APTA Marketing, Communications & Customer Experience Workshop Attracts Record Numbers

A record number of public transportation communicators gathered for APTA’s 2024 Marketing, Communications & Customer Experience Workshop, Feb. 11-14, in New Orleans. The workshop, with a focus on “telling our story,” and improving the customer experience allowed more than 425 attendees to share ideas, exchange information and to network.

New Orleans RTA’s CEO Lona Edwards Hankins welcomed attendees. APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas and APTA Chair Michele Wong Krause offered opening remarks. Wong Krause noted how public transit leaders depend on its communicators to help them be more effective not just by what to say, but in how to say it, when to say it, to whom, and through which medium. Skoutelas thanked attendees for their role in telling the stories about how public transit delivers a multitude of benefits for riders and non-riders alike.

Glen Becerra, principal, Becerra Strategies and chair of APTA’s Marketing, Communications & Customer Experience Committee, stressed how the public transit industry faces new challenges and opportunities. Keynote speakers Jared Katseff and Matt Straus, customer experience experts with McKinsey & Company, shared examples of how customers and their expectations have changed throughout various industries, including public transit, and how organizations have responded to these changes. A special luncheon recognized the First Place Winners of the 2024 AdWheel Awards.