William W Millar,
President,
American Public Transportation Association

William Millar is the president of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). Since coming to APTA in 1996 Bill has sought to expand APTA’s reach and effectiveness, guiding it to legislative victories and dramatically increasing federal investment in public transportation.

Prior to APTA, Bill served 19 years at the Port Authority of Allegheny County, the principal transit operator serving Pittsburgh, PA.  As its executive director from 1983-1996, he oversaw the development and operation of bus, busway, light rail, paratransit and inclined plane service.  In 1987 he received APTA’s Jesse Haugh Award for Transit Manager of the Year. He is the founder of Pittsburgh’s award-winning ACCESS paratransit service. 

From 1973-77, Bill worked for the Pennsylvania DOT where he developed and managed Pennsylvania’s Free Transit Program for Senior Citizens and led the Penn DOT’s rural public and community transit efforts. He began his career as the county transportation planner in Lancaster, PA. 

Mr. Millar is a strong supporter of transportation research and is the recipient of the Founding Father Award for his leadership in establishing the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP).  He has been a member of the executive committee of the Transportation Research Board for many years and served as its chair in 1992.  He also serves on advisory committees of several university transportation research institutes.

A well-known expert in the field of public transportation and transportation policy, he is a frequent speaker and lecturer at conferences and seminars. He has published numerous articles and has testified frequently before the U.S. Congress and in other public forums.

Mr. Millar is the recipient of many awards, including the Transportation Research Board’s W. N. Carey, Jr. Distinguished Service Award (1999); Pattison Partnership Award from the Intermodal Passenger Institute (2001); and Railway Age’s Graham Claytor Award (2006).

Bill has a BA from Northwestern University and an MA from the University of Iowa majoring in urban transportation planning and policy analysis.  He lives in Falls Church, VA with his wife and two children and commutes to work on Washington’s Metrorail.