Business View Magazine - Nov 2023

233 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 11 THE AMERICAN PUBL IC TRANSPORTAT ION ASSOCIAT ION We recently caught up with APTA President and Chief Executive Officer Paul P. Skoutelas, and he told us more about the APTA’s important work and its mission. Skoutelas also shared more about the history of the APTA International Public Transit Expo/Conference and the raison d’être for this unique event. “APTA saw a need,” he says, “to establish a flagship event, where its members and other sectors of the public transportation industry could foster collaboration, share knowledge, and advance the interests of the industry. In 1981, APTA held its first International Public Transit Expo in conjunction with its annual meeting in Chicago, which attracted more than 5,500 attendees and more than 225 manufacturers’ exhibits that covered two levels of Chicago’s McCormick Place. Today, APTA’s expo is the largest public transportation event in the world. Our 2023 event in Orlando attracted approximately 12,000 attendees and 663 exhibitors from around the world.” Historically, an average of some 10,000-12,000 people attend the expo, which occurs every three years, as Skoutelas informed. He spoke further about what its many activities involve. “Attendees can engage in workshops, experience technical tours, network with colleagues, and hear from thought leaders and industry experts who explore cutting-edge topics, such as transformative technology, mental health awareness, community-building, innovative funding, safety and security, workforce development and worldwide mega projects, to name a few,” he says. “The exhibition hall offers a robust showcase of the latest-breaking technologies, products and services designed to offer solutions to increase and retain ridership, reinvent the rider experience, infuse technology to enhance convenience, improve security, transition to a more sustainable system, boost system-wide reliability and beyond.” What does the landscape of the transit industry