ideas that are out there, the different challenges we face, and finding the common challenges others have already worked through. And, also like every other meeting, there’s never enough time and at the Sustainability Committee’s meeting at the close of the Workshop, people were excited to look to what to expect for Sustainability and Public Transportation 2012.

Day one of the APTA Sustainability and Public Transportation Workshop held in Los Angeles, Calif., provided insight on common trends in sustainability, shared challenges and new solutions that are making a difference in the industry.

APTA President William Millar said, “We need to keep pushing that investment in transit is just that, investment, it’s not spending.” With Washington being “a bigger zoo than usual,” it’s only going to get worse as everyone will be trying to push their programs and agendas through with all of the cuts, he said.

King County Metro General Manager Kevin Desmond, also the APTA chair for the Sustainability Committee, said the workshop is about how the value of sustainability is being measured and delivered. “It’s not enough to just believe in it, there needs to be some substance behind that.”

Romel Pascual, deputy Mayor for the Environment, city of Los Angeles, said sustainability is a world issue, but much of the action is at the local level. He stressed, “Transportation is always at the cutting edge of sustainability environmental justice.”

Information provided by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority illustrated the urban renaissance new investment in transportation is creating in LA. Information on completed initiatives are available for download at www.metro.net/sustainability.

The Federal Transit Administration Deputy Administrator Therese McMillan addressed attendees saying sustainability demands forward thinking. She said few sectors have the commitment that transit has to sustainability.

McMillan said the path we’re on as a nation with growing congestion, increased sprawl and the growing dependence on oil are economically, socially and politically unsustainable. “The cognitive change this will need is transformational with government relationships and working with our partners.”

She also said we can leverage sustainable practices as they’re good for the environment and good for the bottom line; they are good economic investments. One session that illustrated that point was Sustainable Business Practices and Sustainable Organizations and you can read more on that session HERE.

Stay tuned for more info from APTA’s Sustainability Workshop!

Last week I was at the US High Speed Rail Association’s conference in Chicago where people came together to discuss the progress of HSR development in the Midwest, the U.S. and a look at the international scene.

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) opened the conference stating that better days are ahead and railroad service is just beginning to develop. One of the points he also talked about was how much time senators spend talking about airports and then when you look at the sheer economics, any thing less than 300 miles should be serviced by train.

Andy Kunz, president and CEO of US HSR talked about the five serious problems the US faces: peak oil and energy security, climate change, mobility paralysis, failing economy and job loss, and crumbling infrastructure. Transportation is at the root of all five problems he stressed, and that HSR is at the heart of all five solutions.

By 2050, the U.S. population will grow the equivalent of adding an entire California, New York, Texas and Florida, Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo said.  “If you think it’s hard to move around now, just wait,” he stressed.

He also pointed out how California is a good example of not moving, now. And, in just 10 years, 3,000 highway miles and two airports are going to be needed; $100B to maintain the current level of mobility. With some of the highest gas prices and some of the worst congestion, high-speed rail could transform their system.

Szabo also made it clear, “We’re not advocating high-speed rail instead of other modes, it’s about improving connections between modes.”

During the conference, Governor Quinn announced the partnership between the University of Illinois, the Illinois Department of Transportation and a special advisory group to study the feasibility of 220-mph passenger rail service between Chicago and various cities in the Midwest.  At the conference, he stressed, “We have to have balanced transportation, planes, trains and automobiles.”  He also stated, “Sustainability is indispensable to prosperity in the 21st century.”

The Midwest High Speed Rail Association announced the release of a study to define the benefits of building a 220-mph bullet train network on four corridors radiating from Chicago. Siemens sponsored the first step in the initiative, an engineering study conducted by Aecom and an economic impact assessment of the Chicago Metropolitan region conducted by the Economic Development Research Group Inc.

As Midwest High Speed Rail Association Executive Director Rick Harnish said, “We know how the trains will perform, we know what the trains will cost and we know what the economic impacts will be.”

With state boundaries not matching up with economic boundaries and assets and major universities spread throughout the region, HSR can bring centers closer together to be connected to compete with the global competition.

