Transit Vote Passes in WA; HART Leaders Nominated for National Board

Across the country, transit is pulling into the station!

A couple of news items today.

First up, the residents of Olympia, Washington went to the polls this week and voted, by an overwhelming margin, to fund transit improvements for their community with a .2% tax increase.

The measure, which passed with about 63% of the vote, is expected to provide an additional half-million dollars a year for Intercity Transit.

Olympia, Washington isn't exactly a giant transit mecca along the lines of New York or Chicago - or even nearby Portland, Oregon. But the residents there decided, even in the face of difficult economic times, that a better transportation system was important to them. And lots of communities across the country are making the same decision.

Read more about the Olympia vote here.

Hewitt, Armijo Nominated for APTA Executive Committee
The American Public Transportation Association announced the nominees for its 2010-2011 slate of officers. Included on the list are HART Board Vice-Chair Alison Hewitt and CEO David Armijo.

Both Ms. Hewitt and Mr. Armijo have active leadership roles in the public transit trade association. Ms. Hewitt is Vice-Chair of APTA's Transit Board Members Committee, and a member of the organization's ADA Subcommittee and High-Speed and Intercity Rail Committee.

Mr. Armijo is a member of the American Public Transportation Foundation Committee, along with the Bus and Paratransit CEOs Committee, the Human Resources Committee, the Legislative Committee and the Rail Transit CEOs Committee. He is also a 2001 graduate of the Leadership APTA program.

The APTA Executive Committee and members-at-large complete the full board of directors, which includes designees of 20 of APTA’s largest dues-paying transit agencies and 10 of its largest dues-paying business members, as well as the chairs of 25 committees.

The slate will be presented to the APTA membership for approval at the APTA Annual Business Meeting and Election of Officers during the 2010 APTA Annual Meeting in October.