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Michael P. Melaniphy

Transit CEOs Seminar

Opening General Session

Ritz-Carlton

New Orleans, LA

Sunday, February 9, 2014

9:00 - 9:45 a.m.

Salons 2 & 3

15 Minutes

[Slide #1—Opener]

Thank you Justin.

Welcome and good morning. It is terrific to see

so many of my friends here today. I know

we’re all looking forward to a terrific seminar.

First, I know you join me in thanking our host,

Justin Augustine of RTA and his team.

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You’ve made us all feel very welcome and you

managed to provide great weather, too!

[Or: we won’t blame you for the weather]

Next, I’d like to ask everyone in the audience

who became a GM or CEO in the last year to

please stand.

After years of talking about retirements in our

industry and the need for succession planning, I

am happy to have so many Deputy CEOs here

today. Please also stand. Thank you.

This year there were a number of GMs and

CEOs retiring, who served our great industry for

many, many years. And we said goodbye to

another.

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Please take a moment to look and honor the

great work they did.

[slideshow plays]

I’m sure most of them are going to enjoy

golfing in sunny Florida. But don’t be surprised

if you see a couple familiar faces next year at

the BMBG meeting!

[Pause]

As we were preparing the program for this

year’s seminar, we listened to what you said

you wanted. What your top concerns and

needs were.

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And we created a seminar that will offer you

ways to enhance your skill–sets, improve your

leadership skills, and learn new things.

It’s also a forum where you can talk freely. We

want you to feel comfortable in this setting.

There are no vendors here. Please feel at home

to express your thoughts and concerns.

We have a stellar line-up of speakers and

sessions lined up -- all geared to CEOs. And a

special track dedicated to Deputy CEOs.

Immediately following this overview session

APTA Chair Peter Varga will moderate a

conversation about Millennials.

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This afternoon Peter and I will be facilitating a

roundtable on the association's initiatives and

issues of concern to you. We’ll also hear report-

outs from the lunch discussions.

And . . . . we’ll be unveiling a NEW initiative

you’ll want to hear about.

Also, later this afternoon, we’ll have a session

on funding and finance trends.

Tomorrow, APTA Vice-Chair Phil Washington

will moderate a discussion on CEOs roles in DBE

programs.

Tuesday, we’ll have a session on Best Practices of Transit Executives by expert Dave Jensen.

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We’re also offering media training and time for one-on-one consultation for those who sign up.

And I hope you find the time to just relax and

have some fun in this city which offers great

music and food and a lively nightlife.

[Pause]

Now, I’d like to give an update on what’s going

on back in Washington – where the climate’s

not so great!

[Slide #2- Capitol Hill photo]

MAP-21 expires on September 30, 2014 -- just

234 days from today! And mid-term elections

are in less than a year from now, in 268 days.

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The presidential election is 1003 days from

now.

An appropriations bill was passed in January

that provided $10.8 billion for public

transportation, and an additional $600 million

in Tiger grants to carry us through the end of

MAP-21.

We’re working to ensure that Congress restores

the full commuter tax benefit to its previous

levels (which offered identical tax benefits to

auto drivers and public transit riders).

The new year brought a regrettable reduction

in benefits for those who take public

transportation.

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At the same time, this tax benefit was adjusted

upward for auto drivers. Reversing that is one

of our top priorities.

In addition, we need to ensure the renewal of

the Alternative Fuels Tax Credit.

And of course, our eyes and our efforts are

firmly focused on MAP-21.

APTA has stepped up to the plate and is very active in Washington on your behalf. In fact, over the last few months APTA staff and I have been meeting with our partners and talking about the authorization recommendations Peter mentioned. We’ve met with AASHTO, the Council of State Governments, National Association of Counties, National Conference of State Legislatures, the US Conference of Mayors and Transportation Secretary Foxx, among others.

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[Slide #3 – Voters]

It’s critical our partners and our policymakers

hear from you.

Because everyone in this room knows that

Americans are asking for more public transit

and more options. And, it’s our job to make

that happen.

In 2013, 11 of 15 transportation ballot

measures in 8 different states were given the

thumbs-up by voters. This was a success rate of

73 percent. And that was in an off election

year.

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[Slide #4 – Ridership Map]

Ridership numbers tell the same story. Ridership has been up 9 out of the last 11 quarters. In 2012, Americans took ten and one-half billion trips on public transportation. Even though gas prices continued to fluctuate. That’s 154 million more trips than the previous year – and the seventh year in a row that we topped 10 billion. That growth continues. In the third quarter of 2013, ridership was up 1.5 percent. The increase represents more than 39 million riders. In fact, Americans took 16 times as many trips on public transportation than they did on domestic airlines in 2013.

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[Slide # 5 – APTA logo] Before I close, I’d like to recognize three CEOs

who will be hosting APTA’s large conferences

this year:

KCATA Executive Director Mark Huffer will host

our Bus and Paratransit Conference and

International Bus Roadeo, May 2 – 7, in Kansas

City.

STM CEO Carl Desrosier [Di-roe-see-ay] will host

our Rail Conference and International Roadeo

in Montreal, June 12 – 15.

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METRO CEO Tom Lambert is hosting our Annual

Meeting & EXPO in Houston, in October.

And now please join me and let’s watch a short

video of what’s in store for you at EXPO 2014!

[Video here of EXPO]

Another thing you will see at EXPO is the

presentation of the American Public

Transportation scholarships.

[Slide #6 – APTF logo]

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At the recent BMBG meeting, members were

challenged to raise $6,500 toward the

scholarship fund. You know what?

They raised more than $20,000! This is a

testament to the power we have when we are

united.

Now, I’d like to ask Hugh Mose, GM at the

Centre Area Transportation Authority, to share

a few thoughts about the Foundation.

Hugh?

[Hugh speaks]

Thank you Hugh and thank you everyone.

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