Business View Magazine - Nov 2023

238 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 11 and economic issues far beyond the traditional role of moving people from one place to another,” says Skoutelas. “This trend, which is directly tied to having a skilled workforce and advanced technology, will increase. Several sessions and panel discussions addressed these issues for attendees.” He also pointed out that the event featured more than 250 speakers, and it also included a federal partners update from the Federal Transit Administration, as well as the first- ever public transit equity summit. Plus, there was an educational session on public transit’s critical role in managing special events, and there was an exclusive session with Janno Lieber, the chairman and chief executive officer of the New York MTA (or Metropolitan Transportation Authority), on supporting mass transit in the wake of a COVID pandemic-induced ridership crisis and a multi-billion-dollar fiscal cliff. “One of my favorite highlights,” says Skoutelas, was “the APTA Honor Awards and Hall of Fame Inductees Ceremony, (which featured) 14 organizations and six leaders in North America who have demonstrated significant leadership, are outstanding role models of excellence and whose accomplishments and innovations have greatly advanced public transportation.” An APTA-tude for public transit Skoutelas characterizes the overall response from attendees as very positive. “APTA’s Expo is a high-energy event,” he says, “with conversations and connections happening all the time. Networking is always the number- one benefit cited by attendees, and so far, that is what we are seeing again in this year’s survey results that are starting to come in.”