Just looking at the Chicago metro area alone, 220-mph service would add $3.8B in business sales with new visitor spending alone nearly $160M per year.

Discussing the concerns of opponents, Armin Kick, director, high speed rail development, Siemens Industry Inc., Mobility Division, stressed that a lot of infrastructure doesn’t make money and asked, “What makes money and what makes sense? A county road doesn’t make money.” Just like with other infrastructure, the government can build it then private companies can run on it and make money, just as they build roads and trucking companies run on it and make money off of it.

He also asked, “Do you disregard billions of dollars of economic growth?” The session he moderated stressed that it’s not about whether we can make money or not, it’s about economic development; $3.8B in economic development outweighs the costs. That’s what makes sense, that’s where HSR makes sense.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke at the conference and shared some insight from those not directly connected to HSR. He said, “There is a disconnect we need to address. There are allies that belong in this place but they don’t know how they’re connected. Dr. King had a car, so why did he care if Rosa Parks went to the back of a bus?

“Because he had a vision to see how he was connected. Most of our allies have a car but they don’t see the connection.”

The people that stand to benefit from this have not been aroused, he said. “There are too few of us involved in the fight to make this happen.”

He also stated, “We’re struggling against irrational forces. They complain about no jobs, high gas prices, but they don’t want rail.

Last week was high-speed rail and now the Mass Transit team is getting ready to head to Boston on Sunday for the American Public Transportation Association’s Rail Conference.  The sessions focus on best practices and lessons learned for all facets of the rail industry, including security, HSR, commuter rail, intercity rail, sustainability and operations. Tuesday from 7:30 -2:00 is the Rail Products & Services Showcase and if you’re there, be sure to stop by our booth to say Hi and to share your thoughts on the industry.

Ray LaHood said the Administration is making historic investments in HSR, transit, and bikeable and walkable communities, as well as electric vehicle technology.

By Leah Harnack

Recently I had the opportunity to attend the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) conference. It was held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

The Electric Drive Transportation Association represents battery, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell electric drive technologies and infrastructure. EDTA conducts public policy advocacy, education, industry networking and international conferences.

Aside from the fun of getting to test drive some of the latest all-electric cars, it was a great opportunity to talk to the people developing this technology.

A number of reoccurring themes came through loud and clear. They are looking at fleet conversion as large-scale implementation will help lower costs, and battery technology is quickly evolving but needs to continue to improve in charge time and weight to make this a success.

Scott Carson, national sales director with Smith Electric Vehicles, said that what needs to happen is that there needs to be a tip in the supply chain to bring costs down; large fleet operators buying in will bring cost down.

Incentives will remain a significant part of the value story until the volume gets up and the price comes down said Gerard Devito, EDTA fleet applications, Eaton Truck Companies.

Mike Staran with Enova Systems said government incentives are great, but that we need to get there without the incentives.

Don Karner, president of Ecotality, a provider of clean electric transportation and storage technologies said a focus of theirs is educating the fleet managers to help them understand what’s best for the vehicles they are running. Karner says they look at the runs, how the vehicles are driven and from there determine where electric would be a smart, cost-savings option.

Vice president, market development with Johnson Controls, John Schaaf said you have to drive the vehicle enough to offset savings of fuel savings and you have to not drive it too much where electric isn’t viable. They need to work with the fleets to determine what is the best alternative for their patterns.

Karner also talked about the fact that to ensure a successful deployment, that includes control of the use of the vehicle, meaning it is run how it was expected to be run. He says that is no big deal, as fleets generally have some type of program in place as to who can run which vehicles where or when; this piece just needs to be incorporated into that plan to ensure the best performance.

Ron Iacobelli with Azure Dynamics stressed that the range and infrastructure limit widespread adoption. “We need battery advancement and fast-charging infrastructure.”

More than one billion dollars a year is spent on battery research, said Gitanjali DasGupta, program manager, electric vehicles, with Electrovaya. “Battery technology is slow to change.”

