CONFERENCE AGENDA

We are currently confirming all speakers and topics for our upcoming conference. Below is a draft agenda that we will update as presenters are confirmed.

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

  • 11:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. | Registration Desk Open


  • 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. | Missouri Public Transit Association Board of Directors Meeting


  • 1:30 - 2:15 p.m. | Missouri Public Transit Association 2025 Annual Meeting


  • 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. | Iowa Public Transit Association Mid-Year Meeting


  • 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. | Mobile Workshop - On-Route Streetcar Tour
  • Tour includes stops at Union Station and City Market with discussions of the Main Street and Riverfront streetcar expansion projects.


  • 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. | Opening Kick-Off Reception
  • Join our Sponsors and Vendors in the exhibit hall for food, drinks & fun as we kick off the 2025 Midwest Transit Conference.

Thursday, September 4, 2025

  • 7:00 a.m. - 5:15 p.m. | Registration Desk Open


  • 7:00 - 8:00 a.m. | Breakfast with Exhibitors


  • 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. | Welcome Plenary
  • FTA Region VII Administrator Carrie Butler, KCATA CEO Frank White III, Missouri Chief of Staff for Congressman Sam Graves, Buffy Smith.


  • 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. | General Plenary


  • 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. | Exhibitor Tradeshow


  • 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Breakout Sessions
  • Operations: FTA Region VII Staff – Doing Business with FTA, the Good, the Bad, the Ugly
  • Innovations: Tyler Means, KCATA – Transit Data Transparency & Optimization
  • Technical Assistance: Value of Research in Transit Advocacy from Economic Impact Studies to Transit Needs Assessments
  • Mobile Workshop: Tour of Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) Headquarters


  • 12:00 - 1:45 p.m. | Lunch & Keynote Speaker
  • Paul Comfort, SVP Customer Officer at Modaxo Americas & Host/Producer of Transit Unplugged – Public Transportation 2025: New Administration, New Priorities and New You


  • 1:45 - 2:45 p.m. | Breakout Sessions
  • Operations: Kristen Ribaudo, Transit Workforce Center – Frontline Worker Foundational Skills
  • Innovations: Paul Comfort, Modaxo Americas & Transit Unplugged – Transit Agency CEO Roundtable [INVITE ONLY SESSION]
  • Technical Assistance: Mike Redington, US DOT Volpe Center – Drug & Alcohol Training
  • Mobile Workshop: KCATA Transit Oriented Community Development Tour
  • Tour will highlight transit oriented community development, visiting 5 of the 7 projects that are underway in Kansas City.


  • 2:45 - 2:50 p.m.   Transition Time


  • 2:50 - 3:50 p.m. | Breakout Sessions
  • Operations: Christy Evers, Missouri DOT and Heath Pickerall, Missouri RTAP – Rural Transit Operations Update
  • Innovations: FTA Region VII Staff – Transit Jeopardy with the FTA
  • Technical Assistance: Mike Redington, US DOT Volpe Center – Drug & Alcohol Training – continued
  • Mobile Workshop: KCATA Transit Oriented Community Development Tour – continued


  • 3:50 - 4:15 p.m. | Break


  • 4:15 - 5:15 p.m. | Breakout Sessions
  • Operations: Olivia Hook, Mobility Management Director at Oklahoma Department of Transportation - Statewide Mobility Management & Transit
  • Innovations: TBD
  • Technical Assistance: Lauren Ellis, CTAA’s National Center for Applied Transit Technologies (N-CATT) – Determining your Cyber Security Risks in Transit
  • Mobile Workshop: KCATA – Troost Bus Rapid Transit Corridor and Transit Center Tour
  • Includes tour of historic Troost Avenue as well as a look at the East Village Transit Center, featuring indoor waiting area for more than 20 fixed routes, bike share and 24/7 on-site security.

Friday, September 5, 2025

  • 7:00 - 10:30 a.m. | Registration Desk Open


  • 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. | Breakfast of Transit Champions: FTA Awards and Transit & Operator Awards


  • 9:00-10:30 a.m. | Keynote Speaker
  • Scott Bogren, Executive Director of CTAA – Where are we going from here? Transit’s Future.


  • 10:30 a.m. | Conference Adjourns