APTA: Top Public Transportation Leaders Are Honored By The American Public Transportation Association (APTA)

Transit News

October 11, 2006

Virginia Miller
(202) 496-4816
vmiller@apta.com

Yesterday morning, the top public transportation agencies and transit leaders in North America were honored by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and nearly 2,000 transit leaders from North America at the 2006 APTA Annual Meeting in San Jose, CA.

"This year's winners are the stars of the public transportation industry," said APTA President William W. Millar. "These dedicated and accomplished individuals and transit agencies have increased the quality of public transportation in their local communities and across the country."

Dwight D. Brashear, CEO/General Manager of the Capital Area Transit System (CATS) in Baton Rouge, LA was honored with a one-time "Special Award for Extraordinary Leadership" for his work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco tapped Brashear to be the state transportation coordinator for the evacuation of the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In this capacity, he managed the use of school buses and other transportation resources from around the country during the emergency.

On hearing that Brashear would receive the APTA Special Award for Extraordinary Leadership, Governor Blanco said, "It is fitting that Dwight Brashear receive a national award for his selfless assistance in moving Louisiana citizens to safety in the wake of Hurricane Katrina...Dwight is one of Louisiana's heroes who helped to move thousands of families out of harm's way."

Four public transportation agencies, competing in four different categories based on annual ridership, were honored as the best transit agencies in North America. Winning the 2006 Outstanding Public Transportation System Award means that they have demonstrated achievement in efficiency and effectiveness. This year's winners, ranging from the smallest to the largest category are:

Beaver County Transit Authority (BCTA), Rochester, PA (Category: Providing fewer than 1 million annual passenger trips.) Beaver County Transit Authority was selected as the best smallest transit agency in North America. Three years ago, BCTA transformed itself from a 20 person administrative agency to a self-operating organization of almost 100 employees. In the past three years, despite a decline in county population and a fare increase in January 2005, BCTA's fixed-route ridership increased by 34 percent. In Fiscal Year 2004-2005, BCTA's percentage gain in overall ridership and senior ridership was the highest among all urban transit systems in Pennsylvania.
Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA), Canton, OH (Category: Providing more than 1 million and fewer than 4 million annual passenger trips.) In 2005, SARTA's Fixed-Route, Paratransit, and Special Events Shuttle service provided approximately 2,028,598 passenger trips and system ridership increased by 39% over the previous year. In addition to setting a new ridership record, the agency completed the renovations of its Gateway facility to accommodate the agency's growth and expansion; began design of a new transit station in Alliance, Ohio, and developed a ten-year strategic initiative that will pave the way for future endeavors.
Central New York Regional Transportation Authority (CNYRTA), Syracuse, NY (Category: Providing more than 4 million but fewer than 30 million annual passenger trips.) CNYRTA's fiscal and operational soundness, publicly lauded by the New York State Comptroller, proved to be a valuable asset in 2005, when CNYRTA was asked to take over two failing systems that 1.1 million riders depended on in nearby Oneida County. In addition, when CNYRTA implemented sweeping system improvements in and around the city of Auburn in 2004, ridership in Auburn increased 28 percent in the first nine months and continued to grow at the same rate during 2005.
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), Los Angeles, CA (Category: Providing more than 30 million annual passenger trips.) Despite its reputation as a car-centered area, 10 million people depend on the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) buses and trains. As of spring 2006, customer satisfaction and ridership soared to the highest level ever - while complaints were at an all time low. Metro has aggressively added new service, including additional freeway express buses and the wildly successful Metro Orange Line, where first-year ridership has already reached levels that had been projected for 2020. Even with all of its improvements, Metro has successfully kept costs well below inflation.

The APTA Innovation Award is an award given to a public transit agency that demonstrates innovative concepts in the provision of public transportation services. The 2006 recipient of the APTA Innovation Award is the York Region Rapid Transit Corporation for Viva, the first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system of its kind in the Greater Toronto areas, which was launched in September 2005 through an innovative public-private partnership. Seven months later, total transit boardings along the Yonge Street corridor for May 2006 were 37 percent ahead of the previous year. Not only did Viva break ridership records; it accomplished its launch on budget in less than three years, or about half the time it would normally take to implement a similar project in North America. Viva is also serving as a catalyst for transit-oriented development and new development covering millions of square feet is already underway along the transit corridors.

This year's 2006 APTA Awards also recognized 7 individuals whose contributions have greatly advanced public transportation.