Of course, bottom-line is the big concern for fleet managers Karner says. There are some other things the industry has to work at changing to make this work. One thing he mentioned was that in some places it’s up to $400 for a building permit for installing the charger.

Not only expensive, the permitting process is too involved, said James Bianco with CMI EVSI. “Inspectors don’t even know what we’re talking about.”

Working with fleets to determine the best process for infrastructure is also a part of the equation. Karner likens the process to that of cell phones. “We used to have to think about it. Now, many people automatically charge their phone every night; it’s not something you think about, you just do it.

“The car gets charged every night and then you’re ready to go in the morning.”

There is a lot of exciting research being done with EVs in regards to remote charing, solar power and fast charging. One such project we will be looking at further is the research being done with wireless charging through the road in Utah. With charging being continuously coming from beneath the road, you would never have to stop to charge or fuel up.

By Leah Harnack

At a recent show someone was flipping through last year’s issue of our Top 40 Under 40 and asked when we were going to have a top 50 over 50. Since we first started doing the Top 40 a couple years ago, it’s a joke we hear often.

What I didn’t realize is that he wasn’t joking. He said to look around; we’re not going to find too many people under 40 and added that we should know our demographic.

This will be the third year we’ve done the Top 40 and for the past two years it was the top viewed article on our website and something that people often bring up when we’re out at conferences and trade shows.

When you spend months focused and working on something each year, it’s easy to forget that when other people first see it, they don’t necessarily know why we do it.

The industry faces a severe shortage of skilled and seasoned employees as thousands of workers from the baby-boom generation approach retirement over the next five to 10 years.

From our annual readers’ survey, we saw that an employee shortage was a major concern for many of our readers. Aside from adding more frequent features focusing on the topic, we decided to start the Top 40 Under 40 to highlight the new generation that is in transit; to show their accomplishments and what it is they enjoy about their role in the industry.

It’s always exciting to see the amount of press coverage after the issue mails when the individuals are recognized by their local media. We hope that any additional coverage of a young professional in transit raises the awareness of public transportation as a career option for the younger generations planning their future.

The nominations are open now for this year’s Top 40 Under 40, which will again be announced in our September/October issue. It’s easy to nominate yourself or a colleague simply by going here and sharing a brief description or bullet points on things such as achievements in his or her position; industry involvement and contributions; or innovations in his or her position.

Especially exciting this year is that it’s an Expo year, so we’ll also be distributing the issue at the American Public Transportation Association’s Expo and Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

And of course we do know our demographics. We know that nearly 70 percent of our readers over the age of 50. We know it mirrors the industry so we see first hand how critical it is that we all work at getting the word out that public transportation is a rewarding career utilizing the latest technology all while helping our environment and reducing our oil dependence.

This past week many industry leaders convened in Washington, D.C. for APTA’s Legislative Conference & Capitol Hill Summit. And from everyone I talked to at the conference and since returning home, it sounds like everyone got a lot of great information and some really good meetings with legislators were had.

Meeting with a communications director for a representative on Tuesday, she said she hadn’t seen a line to get into the Rayburn House Office Building in a long time. The line went down the stairs, across the plaza and down the sidewalk. Of course not everyone in line was with transit, but a lot of them were – which was great to see!

Monday and Tuesday were a buzz talking about speakers that had been addressing attendees. The conference opened with featured speaker Charlie Cook, a political analyst for NBC News. He has been featured in countless news outlets and has served as a presidential election night analyst for CBS in 1990 and 92 and on NBC for every presidential election since 1994.

He gave a good background of what happened in 2010 and what we might expect in 2012 and beyond based on historical analysis and the current climate. He said that we’re looking at a divided government for awhile. And while we all thought we were on the dawn of a new era in public transportation but the new reality from the last couple year’s shows that it’s going to be tougher than we thought.

Republicans were voted in to cut the budget and that has changed everything. He posed the question, how serious are the new Republicans about cutting government? “They cut border security funding and you know they didn’t like that.” Cook added, “They may be right, they may be wrong, but they are serious.”

