By George Wynne, APTA Director, International Programs
The Federal Transit Administration and APTA convened a workshop Oct. 9 in Washington on
the achievements and promises of public transportation in addressing mobility needs of
city dwellers around the globe. The international workshop, "Best Practices in Mass
Transit from Around the World," was held during U.S. DOT’s International
Transportation Symposium and hosted by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
Panelists from North America, Europe, and Asia joined representatives of the
International Union of Public Transport to share their experiences with best practices
worldwide. They analyzed emerging trends and projected possible future scenarios that
would make transit live up to its vast potential in bettering the quality of urban life.
In his presentation, APTA President William W. Millar summarized current operating
systems and announced that U.S. ridership is growing at a faster clip than the population
or auto and air travel. He noted last year’s record ridership of more than nine
billion, the highest in 40 years.
Kenoichi Aoyama of the Japan National Police Agency spoke about the effect of high-tech
Intelligent Transportation Systems technologies, including intersection priority for
buses, on easing congestion in some of Japan’s major metropolitan areas. Tanya
Johnson, vice president and general manager of Digital Recorders Inc., traced the
development, integration, and miniaturization of control devices for digital rail and bus
signage, which are making life easier for public transit users.
Dr. T.R. Lakshmanan, director of Boston University’s Center of Transportation
Studies, focused on the developing world in his presentation, including the significant
role of non-motorized transit and alternative funding options that are making available
previously untapped resources for public systems used by millions of impoverished
passengers.
Susan Clark of Project ACTION discussed mobility options for persons with disabilities,
stressing the economic and quality of life benefits provided by accessible public
transportation to previously underserved populations.
Petra Mollet of UITP, providing an international perspective, said the demand for urban
mobility is expected to grow by 50 percent over the next 20 years and that building more
roads is no longer seen as a solution. Urban transport must provide a good alternative to
the private car, she said, citing the experience of European countries that have succeeded
in creating shifts in the modal split in favor of public transportation.
Mollet singled out spectacular recent advances in such widely separate regions as Hong
Kong and Switzerland, where entire populations have been mobilized for public transport by
the use of sophisticated chip cards that work across the spectrum of transit providers. It
all boils down to political commitment and financial support to provide an effective
alternative to private transport in the future, she said.
Acting Federal Transit Administrator Nuria I. Fernandez welcomed the international and
domestic participants.
Juhani Korpela, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of
Finland, led the discussion on improving transit delivery.
Greg Garback, executive officer of WMATA’s Department of Finance and Program
Development, spoke about the state of the host system and its long-range expansion plans.
The system reports more than 600,000 weekday users and 100,000 customers with contactless
fare cards this year.
The three-day International Transportation Symposium, chaired by U.S. Secretary of
Transportation Rodney E. Slater, was held by U.S. DOT in conjunction with the city of
Washington and the Greater Washington Board of Trade. Nearly 100 transport ministers and
other officials, along with representatives of all modes of the international
transportation community, gathered to discuss the future of all transportation modes in
the new century.
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