A New Call to Action for 2023

Welcome to 2023.?

This March, it will be three years since the emergence of COVID-19 and subsequent economic standstill.?Since then, we have not just survived but thrived.?With each New Year, public transportation has become more innovative and resilient, better funded, and strategically well-positioned for what comes next.

Last year, APTA members turned every challenge into an opportunity.?Transit agencies and businesses advanced fresh solutions, modernized equipment and services, set attendance records with the return of our in-person conferences and workshops, and much, much more.

Three examples show how much we have achieved:

• Throughout 2022, the first year of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $27.4 billion for thousands of public transit and passenger rail projects.?We are diligently putting these new federal dollars to work.
• In December 2022, Congress doubled down on that investment by approving an appropriations package for Fiscal Year 2023 that continues to meet the promise of the IIJA: $21.2 billion for public transit (an increase of $704 million from the previous year) and $16.6 billion for passenger and freight rail (an increase of $69 million from FY22).
• Riders continue to return to public transit.?In January 2021, national ridership averaged 35 percent of pre-pandemic (2019) levels.?In January 2022, at the time of the Omicron outbreak, that number was 45 percent (after earlier reaching 55 percent).?This month, we hit 72 percent.

In our ongoing pivot to the future, there is much to celebrate.?But the new year brings new challenges.?Public transportation doesn’t operate in a vacuum; we are impacted by the broader issues around us.

These range from inflation, supply chain delays, and safety along with our own need for skilled transit workers … more riders … investments to advance equity and environmental sustainability … and for renewed advocacy to protect our historic federal funding.?

These are the issues that define our priorities for 2023 and beyond.?This is our new call to action.

The “New” Priorities Are Here To Stay

Our focus is on five major member-defined priorities: ridership; equity; a sustainable environment; the transit workforce; and retaining federal support and resources.

Ridership

Increasing ridership is critical to fund agencies’ operating expenses.?Many transit systems are filling seats by focusing on disenfranchised neighborhoods, redesigning bus networks, and investing in transit operations to better support hourly, late night, and early morning workers.?This year, more agencies will expand how they communicate with the public and explore incentives like flexible fare systems, routes, and schedules based on new travel patterns, including more weekend trips.

Equity

APTA Chair Dorval R. Carter Jr. has made this issue a top priority.?Many of our members are already demonstrating their commitment to make transit more accessible, affordable, and convenient in communities that have been historically underserved. ?Many agencies are developing equity assessments to prioritize capital projects.?At the same time, 84 APTA members are participating in our two-year Racial Equity Commitment Pilot Program, launched in May 2022, to support our members’ efforts to advance racial equity.

A Sustainable Environment

We know an investment in transit is an investment in a sustainable environment.?This trend will grow with funding opportunities under the IIJA and Inflation Reduction Act, and with the support of APTA’s Sustainability Program.?In 2023, our industry will continue to set new milestones in sustainability as transit agencies and businesses accelerate the transition to low- and no-emission vehicles and related infrastructure, while setting new goals for minimizing waste, recycling, and energy and water conservation.

The Transit Workforce

Since the start of the pandemic, public transportation agencies have experienced workforce shortages that continue to impact their ability to provide a full service.?APTA and its members will continue to solve this challenge by sharing innovative recruiting practices, streamlining the application / onboarding process, piloting flexible work shifts, and building new pipelines to career paths through internships, apprenticeships, and partnerships with technical schools.?

Protecting Historic Investments

Every new year brings fresh national priorities for Washington decision-makers.?In 2023, we also have a new Congress with Republican leadership in the House of Representatives.?We will need to work hard to ensure our industry’s issues receive the attention and support they deserve.?Our members’ advocacy record shows we are up to the challenge.

Beginning with our 2023 Legislative Conference on March 12 - 14, watch for new tools to tell members’ stories about how transit investments are creating jobs, aiding the nation’s recovery, and delivering real economic, social, and environmental benefits to large and small, urban, and rural communities.

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Everything we have accomplished during the past three years has been a preface to the challenges and opportunities we will face in 2023.?It is no longer just about providing transit services, but rather HOW we make people more mobile in responsible, convenient, and equitable ways, even in uncertain times.?

What the new year brings to us will depend on what we bring to the new year.?We have all the elements we need for continued success: a diverse, dedicated, savvy, and unified membership.?And this is why I am immensely confident 2023 will be our most dynamic, exciting, and transformative year yet.