Another key point that came up countless times during the sessions was that an association is only as strong as its members. APTA analysts and lobbyists are doing all they can each day, but it takes everyone talking to legislators to inform them of what public transit provides for quality of life, the environment and the economy.

At the conference there was a lineup of speakers giving background information, the latest updates, and tips and expert advice on how to make the most of meeting with members of Congress. There were also a variety of handouts available providing statistics showing the key benefits and talking points to guide those new to the process.

And for those not able to make it to D.C., those resources are available on their website or by giving them a call.

One other great thing to see at the conference was the suppliers that were there to meet with Congress alongside the transit providers. I kept running in to sales people from one bus manufacturer in particular that seemed to send its full force out there to meet with the different agencies it has relationships with to further illustrate the point that this is also about private sector jobs. Would be even better to see more of that from more of the private side.

Chatting in an elevator with a VP from Parsons Brinckerhoff, I asked if he had meetings on the Hill this week. He laughed. Then responded, “I don’t, but I do that all year long.”

If you can remember your time before transit, when you weren’t in the industry, it looks like a bus or train for other people. “If I’m not on that bus or train, there’s no benefit to me.” Whether you did or didn’t meet with legislators this week, remember what an integral, on-going part of our jobs that is because we need the ongoing support from the community, stakeholders and legislators.

By Eric Myers

Last week the Southwest Transit Association (SWTA) held their annual conference and Expo. This year it was held in tandem with the Texas Transit Association’s conference. With exhibit space and sponsorships sold out and great traffic throughout the conference, it was a successful event for both exhibitors and attendees.

Drawing attendees from not just one state but an entire region helped to broaden the conference experience. What I mean is while all transit professionals share similar challenges, there are differences county to county, state to state, etc. Add to the mix the backgrounds of all the different exhibitors and you have a wide variety of backgrounds to hear about and learn about.

People always asked two questions when they learned I was from Wisconsin. How do we deal with the snow and cold? Second, what is going on in Madison? My answer was always the same. Personally, I’ve grown very tired of both.

Ever since I started in this industry four years ago, I knew that there is a strong sense of community in transit. At SWTA I felt that even more. Mass Transit attends on average more than one conference a month, with most being national shows. Many of these large national shows remind me of walking through New York City. Move quick or you’ll be trampled. Everyone wants to get from point A to point B with nothing in-between to slow them down. The effect of this is people don’t stop and see what’s around them.

This conference seemed different. Mass Transit never exhibited here before, so I had a lot of attendees stop by and talk to me. They asked about the magazine. This happens at the larger transit shows, for sure. However, here people did more than just nod their head and shuffle their feet once I started to talk for too long. They showed real interest; I witnessed this at a number of different booths.

The show was held in Austin, so maybe the atmosphere had something to do with southern hospitality, but that’s probably not the main reason. Where did the sense of community come from? There were attendees from Texas, Arkansas, Colorado and exhibitors from even more states. The people attending this show obviously had met before, and the conference was just small enough that you could recognize most of them. There’s something to be said for having a smaller show that is really big.

Transit is a community. While national shows are great in bringing everyone together, regional and state shows bring more people who have similar but slightly different perspectives and experiences.

Next year SWTA is hosting their event in Denver, and I look forward to being there.

On a personal note, while at the conference I had to deal with a health emergency back home. Everything turned out fine, by the way. This Tuesday SWTA took the time to call and follow up to see how it turned out. That meant a lot to me. Not to disparage any shows organizers, but I doubt most would have taken the time to do the same thing. Transit is a small community. The community we build at these conferences exists because we care about the same industry. In the process we get to know each other and care what happens to one another. This is what makes our industry strong and the community vibrant.

By Leah Harnack

“The outreach we have to do at the federal level can not be overstated,” Michael Scanlon, American Public Transportation Association (APTA) chair, general manager/CEO of San Mateo County Transit District and executive director of Caltrain, said when speaking at the opening session of APTA’s Marketing & Communications Workshop in San Diego, Calif., this past week.

