FTA actively participates in the TRB Annual Meeting by development and presentation of sessions, research panel reviews, committee meetings, conferences and workshops and publications. 

FTA sponsors several public panel sessions at the TRB Annual Meeting.  They are listed in brief and in detail bellow.

 At a Glance - - FTA Public Sessions at TRB Annual Meeting in January 2009:

 Transit’s Role in Responding to Climate Change
January 13, 2009, 8:00a.m.-9:45a.m., Hilton Hotel, Lincoln East
(Robert Tuccillo/moderator)

 Public Private Partnerships: Coming to a Transit Agency Near You
January 13, 2009, 1:30p.m.-3:15p.m., Hilton Hotel, Lincoln East
(Sherry Little, FTA Acting Administrator/moderator)

State of Good Repair: Urban Transit Maintenance and How to Pay for It
January 13, 2009, 10:15a.m.-12:00p.m., Hilton Hotel, Lincoln East
(Sherry Little, FTA Acting Administrator/moderator)

 Effectively Taking Global Climate Change Into Account in Planning and Decision-making for Public Transportation
January 13, 2009, 5:30p.m.-7:15p.m., Hilton Hotel, Lincoln East
(Susan Borinsky/moderator)

Poster Session 330: How to Get People Interested in Transportation
 January 12, 2009, 2:30p.m.-5:00p.m., Hilton Hotel (Charlene Wilder)

Session 450
Transit’s Role in Responding to Climate Change
Moderator: Robert Tuccillo
Associate Administrator for Budget and Policy, Federal Transit Administration

There is growing consensus that significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will need to be made in order to avoid the worst effects of global climate change. Many are pointing to public transportation as one part of the solution to reducing the 28% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions that come from transportation. This session will discuss the role that public transportation can play in responding to climate change.

Panelist will explore three main ways that transit can respond to climate change:

• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by shifting private auto trips to transit trips.
• The role of transit-oriented development and planning in reducing emissions.
• Transit agency actions to minimize the carbon footprint of their operations and construction.

The panel will include perspectives from environmental policy experts, transit agency managers, and the federal government. Panelist will discuss how different partners can play a role, as well as policy options for enhancing transit’s ability to respond to climate change.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009, 8:00am-9:45am
Location: Washington Hilton, Lincoln East

Speakers and Topics

• Deron Lovaas, Vehicles Campaign Director, Natural Resources Defense Council
  Topic: Climate Change and Transit
• Linda Bailey, Federal Program Advisor, NYC DOT
  Topic: Quantitative Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Reductions from U.S. Public Transportation
• Shelley Poticha, President, Reconnecting America
  Topic: Role of Transit-Oriented Development and Planning in Reducing Emissions
• Ernest Tollerson, Director, Policy and Media Relations, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York, NY
  Topic: Transit Agency Responses: Minimizing the Carbon Footprint of Operations and Construction
• Robert Tuccillo, Associate Administrator for Budget and Policy, FTA
  Topic: Federal Role in Transit’s Response to Climate Change  

Session 501
State of Good Repair: Urban Transit Maintenance and How to Pay for It
Moderator: Sherry E. Little
Acting Administrator, Federal Transit Administration

This session discusses policy issues relating to overcoming the backlog of maintenance/replacement of transit assets, particularly focusing on the situation at the large urban rail system.

FTA and FHWA produce a biannual Report to Congress on the Conditions and Performance of the Nation’s Highway and Transit Systems. This year, Congress has requested that FTA provide additional analysis in the form of a Transit Rail Modernization Report. This is motivated by the increasing backlog of maintenance at heavy rail transit agencies and by the increasing difficulty of identifying funding to address this backlog. FTA has explored a variety of approaches to address this problem. On the funding side, there are activities designed to promote public-private partnerships and other forms of innovative financing. On the maintenance side, there are proposals to improve asset management practices and set maintenance standards. On both sides, there are incentive-based funding proposals that tie funding to performance.

