Bus-Paratransit-Ceos-Committee-Minutes-From-Previous-Meeting

BUS & PARATRANSIT CEOS COMMITTEE

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2011 DRAFT MINUTES

1) Welcome & Introductions were offered by committee chair Donna DeMartino.

2) Legislative Update: Jim LaRusch (APTA) provided the legislative update.

 There is much uncertainty regarding the future funding levels for the federal transit program as we enter the 112th Congress. While the new Republican controlled Congress is intent on cutting funds for all domestic programs for deficit reduction, funding for infrastructure and public transportation still has strong support in Congress and the administration. APTA’s efforts are focused on educating new members of Congress on the importance of the federal program in their districts, and preserving the federal program.

 Congress failed to pass a full year appropriations bill last year, and have passed a short- term continuing resolution that is set to expire on March 4. The CR also extends spending authority for surface transportation programs (SAFETEA-LU) through March 4.

 The FTA is expected to issue a partial-year apportionment to make 5/12 of FY 2011 formula funds this week. The apportionment is not expected to make funding available for discretionary programs, such as new starts and bus discretionary grants.

 APTA is urging all members to contact their members of Congress and urge them NOT to reduce spending levels for public transportation programs for FY 2011.

 The passage of a full, six year, robust authorization bill this year remains APTA’s top priority.

 Chairman Mica of the House Transportation Committee, Chairman Boxer of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and the administration have all expressed their desire to pass a long term bill this year. In meetings with Chairman Mica, APTA has learned that he plans to develop a bill that lives within the current trust fund revenues. This means that we can expect legislation out of the House that offers reduced funding levels. In the Senate, Boxer has pledged to work with Mica to get a bill done by Memorial Day.  Mica wants to supplement traditional program funding by recapturing unobligated funds, streamlining programs and speeding project delivery, and encouraging investment from the private sector through public private partnerships, bonding, and loan programs.

 Hurdles on financing remain in place. If there is not momentum this year, there may be consideration of a shorter authorization bill- perhaps two years – by the end of calendar 2011.

 Educating new and current members of Congress on the importance of the federal transit program to their districts is extremely important.

3) President’s Comments: on the heels of the legislative update, Bill Millar noted that how transit will fare in this congress depends on how well the parties work together. The T&I committee has reduced in size and has added 20 new Republicans, most with Tea Party credentials, but no new Democrats. Few T&I committee members have sizable transit agencies in their districts. We will be reaching out to them, but agencies need to be doing the same. It looks like a steep learning curve for the staff in some of these offices. We are working on identifying the next Paul Wyerich, and APTA’s business members are themselves looking to identify a prominent conservative to carry the message.

4) Spare Ratio Report: by phone, Jeff Hiott provided an update on meetings with FTA, where a dialog has been taking place on the spare ratio rule. The FTA has asked us to red line the current circular and submit it to them, although with no promises of change.

5) ASE certification for maintainers: Jeff Hiott also reported on ASE certification, noting that agencies are handling the process differently. The bus technical maintenance committee wants the industry to be aware of the certification especially in connection with new labor contracts and other agency labor training and certification initiatives. It is a difficult test, requiring laborious prep work and studying. Less than 50% pass. CEOs in the room reported that they have incentivized their staff to advance through the certification modules.

