Costs & Who Pays
Leadership APTA participants are sponsored by their APTA member employers. The sponsoring organization provides the monetary resources and allows the time required for their candidates to participate in the related events and activities critical to their success in the Leadership APTA program.
Tuition
The tuition fee for the Leadership APTA Class of 2026 is $8,500.
The tuition fee also includes:
- Workshop materials and some meals during the required Leadership APTA Workshop sessions:
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- early December 2025
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- Sessions that precede the April 2026 Legislative Conference
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- June Capstone Session that precedes the 2026 Rail Conference
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- Workshop sessions the precede the October 2026APTA EXPO & TRANSform Conference
- Registration for the 2025 APTA TRANSform Conference , 2026 APTA Legislative Conference, June 2026 Rail Conference, 2026 APTA TRANSform & EXPO Conference.
Sponsoring organizations are responsible for the following costs:
- The tuition fee.
- Travel costs to and from the Leadership APTA workshops, Legislative Conference, and APTA TRANSform Conferences.
- Hotel expenses, some meals, and related miscellaneous expenses.
Participating agencies and organizations should plan for participants to attend the following in-person program-related events:
- 2025 early December Leadership APTA workshop in Washington, D.C. (required attendance)
- April 2026 Legislative Conference and Leadership APTA workshops (required attendance) held in conjunction with the conference
- June 2026 Capstone session (required attendance) held in conjunction with the APTA 2026 Rail Conference
- August virtual deliveries of their Capstone Projects (required attendance)
- 2026 APTA TRANSform Conference & EXPO – (required attendance at workshops, committee presentations, and graduation)
- We strongly encourage the Class of 2026 members to attend the 2025 APTA TRANSform Conference and related Leadership APTA sessions.
Special Note: in addition to the above planned in-person sessions and events, the program also will include a number of virtual sessions scheduled during the course of the program.
Estimated Travel:
The following is provided to help organizations plan for hotel and related costs associated with the Leadership APTA sessions and related events:
- Early December 2025 Session (Washington, DC): Three to four hotel nights, two travel days, for three planned in-person days.
- April 2026 Legislative Conference (Washington, DC): Four to five hotel nights, two travel days, and four planned in-person days for the conference and related Leadership APTA workshops.
- June 2026 Capstone Session (Baltimore, MD): Three to four hotel nights, two travel days, and three planned in-person days in conjunction with the 2026 APTA Rail Conference.
- 2025 APTA TRANSform Conference (Boston, MA) 2026 APTA TRANSform Conference & EXPO (Chicago, IL): A minimum of three to four hotel nights and two travel days each conference. Full attendance at both TRANSform Conferences could involve a total of eight to ten hotel nights.
