Insights from APTA Operating Practices Working Group Meeting in Portland

Safe and efficient transit operations require clear, consistent operational standards that guide how transit employees perform their work every day. The APTA Operating Practices Working Group (OPWG) plays a central role in developing and maintaining these standards, ensuring that public transit agencies across North America have the guidance they need to protect passengers, employees, and the communities they serve.

Led by Chair Roy Aguilera, 1^st Vice Chair Mark Benedict, and 2^nd Vice Chair Bill McClellan, the OPWG convenes agency representatives and industry experts, including consultant Chris Wallgren, to ensure APTA’s operational documents align with current best practices and address emerging challenges. The group meets regularly, in person and virtually, to move this work forward.

In April 2026, the OPWG held an in-person meeting in Portland, OR, hosted by Lyle Pereira and the TriMet team. Over the course of the meeting, working group members finalized a number of documents, including Train Operating Employees Reporting to Work, Supervisor Program Requirements, Station Procedures, Customer Relations Programs, and Audio/Image Recorders in Rail Operations. In addition, the group launched new updates to existing standards addressing Unmanned Aircraft Systems (drones), Near Miss Reporting, Platform Berthing Requirements, and Train Operator Hours-of-Service.

Working group members had the opportunity to tour two TriMet facilities: the TriMet Control Center and the Portland Transit Tunnel. These tours provided a firsthand look at how the operational standards that the OPWG develop are applied in practice at a major public transit agency.

The OPWG will continue advancing its work as it looks ahead to its Fall 2026 meeting, to be held in New Jersey. Participation in OPWG meetings is supported through the APTA Standards Program, which helps ensure broad agency participation. To encourage participation across the industry, APTA partially reimburses travel-related expenses, including airfare, lodging, and per diem, for transit agency participants.

Agencies and stakeholders interested in participating in the New Jersey meeting or future virtual sessions are encouraged to contact Tytus Suchotinunt, program manager-standards, at tsuchotinunt@apta.com and Bryan Sooter, senior director‑standards and rail engineering, at bsooter@apta.com.