A Year of Progress, Change, and Firsts

BY MICHELE WONG KRAUSE
Outgoing Chair
APTA
Former Chair
Dallas Area Rapid Transit

My tenure as APTA Chair began one year ago this month at TRANSform in Orlando, FL, near to Disney World. It is concluding here in Anaheim, CA, home of Disneyland. Between those coast-to-coast bookends, I was continuously reminded of Walt Disney’s belief that “progress is impossible without change.”

The past year’s journey has been all about progress and change. From APTA events across the country to special initiatives on critical issues, our association has celebrated many firsts.

In my opening week as Chair, APTA’s leadership was called into action. Domestic bus manufacturers were being adversely impacted by rising costs, supply chain challenges, and inefficient procurement rules. At a time when public transit agencies were eager to invest Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to modernize their bus fleets, there were only two American companies making buses.

I asked APTA Immediate Past Chair Dorval R. Carter Jr., president of the Chicago Transit Authority, along with Richard A. Davey, former president of New York City Transit and currently CEO of the Massachusetts Port Authority, to lead a 28-member Task Force on Bus Manufacturing.

The group produced comprehensive recommendations to bring greater financial stability to the bus manufacturing sector and even shared its ideas at the White House Roundtable on Clean Bus Manufacturing.

The task force’s work is continuing this year. In collaboration with FTA, APTA is streamlining procurement procedures, identifying best practices, and automating guidelines to assist smaller transit agencies.

As APTA Chair, I also focused on the following other issues:

1)  Strengthening the business case for public transit by using compelling stories.

This was particularly important because some Members of Congress were threatening to reduce federal funding for public transportation.

• APTA launched the “Rethink Public Transportation” campaign to encourage elected officials to view transit as a driver of the national economy, not just a mode of mobility.
• We used advertising, social media, interviews with APTA members, and transit vehicles and shelters wrapped with messages, such as “This is NOT a BUS … it’s a job creator.”
• The campaign began on Capitol Hill at APTA’s 2024 Legislative Conference and continued to attract attention in Philadelphia prior to a state transit ballot measure, as well as at the two national political conventions in Milwaukee and Chicago.

2)  Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the public transportation industry and our communities.

• As more DEI policies come under attack, it is vital to show how diversity makes organizations stronger and more successful.
• This year, APTA concluded its two-year pilot of the Racial Equity Commitment Program, with 87 participating transit agencies and businesses. Based on lessons learned, the program will become an ongoing APTA initiative starting in 2025, with a broader focus that includes more than race.
• We also released The Transit Equity Report, describing how public transit agencies are advancing equity and ensuring their services benefit all members of the community. It highlights numerous innovative policies and projects that are having a real impact.
• Thanks to these two programs, which are part of APTA’s Racial Equity Action Plan, we have the facts, tools, and knowledge to continue making diversity a competitive advantage.

3)  Investing in recruiting, retaining, and empowering the next generation of future-ready transit workers.

• Following last year’s release of six workforce development guides, APTA held its first-ever Workforce Summit in Washington, DC, in August 2024.
• We brought together more than 250 public transportation professionals, educators, and workforce experts to share strategies for building the type of workforce essential to public transportation’s future.
• This is just the beginning. I hope the summit will become an annual event because workforce development requires a commitment to lifelong learning and continuous improvement.

4)  Making APTA more effective, efficient, and inclusive by updating our governance rules.

• While not as exhilarating as some transit topics, good governance is critical to any organization’s success.
• Bringing uniformity, equity, clarity, and consistency to APTA’s committee structure, definitions, and rules for engagement and decision-­making is one of my most rewarding accomplishments as Chair.

I began my year as the first APTA Chair of Asian descent and I finish by welcoming another female Chair, MJ Maynard, CEO of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. That’s three female Chairs in four years—another APTA first.

My deepest appreciation to APTA President and CEO Paul Skoutelas, the Board, and APTA’s members for your support and all you do for our association and industry. During this period of investing and building in our industry, Walt Disney’s words have special relevance: “You can design and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it takes people to make the dream a reality.”

Thank you for making this experience a dream come true.