Armed with stories and signed petitions urging Congress to fund significantly increased federal investment in public transportation, APTA culminated its year-long “Telling Our Story” initiative in a big way yesterday as the industry gathered in Washington, DC, to tell our story to Capitol Hill.

Part of the event included the launch of APTA’s Online Wall that features video testimonials of riders and community leaders speaking to the benefits of public transportation. All content on the wall was submitted by APTA members.

The wall will become the collective voice of Americans as they express the importance of public transportation and urge Congress to increase funding for public transportation by passing a multi-year surface transportation authorization bill.

Thanks to all members who have already submitted testimonials and signed and circulated the petition.

The wall is now open to the public and APTA encourages you to invite your riders and community leaders to post a testimonial on the wall.

Increased federal investment in public transportation is greatly needed, and here is another chance for you to help!  Encourage your employees, riders, stakeholders, advocates and community members to sign the National Public Transit Petition.

The petition will be presented by industry leaders on September 22 at an event in Washington, D.C. to highlight to Congress the importance of public transportation across the country

How can you help:

• Sign the Petition: http://www.publictransportation.org/petition/
• Post the petition on your agency’s website to encourage visitors to sign
• Notify community leaders about the petition and encourage them to sign
• Utilize social media tools to communicate the importance of signing the petition out to your followers
• Host a special event inviting members of the community to sign the petition

And don’t forget to save time from 2:00 – 3:00 pm Easter on Thursday, September 9 for the webinar on strategic planning. During the webinar , we will discuss how often to create a strategic plan, how to begin the process, why a strategic plans is good for you and your board, and the realities of living with a strategic plan.   Kristen Joyner, executive director, South West Transit Association will conduct the webinar.   You will receive a separate email on the link to get  access to the webinar.