APTA President Addresses SORTA Luncheon

APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas spoke last week at the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority’s (SORTA) State of Metro Luncheon in Cincinnati, OH.

SORTA Board Chair Blake Ethridge, Hamilton County Commissioner Alicia Reece, Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, and SORTA CEO Darryl Haley delivered messages to the nearly 400 attendees. The special guest speaker was Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH).

Skoutelas told the audience that SORTA is “writing the next chapter for public transportation in America,” noting that when he was there two years ago, the agency’s “Reinventing Metro” initiative had helped bring back 85 percent of pre-pandemic riders—a success rate that is above the current national average of approximately 80 percent. Today, Cincinnati Metro is leading the ridership recovery trend at 117 percent.

“There are bold, innovative things happening here for which you should all take immense pride,” Skoutelas said, noting that the agency’s free trips to special events, its new “MetroNow!” on-demand microtransit service, and upcoming BRT corridors “are the kinds of investments that are going to continue to change people’s lives and strengthen the community.”