The Year Ahead: A New Investment to Transform the Future of Public Transit

BY MJ MAYNARD
Incoming Chair
APTA
CEO
RTC Southern Nevada

Adversity prepares us for great things. Every hurdle has the potential to bring an equal or greater benefit.

My personal and professional journey—and public transportation’s recent achievements—are proof of this. From overcoming COVID to transitioning to zero emissions to advancing safety, security, and equity, our industry has demonstrated that it is not the obstacle, but rather our reaction to it that determines the story’s outcome.

As CEO of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC), I know first-hand how our industry’s resilience and resolve is writing success stories every day.

As APTA Chair, my mission is to ensure APTA creates the kind of real value for our transit agency and business members that allows them to continue serving their communities. That work begins at 2024 TRANSform in the following ways:

We will challenge outdated perceptions about what we do and how we do it.

This means showing the ripple effects of the diverse and wide-ranging benefits we create.

An important way to underscore public transportation’s far-reach value will be to continue strengthening high-value partnerships with organizations that mutually benefit from the services we provide, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Our industry has always been a catalyst for economic, social, and technological progress. Today’s issues may present different challenges, but public transportation’s role and responsibility remains the same: to make life better through mobility.

We will convey our essential role in growing the national economy and the need for additional investment.

Public transportation is more than a means of travel; it is an essential driver of our nation’s economic engine. It is both a job creator and a job connector that links millions of employees to employers every day. In rural, suburban, and urban communities across the country—even in places where there is little transit—we support parts suppliers, service providers, engineering firms, restaurants, and retail businesses.

As the advocate for sustained increases in federal, state, and local funding, APTA will find new ways to show how investing in public transit is integral to a healthy, vibrant economy.

And because a skilled, diverse workforce is fundamental to the success of public transportation, we will continue to foster collaborative partnerships with national workforce associations, educational institutions, labor organizations, and community-based groups to create pathways for career advancement in the transit sector.

By enhancing the connection between public transportation and the workforce, APTA can help ensure that current and future transit workers are ready to meet the evolving needs of our industry. Additionally, we will support transit agencies’ efforts to provide meaningful employment and opportunities for career development.

We will promote and encourage innovation that is essential for public transportation to thrive, not just survive.

Innovation is a strategic necessity for economic growth, environmental sustainability, social equity, and overall quality of life. By investing in modernization, we can create a more efficient and inclusive transportation network that meets the needs of today’s population while preparing for the future.

We will continue to proactively support members who are using new mobility services and technologies. We will continue to work with technology companies, practitioners, transit agencies, and decision makers to share best practices, lessons learned, technical expertise, and innovative ideas that can enhance operations and the customer experience.

Adapting to the way our customers use technologies in their daily lives is key to ensuring we remain relevant and relatable.

We all want more innovation in our industry, but that requires experimentation, risk, and out-of-the-box thinking—traits that can be difficult to model in public-facing and publicly funded organizations. This is why we need to talk more about how to encourage innovation. And we need to do something else: foster cultures where it is safe to try something new—and fail.

We are on the cusp of reinventing public transportation thanks to once-in-a-lifetime funding and the need for more mobility choices. Workers, businesses, neighborhoods, and communities depend on us.

There may be new challenges or circumstances to overcome, but I am confident about public transportation’s future.

I am grateful to have your support as I embark on this journey. Through cooperation and collaboration, together we can transform our industry into one that is more technologically advanced, drives greater economic progress, provides more equitable mobility solutions for all, and receives the recognition it deserves in the nation’s economic ecosystem.