Nominations will open in Spring 2026.
An Annual Awards Program Recognizing Excellence in the Public Transportation Industry
View 2024 Awards highlights video:
Called the “best of the best” of the public transportation industry, the APTA Award winners are outstanding role models of excellence, leadership, and innovation whose accomplishments have greatly advanced public transportation.
- All nominees must be APTA members in good standing.
- Each submission must be fully complete, must include facts and statistics in telling the story of your nominee’s achievements, and all nominations must include how the nominee demonstrates APTA core values of Leadership, Integrity, Excellence, Fairness, Teamwork, Professionalism and Accountability.
- If you are submitting in more than one category, separate applications must be submitted through the links below.
Please view the following categories for more information on criteria.
- For INDIVIDUAL awards including:
- Outstanding Public Transportation CEO
- Outstanding Public Transportation Board Member
- Outstanding Public Transportation Business Member
- Distinguished Service Awards
- For HALL OF FAME award for:
- Special honor reserved for individuals who have long and distinguished careers in the industry
- For INNOVATION award for:
- APTA public transportation system members
- For OUTSTANDING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ACHIEVEMENT in the categories of
- Providing 3 million or fewer annual passenger trips
- Providing more than 3 million but fewer than 15 million annual passenger trips
- Providing more than 15 million but fewer than 50 million annual passenger trips
- Providing 50 million or more annual passenger trips
- For OUTSTANDING PARTNERSHIP IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AWARD:
- Honors a public transportation project or program where a transit agency, a prime contractor and a certified small business worked in true partnership to deliver exceptional results
