This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
9/18/2025
The American Public Transportation Association recognized the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) of New York for excellence during the association's annual honors program held Sept. 16.
APTA named WMATA the outstanding public transit agency of the year for its record customer satisfaction and ridership growth, increase in rail service, the opening of new stations and improved customer amenities, WMATA officials said in a press release.
"Over the past three years, [WMATA] has undergone a remarkable transformation: enhancing service, improving the customer experience, and boosting efficiency. Both our region and the nation have taken notice," said WMATA Board Chair Valerie Santos.
The MTA received APTA's 2025 innovation award for the New York City agency's congestion relief zone tolling program. Revenue from the program helps fund the cost of transit system upgrades.
"This is a win not only for the MTA team but for everyone trying to make cities work better," said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. "The positive results of congestion pricing show that state and local government can still take big swings on policy and succeed, and that should give us all hope."
Congestion pricing launched Jan. 5 and has since succeeded in reducing traffic and delays throughout the region while generating revenue for transit improvement projects.