Association for Public Transportation, Inc.

MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
12 FEBRUARY 2003, 6 p.m.
(approved 12 March 2003)

Attendance: Fred Moore (presiding), John Hostage, George Kelso, Romin Koebel, Barry M. Steinberg

Guest: Madeleine Noland (Rubel Bikemaps)

1. CAR-FREE. Madeleine Noland.

All chapters are done. Some re-formatting of Chapter 10 is required. The covers are completed. Still in progress: Transit telephone directory, Index and the inside of the covers.

Thanks to Barry for his reviewing services. The T is going to do checking of Car-Free.

Suggestion by Romin for line drawings in margins or other blank spaces. George Kelso submitted a revised copy of his essay The Endless Richness of Transportation to be considered for inclusion in Car-Free.

2. Minutes of the 15 Jan. 2003 directors' meeting were approved.
3. Officers' and Board Members' Reports.
1. George Kelso presented a proposed letter to the editor composed by Peter Roudebush. The concept was approved.
2. Romin Koebel.
1. MoveMass meeting.

The topic was rails to trails, presented by Craig Della Penna.

2. APT annual meeting.

The visiting German transit officials (See Jan. APT minutes.) are possible as speakers for our meeting. As a backup, Craig Della Penna might be available to speak, as long as his speech is in the context of APT's interests. Herb Pence, among other things the main proponent of the North-South streetcar, could also make an interesting speaker. Romin will talk with him.

3. Regional Transportation Advisory Council (formerly the JRTC).

At today’s meeting, Thomas J. Egan Jr. of CSX made a presentation on rail freight and its interface with the Port of Boston.

3. Romin Koebel and Barry M. Steinberg

The most recent meeting of the Boston Street Railway Association featured a presentation by Herb Pence on transit in Australia.

In Adelaide, they have their O-Bahn. This is a guided busway. Articulated buses have small side guide wheels that center the buses on the busway. Operators on this stretch are instructed not to touch the steering wheel; they only control speed.

In Melbourne, transit is streetcars, with no downtown buses. There are also transit malls. Melbourne has privatized its tramway system with two companies, one of which recently walked off the job. This could be considered a bellwether for transit service.

4. Fred Moore.
1. Fred has new software that makes it more convenient to set up the web site.
2. We attended the recent North Shore Transit Study public meeting, held in Revere. Our standpoint is to minimize highway development and to emphasize transit. The cost of extending the Blue Line beyond Lynn rises geometrically. There are those who cynically propose a budget-buster going to Salem in order to kill the project entirely.
4. Policy statement on Blue Line extension. Proposed by Fred Moore.

We endorse the proposed extension of the Blue Line to Lynn. We oppose the Wonderland Connector. Frequent service on the Eastern Route is useful in the interim, and should serve as a demonstration project in order to build ridership.

Passed by a vote of four in favor and one opposed.

5. APT Annual Meeting Planning.

John Hostage and Carolyn Mieth are going to work on the venue, speaker and publicity.

6. The Future of APT.

In the event we cannot get enough officers and Board members, Fred may consider dissolving APT.

7. Directors' Items.

George Kelso recommended the book by Alan Dershowitz, Letters to a Young Lawyer. There are many important topics relevant to transit advocacy.

8. The meeting adjourned 8:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

BARRY M. STEINBERG

Clerk