We’re hosting the American Public Transportation Association’s rail conference at the Hyatt in downtown Vancouver from June 6-9, and this year, post-secondary students can attend for free!

Why you should attend if you can (seriously)

This conference is a huge opportunity if you’re into transit or planning. Why?

• You’ll meet hundreds of transit professionals from North America and beyond
• You can attend educational and technical sessions about the latest rail issues and technologies, plus updates from tons of agencies on how their rail systems are developing, including our own (here’s the full program and the schedule at a glance)
• You can go on behind-the-scenes tours of our own transit system (tours are planned for SeaBus, SkyTrain, Canada Line, and more)
• You can attend the International Rail Rodeo from June 3-6
• The last time this conference was held in Vancouver was over 10 years ago (ie: this doesn’t come here very often!)
• Non-APTA members pay a fee of $1125 US to attend — but you’ll get in free!

Seriously: I went to the conference in Chicago last year, and it was a huge learning opportunity as well as a great way to get to know people in the industry. See my conference posts from last year — I got to try a train simulator and more!

How to register (and a call for submissions :)

To register, all you need to do is fill out a registration form, attach a valid student ID and fax it to 202-496-4331. Never mind that, the pre-registration deadline was actually May 27!

So just come to the APTA registration desk at the conference on the day you want to attend (it’s the Balmoral Room on the third floor of the Hyatt Regency) and bring your completed registration form and your valid student I.D. The registration desk is open at the following times:

Saturday, June 5 – 1 – 5 p.m.
Sunday, June 6 – 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Monday, June 7 – 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Tuesday, June 8 – 7 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 9 – 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.

To register for the rail rodeo, bring your form & valid student ID to the rodeo registration room (the Garibaldi Room in the Fairmont, 900 West Georgia Street). Registration is open on Wed June 2 (7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) and on Thu June 3 (6:45 a.m. – 7:45 a.m.). See the rail rodeo schedule and handbook for more about the rodeo.

If you plan to attend, let me know! I’d love to say hello. Also, if you’re attending a session and have some good notes and pictures, I would love to share them on the Buzzer blog for all to enjoy. Let me know and we can coordinate!