Passenger Transport 2010 APTA Annual Meeting - 4

Chamber: Transportation Not Keeping Pace in Serving Economic Needs; More Investment Needed
homas J. Donohue, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, called on the nation to radically improve “the way transportation delivers for business; removing barriers to maintaining, modernizing, and expanding our nation’s transportation infrastructure; and driving increased public and private investment.”

He made this comment at the release of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s first-ever nationwide and state-by-state Transportation Performance Indexes at a Sept. 23 event in Washington, DC. Over the last five years, the report found that the U.S. transportation infrastructure has declined significantly in its ability to serve the needs of domestic

Vice presidenT Joe Biden
recently commended the job-creation and economic benefits of several public transportation projects in a report, 100 Recovery Act Projects That Are Changing America. Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s 14-mile Orange Line rail project was among the projects featured. The extension, which will give Dallas a rail connection to Irving and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, has created more than 600 jobs. Overall, the Orange Line has generated more than $4 billion in transit-oriented development within the corridor, including more than 10,000 new housing units, 18,000 new employees, and more than 200 new businesses. In Brooklyn, NY, rehabilitation of the 107-year-old Atlantic Avenue Viaduct— a crucial segment of MTA Long Island Rail Road—will restore the section to a state of good repair by replacing 86 steel spans along the 1.5-mile elevated structure. The project will also add new

employee walkways. Cleveland will use American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) investments to create a transit center connected to the Euclid Corridor. The Stephanie Tubbs Jones Transit Center, named after the late congresswoman, will be next to Cleveland State University; it will include a staging area and 16 bus bays expected to serve more than 500 buses and thousands of customers daily. Denver’s Regional Transportation District and the Denver Union Station Project Authority are redeveloping Denver Union Station as a multimodal transportation center to accommodate significant additional passenger rail service (FasTracks) under construction. The project will transform Union Station into the hub of a seamless, interconnected transportation system providing access to light rail, bus transit, Amtrak, parking, and bicycle/pedestrian routes. The Southeastern Pennsylvania

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released indexes of how the health of the nation’s infrastructure impacts economic growth.

Engel Joins Amtrak as VP for High-Speed Rail
amTrak announced the
hiring of Albrecht Engel to head up a new high-speed rail department that will lead initiatives to grow Amtrak’s role in high speed rail. Engel is an authority on this issue who comes to Amtrak from AECOM, where he is a vice president and high-speed rail director. Engel has more than 40 years of experience in the rail transportation business, including the significant Amtrak upgrade and the launch of Acela Express service 10 years ago. He is a business member director on the APTA Board of Directors and chair of the High-Speed and Intercity Rail Nominating and Bylaws Subcommittee, in addition to serving on many other committees. Previously, he served as chairman of the original High Speed Ground Transportation Association. “Al has considerable expertise, is a dedicated proponent for public transportation, and shares our conviction that Amtrak plays a vital, leading, and necessary role in expanding and operating high-speed rail service across the country,” said Amtrak President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Boardman. Engel said: “Amtrak is an integral part of America’s high-speed rail future as highways and aviation networks reach capacity in our urban areas. I am very enthused to have this opportunity to work for Amtrak and with national and regional leaders to help implement a new balanced transportation vision for the U.S.”

BIDEN CONTINUED ON PAGE 64

KPS Acquires Control of Parent Company of MCI
kps capiTal parTners lp
now holds a controlling investment, through an affiliate, in MCII Holdings Inc., parent company of Motor Coach Industries International Inc. (MCI). The transaction is the result of a multistakeholder recapitalization of MCII Holdings sponsored by KPS. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The firm has considerable experience in the bus sector through its former ownership of New Flyer Industries Ltd. Under KPS’ ownership, New Flyer experienced significant growth in revenue and profitability. Jay Bernstein, a partner of KPS, said of MCI: “We are very excited to partner with the company’s 1,500 employees in the U.S. and Canada to manufacture products in North America for North American customers, and to continue to provide MCI’s customers with the highest levels of quality and service. As a result of the KPS-sponsored recapitalization, MCI is now conservatively capitalized and has the financial resources to fund its continued growth and investment in industry-leading innovation and technology.”

TRB Meeting to Convene
The TransporTaTion Research Board (TRB) invites public transportation professionals to register for its 90th Annual Meeting, Jan. 23-27, 2011, in Washington, DC. Conference hotels are the Marriott Wardman Park, Omni Shoreham, and Washington Hilton.
TRB is accepting advance registrations through Nov. 30. The registration and hotel reservation processes are combined, and early registration is recommended for best availability. More information is available online at www.TRB.org/AnnualMeeting.

Laughing at High Gas Prices

WONDERLAND CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
development for years to come in a location well-positioned for future growth,” said Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. “This project is at the heart of what government investment should be all about, putting people back to work now with the construction of this garage while also paving the way for private sector long-term investment in the Waterfront Square Development,” said Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA). “This project is a national model for government partnerships. The city of Revere, the commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the federal government have all worked tirelessly to make this project a reality.”
The Greensboro Transit Authority (GTA) in Greensboro, NC, has recognized Mark Scott as the winner of its “Heckle the Pump” campaign for Dump the Pump Day. He won the grand prize in the contest—a “fuel-free weekend” including admission to a comedy club, dinner at a restaurant, admission to the North Carolina Zoo, and transit passes to each of these destinations—and his image and joke now appear on several GTA buses. The agency also posted several other jokes it received on the www.ridegta.com web site.

4 | Passenger Transport

Photo by Ian Wagreich

Biden Commends ARRA Public Transit Projects

commerce, international trade, and the nation’s overall economy. The purpose of this Index is to examine how U.S. transportation infrastructure over time is serving the needs of the U.S. economy and business community. “The performance of the nation’s transportation system is not keeping pace with the rate of growth of the demands on that system,” said Donohue. “As our economy recovers, the nation’s transportation infrastructure must be prepared to meet the projected growth in freight and population. In fact, a 10-point improvement in the new national transportation index could generate 3 percent more growth in the nation’s gross domestic product. Our

Passenger Transport 2010 APTA Annual Meeting

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