A full slate of exhibits and presentations explore the theme, America’s Future is Riding on Public Transportation

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) 2014 Annual Meeting and EXPO is a month away, October 12-15, 2014, in Houston, TX. APTA reports 800 exhibiting companies will fill the Hilton Americas and George R. Brown Convention Center with just about every available public transportation product and service on display.

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BUSRide talked to APTA President and CEO Michael Melinaphy on the first APTA EXPO under his tenure.

What has been your greatest challenge in staging your first event?
The greatest challenge is simply to make this year’s EXPO bigger and better, and continue to improve upon the experience for our attendees and exhibitors. I think we will succeed in this, as this year we have nearly 280,000 square feet of exhibit space compared to 274,000 in 2011; and we will welcome 800 exhibitors compared to 771 in 2011.

What steps have you taken to improve this year’s APTA EXPO?
I am very excited about the improvements we have made to this year’s show. We have created more educational offerings right on the show floor. For instance, for the first time we have created both an Exhibitor Product and Services Solutions Learning Zone and an Innovations Learning Zone [see the full slate of presentations below].

On the third floor, we have created an area dedicated entirely to “Livable and Sustainable Communities.” This will provide an opportunity for attendees to find out the latest technological innovations from vendors with products and services that promote energy efficiency.

APTA President and CEO Michael Melinaphy marks his first APTA EXPO.

What do you want members and attendees to take away from APTA EXPO 2014?
We want attendees to walk away with great ideas that they can implement at their public transit property or business. We also expect they will make new connections and leave with a rolodex full of business cards. And for the vendor, we hope they can leave with a book full of new orders for their product or service.

2014 APTA Annual Meeting
General sessions, topical seminars and workshops address the theme for 2014: America’s Future is Riding on Public Transportation. Highlights will include the presentation of the APTA Awards at the opening breakfast, graduation of the Leadership APTA Class of 2014, and recognition of the American Public Transportation Foundation Scholarship Award recipients.

APTA will also host its 2014 TransITech Conference concurrent with the Annual Meeting & EXPO, which examines annually ITS technologies in place in every sector of transit operations and management.

In conjunction with EXPO, the APTA Annual Meeting presents transit leaders and professionals in a robust slate of general sessions and forums focused on current issues facing public transportation.

This year APTA is expecting more than 15,000 visitors.

APTA EXPO, the premier trade event in the American transit industry, takes places every three years for the benefit of transit professionals, policymakers and board members, government agencies, manufacturers and suppliers, as well as consultants. The association says all the information from the presentations, sessions and exhibits is certain to help public transit professionals operate their agencies more efficiently and profitably; and at the same time s enhance the passenger experience and public transportation environment.

New this year on the exhibit floor and adjacent areas, seven APTA Learning Zones will present easily accessible educational sessions, presentations on public transportation projects around the world, best practices, as well as new product and service updates.
EXPO Advisory Committee Chair Jeff Wharton, president of IMPulse NC, Mt. Olive, NC, says the aim and goal of entire event is to enhance and broaden attendees’ EXPO experience with a variety of technical and international presentations.

Presentations in each Learning Zone focus on a specific topic in seven operational areas:

• Innovations
3D scanning technology for automated tunnel inspection
Saving money with improved business intelligence
New technologies in idle-free operations
Optimizing vehicle location systems
Advanced technologies for real-time business analytics
Affordable bus washing systems
Hosted fare collection systems

• Solutions
Vehicle lift safety and the fleet manager’s responsibilities
How to purchase a driver training simulator
Managing a successful BRT/transit shelter project
Successful mobile ticketing deployment
Solving wireless communications in tunnels
Increasing safety with video-based driver risk management

• International opportunities
Mass transportation project opportunities in Israel
InnoTrans 2016, International Trade Fair, September 2016, Berlin
Passenger transportation projects in Mexico
The 9th World Congress and Trade Exhibition on High-Speed Rail
Looking forward to the Olympics in Brazil
Public transit projects and needs in Canada

• Mobility Management for Livable and Sustainable Communities
Planning for sustainable communities
Accessible design
Energy efficiency
Complete streets programs and policies
Intermodal connections
Access and connectivity to essential services
Moving Disadvantaged Business Enterprises forward

• Procurement and Materials Management
Pre-award and post-delivery audits for rolling stock
State and local schedules, joint procurement, and piggybacking
Buy America
P3s and PM/CM at Risk: What procurement officers need to know
Evaluation committee training, two-step procurements, and Brooks Act procurements
Supply chain management

• Bus Technical Maintenance and Clean Technology
Leveraging new technology for smarter transit
Large-capacity, flash-charging electric buses
Increasing the range of the electric bus
Maintenance operations: best practices for whole life costing
Fuel economy and the modern bus transmission
The future of fuels and powertrains

APTA is expecting 800 exhibitors to greet attendees on the exhibit floor in Houston.

• Workforce Development
Promoting public transportation careers to teenagers
Engaging college-level students; universities, colleges, technical and vocational schools
Opportunities for young professionals and the frontline workforce
Launch of the Transit Virtual Career Network
Sessions not to miss
Congress and the Federal Transportation Agenda

With MAP-21 expiring at the end of this month, a Congressional staff will share views on the authorization process, the status of the Highway Trust Fund and Mass Transit Account, and other federal funding and regulatory issues.

Promising Practices in Asset Management
MAP-21 requires that all FTA grantees develop a Transit Asset Management (TAM) plan, including an asset inventory with condition assessments and an investment prioritization process. Public transit agency and MPO representatives will report on how integrating TAM and state of good repair priorities can lead to better capital planning investment decisions.

Comprehensive Approaches to Financing Transit Projects
With increasing ridership, demands for more service and tight funding, this session focuses on innovative ways the private sector can support the expansion and improvement of transit systems, thus strengthening quality and introducing efficiency.

Transit Board Members Role in Procurement
Transit agency board members and commissioners provide advice on procurement policy that protects and does not compromise the procurement process.

The Arts in Transit
Art and design excellence is an absolute necessity in the planning and implementation of a successful transit development project. This session addresses the threefold challenge to weave aesthetics with function and durability; and why art and design in transit are a good investment. Transit art administrators will share their best practices.

35th Annual AdWheel Awards Ceremony
The best in public transportation marketing and communications in print, electronic, campaigns, special events, and social media.