[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 19479-19480]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING WILLIAM W. MILLAR

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 9, 2010

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a man who has 
greatly served the transportation industry of this nation, William, 
Bill, W. Millar, the president of the American Public Transportation 
Association, APTA.
  A well-known expert in the field of public transportation policy, 
planning, and operations, Bill's illustrious career spans nearly 40 
years. Bill has been at the helm of APTA for the last decade and a 
half, during which he expanded APTA's reach and effectiveness, achieved 
many legislative victories, and worked to dramatically increase federal 
investment in public transportation. He has published numerous 
articles, spearheaded important transit initiatives and events, and has 
testified frequently before the U.S. Congress, including many cherished 
appearances before the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. 
Bill lives in Falls Church, Virginia, with his wife and two children 
and commutes to work on Washington's Metrorail system.
  Bill began his career in public transportation as the county 
transportation planner in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, after having earned 
a B.A. from Northwestern University and an M.A. from the University of 
Iowa majoring in urban transportation planning and policy analysis. In 
1973, Bill joined the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, 
PennDOT, where he developed and managed Pennsylvania's Free Transit 
Program for Senior Citizens and led PennDOT's rural public and 
community transit efforts.
  The bulk of Bill's career was spent with the Port Authority of 
Allegheny County, the principal transit operator serving Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania. Here, Bill served in various positions for nineteen 
years, most notably as its executive director from 1983-1996. During 
his tenure, Bill oversaw the development and operation of bus, busway, 
light rail, paratransit, and inclined plane service. He founded 
Pittsburgh's award-winning ACCESS paratransit service, and in 1987 he 
received APTA's

[[Page 19480]]

Jesse Haugh Award for Transit Manager of the Year.
  Throughout his career, Bill Millar has been a strong supporter of 
transportation research, and is the recipient of the Founding Father 
Award for his leadership in establishing the Transit Cooperative 
Research Program, TCRP. He has been a member of the executive committee 
of the Transportation Research Board, TRB, for many years, served as 
its Chair in 1992, and received TRB's W.N. Carey, Jr. Distinguished 
Service Award in 1999. Bill also serves on advisory committees of 
several university transportation research institutes, and is a 
recipient of many awards, including the Pattison Partnership Award from 
the Intermodal Passenger Institute, 2001, and Railway Age's Graham 
Claytor Award, 2006.
  Thus, Madam Speaker, I rise today in tribute to and with gratitude 
for Bill Millar's service to the public transportation sector and the 
American people. All of us in the transportation community congratulate 
Bill on his prestigious career, and wish him and his family the best in 
the years ahead.

                          ____________________