6) Bus Safety Committee update: Bill Grizard (APTA) reported that in October the committee finalized a workplan for the year. They also formed an Emerging Technologies Working Group to determine whether new technologies work as advertised and without unintended consequences. He used the example of the S1 guard, and of a fire retardant that has now been banned. The working group would like to draw on the resources of the TSA & DOT’s research arm, RITA. Goals included developing boiler-plate procurement language for safety critical items, requiring them to be evaluated by an “Underwriters Lab-type” system; to create a forum for peer-to-peer feedback on unintended consequences; and identifying testing resources for new items through DOT/TSA. A CEO mentioned it would be useful for agencies if there was a peer-to-peer exchange, and it was suggested that opinions on products should be shared in a closed environment, such as the safety committee’s online “collaboration page.” 7) Telling Our Story Campaign: Committee chair Donna DeMartino told of how she fired up her staff to get involved, requesting videos at every Board Meeting. Another CEO noted how powerful video can be, mentioning that he uses footage from vehicle cameras to show his board that it’s standing room only on some buses. A demonstration of the video wall, housed on the APTA Website, showed CEOs how they could use the function to search entries by state. Millar noted that the more videos look unproduced the more they resonate with those we’re trying to reach through this campaign. “Keep posting stories.” Tom Lucek: politicians want to cut government spending but they don’t want to cut jobs. How can we calculate how many jobs might be impacted if you cut transit: not just transit jobs, but riders’ jobs as well?”

8) Regulatory Update: Jim LaRusch returned to report that the FTA has announced $1million for workforce development to look at things like hiring, incumbent training, and succession planning. The funds will be distributed in $50 - $500,000 grants to agencies with a partner (such as a university). Applications are due March 15.

On the DBE final rule: if a prime proposes to use a particular DBE, that DBE can only be terminated for cause and with notice to the agency; requires reciprocal DBE certification for 60 days, in which the receiving state has those 60 days to challenge. The rule would also require analysis and reporting on goals. Another rulemaking is anticipated next year.

On the ADA rule: DOT general counsel held a public meeting where Donna McNamee and Joe Giulietti appeared on behalf of APTA. They noted violation of regulatory standards. Volpe is working on a new rule and has already approached APTA constituencies for comments. We are anticipating that the FTA will rescind the old NPRM as soon as the new proposal is ready.

Customer Information Systems: “Arrival Star” patents are written so that they can challenge customer information systems installed by agencies. They approach the agency, not the maker of the installed CIS and offer to sell a license in lieu of suing the agency. They have filed suit against NYMTA. The legal affairs committee is working with the Public Patent Foundation exploring a declaratory judgment to protect properties. LaRusch asked that anyone who is contacted by “Arrival Star” to please notify APTA immediately. These “patent terrorists” tend to approach smaller agencies, which are less likely to have the resources to fight it, and then they point to those forced sale licenses as evidence that other agencies had “agreed” with the patent claim.

9) Bus CEOs’ Profiles: DeMartino noted that prior to the meeting CEOs were asked to supply their profile information to facilitate peer-to-peer networking. A packet of the collected profiles was distributed, and others were encouraged to participate. The profiles will be posted to a “committee collaboration page” on the APTA website, accessible only to those CEOs whose names appear on the committee roster. A demonstration of all the functionality of the collaboration page will be offered at the next committee meeting. 10) APTA Chair’s Report: Dovetailing on DeMartino’s earlier comments, Mike Scanlon asked CEOs to continue “selling our story” in their communities, staying on message, building on the message to include transportation options, mobility options. He noted that updates on the presidential selection process and recalibrating our expectations to the new congress will be on the next day’s agenda. Jeff Hamm asked about membership retention. Millar responded that we have lost a few small agencies and business members, but we have collected our budgeted amount. As it is an EXPO year, we can expect that the numbers will pull up when the member/non-member rates become apparent.

11) New Business: Doran Barnes introduced the TCRP F-16 project, a major research effort on the return on investing in the workforce, toward the goal of enhancing the image of our industry and making it a career of choice. Tom Lucek inquired about APTA’s new policy of charging spouse fees and ending the coordinated spouse tours. Millar responded by noting that we have not raised dues and that no one wants universally higher registration rates, so that the budget committee decided to charge actual costs for the spouses. Spouse tours were not meeting minimum subscription rates so they were suspended. He noted that Barbara Millar gathers spouses for breakfast many mornings, and that they group off to explore common interests in the host city.

12) Administrative Items: The minutes from the October meeting were reviewed and approved, and it was announced that the next meeting would take place Sunday morning, May 22, during the APTA Bus Conference in Memphis.