DATE:

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

TOPIC:

WMATA and Public Transit in the DC Region

Speaker:

Stuart M Whitaker

President

Whitaker Associates

In response to service problems and a decline in ridership, Washington Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld has proposed an unprecedented reduction in service and the elimination of 1,000 employees. Washington Post columnist Robert McCartney has identified four proposals to "save" Metro. While Metro is important, it doesn't operate in isolation, but rather as a component of the much larger regional transportation system. The broader transportation system is undergoing more significant changes than since the automobile became ubiquitous. This presentation will discuss Metro and the broad regional transportation system within which Metro operates.
 
Mr. Whitaker is a financial economist by training who works on policy and strategy at the intersection of government and private sector. Presently, he works on issues in the rapidly changing transportation industry. Previously, he worked extensively in the telecommunications industry, which is strikingly similar to transportation in terms of the "network effect," capital intensity, monopoly characteristics, susceptibility to technological developments, economic importance, use by end-users, and as an industries subject to government regulation of varying sorts. Whitaker has provided advice and analysis to private and public sector organizations in the US, Europe, and Asia. He has an AB and MBA from the University of Chicago.

TIME:

12:00 noon Social Period; 12:30 PM Lunch; 1:00 PM Speaker

Location:

Old Ebbitt Grill, 675 15^th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20005

Two blocks west of 13^th & G Metro Center exit (serving Red, Orange, and Blue Lines)

MENU:

Market salad, roasted chicken (you may request a vegetarian option instead), soda, tea, or coffee

TAB:

$34 TRF members, full time students with current ID, and local young professional members (a category those 35 and younger can join for $25 that excludes some regular national membership benefits; sign-up forms will be available at the luncheon)

$42 non-members.

Payment by check (made out to TRF-Washington Chapter or TRF), cash, or credit card at the door (prepayment on website is temporarily discontinued while TRF shifts to new management company). Member price applies to non-members joining that day or to 10 or more attending from the same organization.

Call Jack Ventura ((301) 593-1872) or e-mail jack.ventura@verizon.net  for reservations no later than Mon., Dec. 19, 11:00 AM.  Please provide: (a) name and affiliation, (b) request, if you wish, for a vegetarian alternative, and, if non-member, (b) phone number.  If you’ve reserved but find you are unable to attend, you must cancel by Dec. 19 or find a replacement.  Because we must supply the restaurant a minimum guarantee, those who don’t cancel in time or provide a replacement will be subject to a $10 fee to help us make up the shortfall.  Send the no-show fee (by check made out toTRF Washington Chapter) to TRF Washington Chapter, P.O. Box 7346, Washington, DC 20044.   

NOTE: The 2017 Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Forum will be held in downtown Chicago on April 20-21, 2017.  For more information go to: http://sites.northwestern.edu/trf2017/

The Transportation Research Forum is an independent organization of transportation professionals. Its purpose is to provide an impartial meeting ground for carriers, shippers, government officials, consultants, university researchers, suppliers and others seeking an exchange of information and ideas related to both passenger and freight transportation. The Forum provides pertinent and timely information to those who conduct research and those who use and benefit from research. For more information or to join, see the TRF website at http://www.trforum.org