CTAA’s annual Small Urban Network (SUN) Conference – now heading into its fifth year – allows chief executives and leaders at small-urban transit agencies a chance to gather with their peers to network, share ideas and solutions and shape CTAA policy strategy impacting small urban systems in a collegial, retreat-like setting. Past SUN Conference attendees have noted they enjoy this event in particular due to its focused agenda and because nearly all its participants are their fellow transit managers and executives.

After our past SUN Conferences in Denver, Asheville and Flagstaff, Athens continues our trend of bringing this event to small cities, where attendees can experience the examples and ideas of their peers in action. In addition to the bustling college town atmosphere cultivated by the University of Georgia that launched the careers of music acts like R.E.M., the B-52s and Widespread Panic, Athens boasts among the highest per capita transit usage rates in the nation. Athens Transit System Director and SUN co-founder Butch McDuffie is excited to host this year’s conference and highlight the ways transit has become an indispensable part of Athens’ identity.