Top U.S. Transit Official Announces $1.9 Million Grant to American Public Transportation Association for Development of Public Transportation Standards

FTA Administrator Jim Simpson shakes hands with APTA President Bill Millar after announcing that a $1.9 million grant was awarded to APTA for the development of industry standards. Also present for the announcement were PB Senior Vice President Thomas Prendergast (left rear), who is also vice chair of APTA’s standards development oversight council, and MTA Metro-North Railroad President Pete Cannito, who is also the council’s chair.

Federal Transit Administrator James Simpson yesterday announced a $1.9 million federal grant to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) to develop new industry standards, some of which will enable communities across the country to buy safer, more accessible buses and rail cars at a better price.

“These standards are vital to helping the public transportation industry build and buy better buses and rail cars at a lower cost,” Simpson said. “The vehicle procurement standards, which we expect APTA to develop by the end of 2009, will save the industry hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Simpson and APTA President William W. Millar held a signing ceremony in Washington today with MTA Metro-North Railroad President Pete Cannito, who is also Chair of APTA’s Standards Development and Oversight Council (SDOC), and PB Senior Vice President Thomas Prendergast, Vice Chair of the Council.

“This grant will make a difference for the tens of millions of Americans who ride on public transportation,” said Millar. “The money will be put to good use to help the U.S. public transportation industry develop important standards that will improve the efficiency, safety, productivity, accessibility, and quality of transit systems across the country.”
Over the past three years, FTA has provided more than $3 million for public transit standards development. Some of the specific standards to be developed for rail include emergency vehicle features and transit roadway worker protection. For buses, APTA will develop standards for maintenance facility design, in-plant inspections, and bus rapid transit operating practices and design guidelines. Standards for bus and rail vehicle procurement, accessibility, urban design, information technology, and multimodal performance will also be developed.