Related issues include setting standards for performance and maintenance and for insuring that all modes are maintained equally-that is, so bus services are not sacrificed to maintain train service.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009, 10:15am-12:00pm
Location: Washington Hilton, Lincoln East

Speakers and Topics

• Robert Peskin, Senior Consulting Manager, AECOM Consultant Inc. and Co-Author Justin Antos, Analyst, AECOM Consultant Inc.
  Topic: Asset Management and Preventative Maintenance: Setting Priorities to Improve Efficiency
• Christian Roberts, Head of Asset Management Services, GHD, United Kingdom
  Topic: Lessons Learned from London Underground Experience with Public-Private Partnerships
• Christopher Boylan, Deputy Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, NYC
  Topic: The View from the Subway – the Challenges of Maintaining and Operating A Hundred Year-Old Subway System
• Robert Tuccillo, Associate Administrator for Budget and Policy, FTA
  Topic: Policy Options for Improving Maintenance  

Session 531
Public Private Partnerships: Coming to a Transit Agency Near You
Moderator: Sherry E. Little
Acting Administrator, Federal Transit Administration

Transit agencies have increasingly turned Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) project delivery approaches to procure new or expanded transit services. This session discusses current issues and recent progress in the use of Public-Private Partnerships for transit projects.

FTA has invested in several projects designed to promote private-sector investment in transit. Through the PPP Pilot Program (Penta-P), FTA is looking at how it can integrate private sector funding into its New Starts program. FTA is sponsoring a series of seminars to reach out to investors and transit providers through a cooperative effort with the National Council for Public Private Partnerships. FTA is developing methods to evaluate PPP contracts and has contracted for a series of training sessions on these methods for its staff.

This session explores how PPPs can reduce risks associated with new construction, accelerate project delivery, improve the reliability of projections of project costs and benefits, and enhance project performance.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009, 1:30pm-3:15pm
Location: Washington Hilton, Lincoln East

Speakers and Topics

• Peter Winder, Vice President, Balfour Beatty Capital
  Topic: Public-Private Partnership Experiences from Past Projects and Other Industries
• Thomas Dunscombe, Project Manager, Bay Area Rapid Transit District
  Topic: Case Study of the Oakland Airport Connector
• Shelley Poticha, President, Reconnecting America
  Topic: Transit-Oriented Development and Joint Development Opportunities
• Peter Raymond, Principal, Price Waterhouse Cooper
  Topic: Protecting the Public Interest – Evaluating Public-Private Partnership Contracts

FTA Special Meeting
Global Climate Change Considerations in the Context of the Environmental (NEPA) Process
Moderator: Susan Borinsky
Associate Administrator for Planning and Environment, Federal Transit Administration

This session discusses techniques for effectively and meaningfully taking global climate change into account in public transportation planning and decision-making under the provisions of SAFETEA-LU, the National Environmental Policy Act, and other requirements.

All aspects of the way in which public transportation contributes (largely positively) to global climate change, as well as means of adapting to effects of climate change, will be explored. Approaches to satisfactorily and efficiently documenting consideration of global climate change in public transportation planning and decision-making will be highlighted.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009, 5:30pm-7:15pm
Location: Washington Hilton, Kalorama

Speakers and Topics

• Christopher Van Wyk, Attorney-Advisor, FTA
  Topic: Legal Requirements to Consider Global Climate Change
• Robert Padgette, Director of Policy and Research, American Public Transportation Association
  Topic: Advocating for Transit as a Climate Change Strategy
• Charles Goodman, Director, Office of Systems Planning, FTA
  Topic: Transportation Planning and Global Climate Change
• Diana Mendez, Vice President, DMJM Harris
  Topic: A Transportation Industry Consultant’s Experiences with Global Climate Change
• Huasha Liu, Director of Planning Methods, Assessment, & Compliance, SCAG
  Topic: MPO Response to AB 32 and AB 375 in California