Workforce Resources

The 2026 APTA Workforce Summit, held May 20–21 in Salt Lake City, UT in conjunction with APTA’s Mobility Conference, brings together industry leaders, managers, and labor partners to explore what AI means for transit operations, workforce planning, HR solutions, and rapidly evolving technology. The summit tackles the questions transit organizations can’t afford to ignore.

View photos from the Summit

Watch the Summit’s opening ceremony, keynote, and fireside chat

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) National Transit Career Day Toolkit contains videos, career brochures, and templates to help organizations spotlight industry careers. The transportation careers highlighted in the Toolkit include data scientist, engineering, planning, transit operations, human resources, executive leadership, and more. Public and private organizations can join APTA for National Transit Career Day on Thursday, November 12, 2026 to attract top talent by highlighting the broad variety of career paths available.

This toolkit, developed from discussions with transit agencies and insights from a working group of stakeholders, aims to guide agencies through an assessment of their scheduling practices and basic steps in developing strategies to enhance workforce scheduling processes and improve employee retention.

Season 6, Episode 1: Can “Unofficial” Mentoring Programs Work?
Tune in to this episode to hear from Doran Barnes, Chief Executive Officer at Foothill Transit, and Derik Calhoun, Chief Transportation Officer at Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and celebrate National Mentoring Month with the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). Doran and Derik will share practical steps that you can take to successfully support a “mentoring culture” in your organization. You will also hear real stories that explain how mentoring can have a positive impact for individuals, organizations, and in our industry.

Webinars are offered throughout the year on topics relevant and vital to the public transportation industry, focusing specifically on today’s transit needs.

The guide includes access to over 150 workforce resources and 35 case studies with templates for high school programs, apprenticeships, and internships.

This six-part topical series contains industry insights and stories, case studies, lessons learned, and best practices gleaned from interviews with dozens of transit and industry professionals, as well as highlights from APTA’s comprehensive Transit Workforce Readiness Guide.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is allowing State driver’s licensing agencies to waive the “under-the-hood” portion of the vehicle inspection skills test for public transit operators seeking a commercial driver’s license (CDL). The waiver is in effect until July 16, 2027. “Under-the-hood” refers specifically to the engine compartment component of the vehicle inspection test, as outlined in 49 CFR §383.113(a)(1)(i). Under-the-hood requires CDL applicants to point to, name, and identify components of the engine compartment.

This industry resource provides you with easy access to industry materials, stories, and recommended practices featured in APTA’s six Workforce Mini Guides as well as selected examples from the initial workforce volume – APTA’s Transit Workforce Readiness Guide.  In addition, the Clearinghouse features selected workforce capstone presentations and executive summaries produced by recent Leadership APTA and Emerging Leaders graduates.