As the United States and Canada look to the future of rail and public transportation in the next decade, important questions must be answered. How can public transit systems help ensure our communities remain sustainable? How will new public transit options merge with existing systems? What will be the impact of the United States government’s high-speed rail proposals?
These questions, and others, will be addressed on an exclusive media call hosted by APTA President Bill Millar, featuring Peter Rogoff, Administrator, U.S. Federal Transit Administration; Karen Rae, Deputy Administrator, US Federal Railroad Administration; Ian Jarvis, Chief Executive Officer, TransLink (Burnaby, BC); and Doug Kelsey, Chief Executive Officer, BC Rapid Transit Co.
This informative, on-the-record call will help to kick off APTA’s 2010 Rail Conference in Vancouver, BC, from June 6 through June 9. The conference addresses all of the pressing challenges facing rail and transit today – including how to integrate transportation and sustainability, and how best to implement high-speed rail plans in order to generate a return on investment. The entire conference is open to media; for more information, visit http://www.apta.com/mc/conferences/90days/2010rail/Pages/default.aspx.
WHO: Bill Millar, APTA president for more than a decade, is an expert on all aspects of public transit. He will be joined by four participants with unique perspectives on rail in the North American region:
- Peter Rogoff, Administrator, U.S. Federal Transit Administration
- Karen Rae, Deputy Administrator, U.S. Federal Railroad Administration
- Ian Jarvis, Chief Executive Officer, TransLink (Burnaby, BC)
- Doug Kelsey, Chief Executive Officer, British Columbia Rapid Transit Company
WHAT: Participants will discuss the future integration of rail (freight, high-speed and commuter), with a focus on the sustainability of our transportation systems and the potential for high-speed and intercity rail in the next decades.
WHEN: Monday, June 7 at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time (1:30 p.m. Eastern Time)
RSVP: Please e-mail Alina Piacentino apiacentino@apcoworldwide.com or call (202) 778-1295 to register for the media conference call. Dial-in information will be sent upon RSVP.
NOTE TO REPORTERS ON ADDITIONAL MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES: In addition to the media call, APTA is hosting two webcasts during the conference. Media may attend for free; pre-registration is needed. To pre-register, e-mail Alina Piacentino at apiacentino@apcoworldwide.com. Be sure to include your name, publication, e-mail address and which webcast you’d like to join. A link to join the webcast will then be sent to your e-mail address.
Webcast topics include:
- A New Era In Transportation Choices: Linking Transportation, Land Use, and Sustainability (Monday, June 7 at 12:30 p.m. PT)
- Fact or Myth: The Return on Investment of a National High-Speed and Intercity Rail Program (Wednesday, June 9 at 8:30 a.m. PT)
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The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit international association of more than 1,500 public and private member organizations, engaged in the areas of bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail, subways, waterborne passenger services, and high-speed rail. This includes: transit systems; planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; transit associations and state departments of transportation. More than 90 percent of the people using public transportation in the United States and Canada are served by APTA member systems.