Business View Magazine - Nov 2023

235 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 11 THE AMERICAN PUBL IC TRANSPORTAT ION ASSOCIAT ION also discussed and engaged with at the conference, as Skoutelas noted. “A top priority is fulfilling the promise of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (or IIJA), which depends on the promised federal monies and policies that make the federal-state-local funding partnership so effective,” he shares. “We have a historic opportunity not just to address the ‘state-of-good-repair’ backlog but to re-invent modern public transit with more BRT (bus rapid transit) services, low-or no-emission buses and trains, and greater access to mobility for all.” Among the attendees was the U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Graves came to the APTA Expo to discuss this critical piece of legislation with fellow attendees. He also toured the show floor and spoke with exhibitors. A post-COVID model “Another pressing issue is building a knowledge-