Small Urban Community Transportation Leaders Come Together in Alexandria, Va.

Community Transportation Association of America is hosting its “SUN Conference” in collaboration with Alexandria Transit Company (DASH)

Washington, D.C., July 31, 2024 –The Community Transportation Association of America is hosting its Annual Small Urban Network (SUN) Conference in Alexandria, Va. August 14-16, 2024.

The conference brings transit professionals from small urban communities across the United States together to engage with their peers, learn from federal leaders, share best practices, and discuss important industry topics to drive community transportation forward.

“This retreat-like conference was the result of conversations we had with our small urban members more than 10 years ago,” shares CTAA Executive Director Scott Bogren. “There are unique challenges and opportunities for innovation in a small urban community or in regions where transportation providers are serving populations that make them too big to be considered rural and too small to be considered urban. Getting together as a group is critical for setting our legislative agenda, and building a strong cross-country network.”

Workshops, keynotes, and roundtables during the SUN conference are aimed at helping leadership at small urban providers and partners learn from national experts, build strong professional connections, and collaborate with their peers to develop policy, strategy, and share solutions that impact their unique sector of the community transportation industry.

“CTAA’s Small Urban Network is a force of 140 member systems,” shares Membership and Business Development Director Loreal Lance. “These transit providers and partners work tirelessly to provide mobility in their communities through a large variety of services like fixed route buses, paratransit, on-demand rides and more. These systems often partner with other municipal and nonprofit organizations to support community social programs, such as after-school initiatives, senior citizen care and low-income and disadvantaged community outreach. We look forward to hosting them during SUN in Alexandria, Virginia for education and networking.”

Outcomes from this meeting of directors, managers, and leaders from across the United States leads to real-world opportunities for growth, improved efficacy, and overall strengthening of public transportation in small urban communities.