A Year in Review – TTA 2025
- The Transportation Alliance
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
By: Dan Reid, President/Managing Member, Grove Transit
I want to first thank you, our members, for having entrusted me with the opportunity to serve as President of The Transportation Alliance. It has been an honor and a privilege to represent this organization and our members. I would like to share with you some of our accomplishments from this past year.
When I stepped in as President I shared a simple mission for our year together: Driving Value to Our Members. As we reflect on the year now behind us, I believe the results show that we made real progress on that promise.
None of this work happens without a strong leadership team and steady support. I want to thank our Executive Committee, our Board of Directors, and especially our Executive Director Elena Sierra and Associate Executive Director Rebecca Tonkinson, as well as the entire team at Miller Wenhold for their commitment and professionalism throughout the year. The work these individuals carried, and the energy they brought to it, made the accomplishments of this past year possible.
One of our first action items coming out of our Executive Committee meeting a year ago was to create a Branding Task Force to answer the fundamental questions: who are we as an organization, who do we serve, and how do we best deliver value within a changing industry? The Task Force met over three months examining TTA’s mission, stakeholders, and ecosystem. We produced a comprehensive report resulting in recent amendments to our by-laws adopting a new Mission Statement and Value Statement, and set the groundwork for current President Rouse’s initiative to update our Strategic Plan.
To better understand our members and the evolution of our industry, we conducted a member survey. The findings confirmed what many of us had been observing, and that is that TTA members no longer operate within narrow silos such as NEMT, taxi, or chauffeur service. Instead, members increasingly work across multiple service lines, offer a broader set of mobility options that can include stretcher services, and explore a range of approaches for onboarding drivers. In short, TTA represents the full spectrum of the private passenger ground transportation industry, and our programs must reflect that reality.
Advocacy remained a central priority, and this year brought meaningful progress. In April, we held a highly successful Legislative Fly-In Conference in Washington. We welcomed a record-setting 38 attendees and set another record in event sponsorships. Paul Miller and his team organized two days of briefings and individual meetings with TTA members’ congressional delegations. The highlight of the fly-in was the PAC dinner where we hosted visits from eight Representatives from both parties and from multiple regions of the country. These conversations gave us the chance to share our concerns and priorities directly, and they have already led to follow-up meetings and growing support for several of our legislative efforts. Even though we set record attendance last year, our lobbyist Paul Miller has thrown down the challenge to members to have over 100 attendees this coming year, so make your plans now to join us in Washington DC this coming may.
To stay current on all our Advocacy efforts, I encourage you to attend Paul’s Legislative Update Webinars and read his articles.
In another major step, TTA formed the National Medicaid Mobility Alliance. In only a few weeks, we gathered well over 200 signatures, including 19 elected officials, from individuals and organizations across more than 40 states. The letter we delivered to congressional leadership emphasized the essential role NEMT plays in the nation’s broader healthcare ecosystem.
Alongside advocacy, we placed renewed emphasis on practical tools and day-to-day value for members.
RFP database – This addition in the member portal lists every RFP issued in the United States and territories related to passenger ground transportation and is free to members.
Industry Resource Center - TTA assumed responsibility for ongoing funding and support of the Industry Resource Center. Through this program, every TTA member can receive up to five free hours of consulting, technical assistance, and training with industry expert Steve Yaffe.
Member Value Program – This program, originally launched by Jeb Corey, enables solution providers to offer unique savings to TTA members. Longtime participants such as iCabbi and AutoZone were joined this year by Fleet Advisory Services, Pax Training, and Coast Fuel Cards. These partnerships can translate into real savings.
Another major change this year was revamping how are engage with one another. A key component in this was to restructure our Steering Committees reflect the changing composition and needs of our membership. Rather than committees organized by traditional service-line silos, we established functional committees focused on how operators run and grow their businesses.
Business Development
Safety and Loss Control
Operations
Solutions Provider
These Committees are back again this coming year, as well as an exciting new Committee created by President Rouse, so be sure and get signed up and participate in Committee meetings. The meetings are open to all members and their employees and are an excellent way to learn and network with your colleagues.
Webinars and Open Houses made major strides this year. Our webinar program included educational sessions on a range of timely topics, periodic regulatory updates from Paul Miller, and discussion on emerging safety and liability issues. One example is the growing challenge operators face when passengers insist on traveling on unsafe motor scooters. The tension between accessibility goals and real-world safety and liability requires continued attention, and TTA will keep working in this area.
A highlight in this year’s webinar program was the six-part series Mastering Business Essentials, sponsored by Bambi. Attendance was strong, the sessions continue to gain traction online, with topics ranging from company valuation to succession planning.
Open Houses also delivered strong value. We held six Open House events this year, each offering education, information-sharing, and meaningful networking in a setting that allows members to learn from peers facing the same operational challenges. Members attending the Open Houses left with new relationships and practical ideas they can implement immediately. In addition to four operating members, we also had two vehicle conversion companies host Open Houses this year. I want to thank the folks at VIP Taxi, Phoenix, Driverge Vehicle Innovations, Akron, AAMetro, Bridgewater, BraunAbility, Indianapolis, Taxelco, Montreal, Canada, and Sunshine Rides, Grand Junction for hosting these events.
When we look at engagement and growth, all signs point to progress across the board. Website sessions increased by 40 percent. Unique visitors rose by 74 percent. Visitors arriving through Google search increased by 148 percent. Session duration was up by 18 percent, indicating that not only are more people finding TTA, but they are staying longer and exploring more. Social followers increased by 8 percent, and post impressions rose by 889 percent.
All of these efforts have led to Member engagement reaching new levels and have translated directly into more members and more member involvement with each other. Through ten months of this year, we have already exceeded the number of new members signed up in recent years.
And finally, Mobilize continues its steady recovery from the pandemic years. This year’s event was a huge success by all measures. Mobilize had over 500 registered attendees for the first time in over 10 years, Exhibitor space was sold out, and Sponsorships were triple the volume we have seen at any Mobilize in years.
In closing, I want to return to the goal we set at the start: Driving Value to Our Members. Measured by stronger engagement, expanded tools and resources, more robust education and networking, and meaningful progress in advocacy, I believe we delivered on that mission in 2025. I am incredibly excited for what President Rouse has in store for us this coming year, and I am confident that we will continue to build on the successes of past years.
Thank you again for the trust you placed in me, and for everything you do to strengthen our industry and this organization.
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