APTA Standards Survey Now Open: Please Participate!

In 2023, FTA awarded a grant to a multi-organizational team led by APTA to support its Standards Development Program. APTA partnered with the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida to develop meaningful transit standards for safe, efficient, and reliable operation of public transportation systems—both rail and non-rail modes.

The project also includes “lens” partners that represent important industry constituents including the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA), the National Rural Transit Assistance Program (NRTAP), the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO), the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE), and ENSCO.

This three-year project begins with an assessment of industry needs for standards development. To perform the assessment, the APTA-led team has developed a survey to gather responses from a broad cross section of the public transit industry. APTA members are strongly encouraged to complete this survey by March 8. Input is welcome from public transit agency personnel (operations, maintenance, safety, human resources, procurement, technology/systems groups, etc.) from within all modes (rail, bus, paratransit, ferry, etc.); and from transit industry associations; members of the academic community and other researchers; federal and state agency employees; consultants; industry vendors/business groups; and others.

Possible standards topic areas have been organized into five overarching themes: ACES Systems (Automated, Connected, Electric, and Shared); Emergency Management and Response; Equity/Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); Data Collection, Analysis, Interoperability, Storage, Access, and Cyber; and Other Cross-cutting or Emerging Topics.

In addition, the survey seeks suggestions for other areas that could benefit from development of new standards or enhancements to existing standards.

For questions, contact Bryan Sooter, APTA Director-Standards, at bsooter@apta.com.