The conference always shares what latest in what marketing and PR professionals are doing but this year it was also stressed throughout the conference that everyone needs to be doing what they can to educate legislators about the benefits of public transit. With authorization looming, industry leaders shared what they were doing and ideas for how we can work together to strengthen the message that is being heard on the Hill.

Alan Wulkan, managing partner with InfraConsult LLC, said with half of Congress not having been around for the authorization of SAFTEA-LU, we need a new public education effort. And there was some good news he said; he’s never heard public transit mentioned in a president’s State of the Union address and 2/3 of Congress has a history of supporting what we do.

He said now is our time to give them the information they need to go to DC to make the best decisions. The future of our cities depends on infrastructure investments done the right way.

One key to the success that kept getting mentioned throughout the conference was that the industry needs to have the help of the business members; it’s not just about public transit, private sector jobs are impacted.

Looking for natural allies — environmentalist groups, bicycle coalitions, the business community, realtors that market transit access, suppliers to your agency — people you are already talking to anyways. These partners can help spread transit’s message.

Morgan Lyons, Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s director, media relations, stressed that we don’t know when we will get authorization, so we still need to capture transit’s stories to share the personal impact with our legislators. APTA’s new initiative i<3transit [I *heart* transit] to connect people to a petition when they text “transit” to 86677. You can also follow @ihearttransit on Twitter to get ongoing updates about the benefits of public transportation.

People come to the bus stop and they expect to see a bus. They don’t think about it; it’s just always there. Many people don’t know what public transit means to a community: access to jobs, education, entertainment, shopping, and the jobs it provides.

At some point there will be an authorization bill. We don’t know what it will look like. We don’t know what will be in it. There is still time to educate members of Congress.

As Alice Wiggins-Tolbert, director, project development with Parsons Brinckerhoff, said, “If there is any time to fight, now is the time to fight.”

By Leah Harnack

Miami passed Los Angeles as the second busiest international airport.
The state of Florida is heading for third in terms of population.

It is a growing state that needs to stay competitive.

If you’ve seen or read any bit of news in the past 24 hours, then you are aware that Florida Governor Rick Scott announced that he is rejecting the federal funding from the Obama Administration for the state’s high-speed rail project.

In his prepared remarks he said that it “came down to three main economic realities:

“Capital cost overruns from the project could put Florida taxpayers on the hook for an additional $3 billion.

“Ridership and revenue projections are historically overly optimistic and would likely result in ongoing subsidies that state taxpayers would have to incur. (from $300 million – $575 million over 10 years) – Note: The state subsidizes Tri-Rail $34.6 million a year while passenger revenues covers only $10.4 million of the $64 million annual operating budget.

“If the project becomes too costly for taxpayers and is shut down, the state would have to return the $2.4 billion in federal funds to D.C.”

For the capital cost overruns point of objection, some of the state’s congressional delegation and state lawmakers have a week to move forward without the governor’s approval and it’s being looked at for the private sector to have an opportunity to offer their proposals to finance the balance of cost and operation.

One strike down, two to go.

The Tampa to Orlando leg of high-speed rail is shovel-ready, has a low cost to build and strong support so it was an obvious first choice for the first line.

The Florida plan has been stopped before and mitigating risk is key support. With Tea Partyists rallying to stop Obama’s plans, when the first U.S. HSR line gets built, it’s critical it’s successful. As the Hon. Corrine Brown (D-FL) said at the HSR seminar  “Fostering Economic Development in Florida through High Speed Rail: What Florida Can Draw from the French Experience” last year, “We want a system that works. If it doesn’t, the rest of the country won’t have it.

“We’re trapped to do Tampa to Orlando first, but we have to have Miami to Orlando at the same time or as soon as possible.”

It was continually stressed at that seminar that it needs to be thought of and spoken about as the Tampa to Miami line. The first leg may be the easiest to build but the Orlando to Miami leg is where the ridership will be.

That additional ridership is what’s necessary to 1. Show people HSR can be a success; people will ride and 2. It will generate additional revenue toward operating costs.