Meet the APTA Staff: Jared Bonina

Policy Analyst
Government Affairs and Advocacy Department

Q: Please describe your primary responsibilities at APTA and the role your team plays.

A: My duties are researching and developing a range of research briefs, statistical data reports, surveys, and other materials needed by the association and its members.

My department’s responsibilities are to strengthen APTA’s profile as the national voice for public transportation and aggressively advocate for sustained, increased federal investment by showcasing industry successes and advancing thought leadership.

Q: How does your work support APTA’s overall mission?

A: The initiatives and programs I work on contribute to APTA’s strategic goal of advocating for investment in public transportation. The data-driven reports I publish support our key advocacy talking points and strengthen our messaging. I also maintain and update APTA’s wealth of advocacy tools.

APTA’s resources are regularly used by our lobbyists and APTA members to advocate for public transportation funding on Capitol Hill.

Q: To what extent do you have contact with APTA members?

A: In my role, I produce several statistical reports, including the quarterly Ridership Report, Vehicle Database Report, and Fare Database Report. Preparing these reports requires a great deal of direct communication with APTA members to collect the necessary data.

APTA members, and my fellow APTA employees, regularly come to me for data and information related to public transit systems. As part of APTA’s Policy Development and Research team, I provide key facts and statistics to support their needs. This includes ridership figures, vehicle data, fare data, legislative funding issues such as the Transportation Appropriations Acts and Capital Investment Grants, and more.

Q: Which APTA committees are you involved with?

A: While I do not directly staff any APTA committees, I provide research and assistance for several government affairs and advocacy committees, such as the Legislative Committee.

At the APTA 2025 Legislative Conference, you will find me at the Advocacy Resource Center in the Grand Ballroom Foyer, where we will have a variety of transit industry research and advocacy products on display and to share with attendees.

Q: Please describe your professional background.

A: I started my professional career at APTA nearly four years ago. While in college during the summer of 2021, I interned at APTA and received a return offer as a Legislative Analyst. In that role, I assisted the Government Affairs and Advocacy Department with research on legislative issues and helped communicate transit issues to APTA members and policymakers on Capitol Hill.

In the summer of 2023, I accepted a position as APTA’s Policy Analyst, where in this role I focus on data-driven statistics and analytical reporting.

Q: What interests you about this industry?

A: What interests me most about public transportation is the convenience and cost savings it offers. Growing up in northern New Jersey, I always had easy access to transit to get into New York City. As a professional living in Washington, DC, I’m provided with similar accessibility. I recently sold my car because public transit meets all my transportation needs.

Q: Could you tell us something about yourself that might surprise us?

A: As a child, I was hired as a background actor in a summer movie called The Way Way Back, starring Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, and others.