Outstanding Public Transportation Manager Award: Clarence "Cal" W. Marsella, General Manager & CEO, Regional Transportation District (RTD), Denver, Colorado is the 2006 recipient of this highly competitive and prestigious award that goes to the top public transportation manager in North America. Under Marsella's leadership, RTD has completed light rail construction on the $1.7 billion Transportation Expansion (T-REX) project - combining light rail and highway expansion. This is RTD's fourth consecutive light rail project built on time and within budget, and will open for service November 17, 2006. With Marsella at the RTD helm, the citizens of Denver, after seven years of planning and feedback at more than 1,000 public presentations, voted overwhelmingly for a $4.7 billion, 12-year program called FasTracks. This initiative will add 119 miles of passenger rail, 21,000 new park-n-ride spaces, and 18 miles of Bus Rapid Transit service, and will increase bus service by 25 percent.
Outstanding Public Transportation Board Member: George F. Dixon, III, Board President, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, Cleveland, OH is the 2006 recipient. Since 1992, George Dixon has demonstrated leadership in public transportation on the national, state, and local levels. Dixon was the APTA Chair in 2003-2004; through APTA, he visited Russia, China, and Spain as an ambassador for public transit. An appointee of the mayor of Cleveland, Dixon has served under three mayors, and is believed to be the longest-serving transit board president in Ohio history.
Gerald E. Connolly, Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is the recipient of the APTA 2006 Local Distinguished Service Award. Chairman Connolly's commitment to improving public transportation is a key part of his mission as board chairman. He has been a big supporter of the Fairfax Connector bus system, which continues to grow under his leadership. Chairman Connolly chairs the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority and is an alternate member of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Transportation Planning Board. Virginia Governor Tim Kaine said, "Chairman Connolly is a staunch advocate for transit, and I'm pleased to see him honored for his consistent support."

Four people were inducted into the APTA Hall of Fame this year: Shirley A. DeLibero, H. Welton Flynn, Louis L. "Larry" Heil, and Dan Reichard, Jr.

Shirley DeLibero has spent the last 30 years making a difference in the public transportation industry across the country. Starting first in Boston at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, she then went on to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in Washington, D.C. before becoming the deputy executive director of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). In 1990, DeLibero became the executive director of New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit), the nation's third largest multi-modal public transit system. Under her leadership, ridership grew by 17.4 percent and major rail extensions were built, including the Hudson-Bergen Line. In 1999, DeLibero became the president and CEO of Houston Metro and one of her most significant achievements was building the light rail system, which debuted January 2004, under budget, ahead of schedule, and built solely with local money. A long-time active APTA member, DeLibero was the APTA chair from 1998-1999 and was the Leadership APTA chair from 2001-2002. She also served on the Mobility for the 21st Century Task Force, and now serves as chair of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials.
H. Welton Flynn has personified San Francisco's dedication to providing quality public transportation. First appointed in 1970, Flynn was the first African-American ever to be appointed to any city commission in the history of San Francisco. He has served six mayors, and was elected to lead the governing agency of the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) more than 12 times. Under his leadership, Muni introduced transit passes for convenient service, and created Muni's Accessible Services, which today remains a model for paratransit services nationwide. In the early 1980s, Flynn's leadership and advocacy were key to restoring San Francisco's cable cars when the system had worn out and become unsafe. In addition, he is a founding member of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) and created one of the first programs in the nation to provide opportunities for women and minorities to participate in government contracts.
Louis L. "Larry" Heil has spent 32 years striving for excellence in public transportation management. Early in his career, he helped build public support for the fledgling Akron METRO in Akron, OH. Later, he assisted Fort Worth, TX with the creation of a first-class public transportation provider, CITRAN, which later expanded to become the nationally recognized Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T). Dedicated to introducing public transportation to middle-sized and small communities, Heil supervised initiation of new public systems at Daytona Beach, FL; Athens, GA; National City, CA; Ocala/Marion County, FL; Naples, FL; Gwinnett County, GA; Lawton, OK; and, Midland/Odessa, TX. In 1979, Heil became president of McDonald Transit and during his 23 year tenure, the company grew from five management and service contracts to more than 20, and extended the ecological benefits of transit to Zion and Rocky Mountain national parks. He was also a founding director and president of the South West Transit Association and chair of the Texas Transportation Institute Council. Heil was active in APTA and served on numerous committees, including the first Small Operations Committee.
Dan Reichard, Jr. was a pioneer in the field of high-tech fare collection. In the 1960s, Litton Industries asked Reichard to promote the idea of using magnetic cards as an application for fare collection and this idea soon led to the whole new concept of automatic fare collection for rail and subways. Later, Reichard went to Duncan Industries where he helped introduce the first electronic farebox. Since the farebox could take dollar bills, it became the rage of the industry. As one of the founders of GFI-GENFARE, Reichard helped the electronic farebox evolve into what we know it to be today. When APTA was formed in 1974, he was the first business member to preside at an APTA general session meeting. To further the business members' role in APTA, he, along with others, encouraged business members to take a more active role in APTA through strengthening the business member organization. Even now, he continues to attend meetings as one of the few permanent honorary Business Member Board of Governors' members.

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APTA is a nonprofit international association of 1,600 member organizations including public transportation systems; planning, design, construction and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; and state associations and departments of transportation. APTA members serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient and economical public transportation services and products. APTA members serve more than 90 percent of persons using public transportation in the United States and Canada.

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