Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority's (PSTA) CEO, Brad Miller, has been elected 2015-2016 chairman of the Florida Public Transportation Association (FPTA).

The appointment was announced during the association’s annual meeting, held in Daytona Beach, Fla.

“I’m honored to be chosen to lead the Florida Public Transportation Association over the coming year,” said Miller. “Just like the 600 employees of PSTA, Florida has dedicated transit professionals all across the state working hard to improve their communities.”

Miller’s longtime love of public transit has kept him busy for more than twenty years. Before taking leadership of PSTA in 2011, he headed the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority in Des Moines, Iowa, worked on a commuter rail line in the Washington, D.C. area, and was chief operating officer of the Charlotte Area Transit System in North Carolina. Miller holds an M.B.A. in public administration from Syracuse University and an undergraduate degree from William and Mary.

In the past four years at PSTA, Miller led the agency to all-time record ridership each of those years. He also saw the agency named one of only three transit agencies in the country to receive a gold standard award from the Transportation Security Association (TSA) two years in a row, implemented the first free Wi-Fi bus fleet in the state, and oversaw the launch of the agency’s first real-time system. He is now focused on the agency’s Path Forward Plan — a new strategic direction that will create a more efficient, cost-effective, and customer-oriented transit system.

“Brad Miller has a robust passion for transit,” said PSTA Chair Bill Jonson. “He’s appointment as Chair of FPTA will be great for transit systems across the state of Florida.”

The FPTA is one of the most active state transit associations in the nation with thirty-seven transit agencies spanning from Pensacola to Key West. Its mission is “to continuously support improved public transportation in Florida through advocacy, innovation, education, and partnerships.”

FPTA is a nonprofit association whose members include every major public transit agency in Florida as well as interested citizens and businesses. Its membership includes 29 fixed route systems, a commuter railroad, a heavy-rail commuter system, and two people mover systems.

“Public transit has great momentum in Florida right now,” said FPTA Executive Director Lisa Bacot. “We’re looking forward to working with Brad and making some great strides for public transit in our state.”