Department of Transportation

Sun Tran Named America's Best Transit System

Posted: 09/01/2005

Sun Tran has been selected "America's Best Transit System" for 2005 by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

This national award recognizes Sun Tran for a achievements including three years of ridership growth, excellence in customer service, safety, operations, community relations and other key areas. For the fiscal year, Sun Tran provided service for 15.8 million passenger trips, an increase of nearly 13 percent since 2002.

"With three consecutive years of ridership increases that outpaced national trends, Sun Tran is clearly an agency on the move," said William W. Millar, president of APTA. "Congratulations to Sun Tran for winning the Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award in their category. Sun Tran employees should be very proud of this achievement," Millar added.

Each year, APTA honors four U.S. public transportation systems in four separate ridership categories. Sun Tran competed in the category of 4 to 30 million annual passenger trips, which includes markets such as Fort Worth, Texas, Salt Lake City, Utah and Tampa, Florida.

Sun Tran also received this honor in 1988.

This national recognition follows closely on the system's receipt of the Arizona Transit Association's Outstanding Transit Organization Award, which named Sun Tran the top system in Arizona for 2004.

APTA is a Washington-based non-profit organization that serves as an advocate for the advancement of public transportation programs and initiatives in North America.

Sun Tran is Tucson's regional public transportation system, operated by the City of Tucson and managed by Professional Transit Management, Ltd. (PTM). Currently celebrating its 30th year of service, Sun Tran has 520 employees, 37 fixed routes and a fleet of 189 buses.

For more information about Sun Tran, visit http://www.suntran.com