Building the Future Together

WTS is also looking to younger generations to strengthen the industry and its workforce. “We have a scholarship organization that is a subsidiary of WTS, WTS Scholarship,” explains James. “That organization promotes the awarding of scholarships and gives away scholarship dollars to degree-seeking students who are going to go into the field in a transportation-related career. We are doing very concrete things to really broaden the base of women entering the field to support those women and to help our industry partners and agencies who are seeking to build their workforce.”

Being Connected
The most important idea they related was working together. Whether it was within the association, the country or internationally, sharing resources benefits not only the associations, but the transportation industry, as well.

Cavalieri says, “UITP offers a unique platform for inter-sectoral dialogue and exchange between different profiles of mobility actors.” He continues, “Such a diverse network of members allows UITP to represent the entire mobility market, gives us a strong voice and significant political and economical influence, as we commonly speak on behalf of the entire sector.”

Roschlau says,“CUTA is very much an association that operates on the principle of members working together to achieve better outcomes — a principle of association values that incorporates a spirit of sharing experiences and solutions and of the true strength of solidarity toward a common cause. By pooling resources, we are able to provide services across an industry at lower cost and at higher quality than if each member were to act on their own.”

Joyner sums it up when she states, “If we are trying to do our work in the transit industry alone we are dead in the water. We really need each other for ideas and for encouragement.”

More Related Information:
Archived Article: WTS Transporting Careers One Woman at a Time