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The American Public Transportation Association is a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that serves as an advocate for the advancement of public transportation programs and initiatives in the United States since the organization's founding in 1882. It educates the public about the benefits of public transportation through organized bus, light rail, rapid transit and other programs. It lobbies Congress and local government bodies in favor of public transportation improvements and new developments.

Each year, the American Public Transportation Association awards the America's Best Transit System award (formally, the Public Transportation System Outstanding Achievement Award) to a single United States public transportation system. The contest was met with controversy when cities opposed having to compete each year with TheBus, Honolulu's mass transit system, which had won the competition twice. The service provided by the City & County of Honolulu in Hawai'i was removed from competition as other cities felt they could not compete with its standards.^{[citation needed]}

These annual awards are presented in several categories, the definitions of which have changed over time. For instance, in 1997 the categories were based on the number of operating vehicles, while in 2000 they were based on the number of passenger trips (measured in millions of trips annually).

• 1984
  • Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County (Reno, Nevada)^[1]
• 1985
  • Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (Cincinnati, Ohio)^[1]
• 1987
  • Alexandria DASH (Alexandria, Virginia)^[1]
• 1988
  • Sun Tran (Tucson, Arizona)^[1]
• 1989
  • TriMet (Portland, Oregon), Chatham Area Transit (Savannah, Georgia)^[1]
• 1990
  • Duluth Transit Authority (Duluth, Minnesota)^[1]
• 1991
  • Medium-sized systems: Capital Area Transportation Authority (Lansing, Michigan)
• 1993
  • Foothill Transit (Los Angeles, California)
• 1994
  • Oahu Transit Services, Inc. (Honolulu, Hawai'i)^[2]
  • Laredo Municipal Transit System (Laredo, Texas)^[1]
• 1995
  • Foothill Transit (Los Angeles, California)
  • Durham Area Transit Authority (Durham, North Carolina)^[1]
• 1997^[3]
  • 1-50 operating vehicles: Sarasota County Area Transit (Sarasota, Florida)
  • 51-150 operating vehicles: Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines "Big Blue Bus" (Santa Monica, California)
  • 151-600 operating vehicles: Regional Transportation Commission of Clark County/Citizens Area Transit (Las Vegas, Nevada)
  • > 600 operating vehicles: Dallas Area Rapid Transit (Dallas, Texas)}
• 2000^[4]
  • < 1 million annual passenger trips: LAKETRAN (Grand River, Ohio)
  • 1-4 million annual passenger trips: Access Services (Los Angeles, California)
  • 4-30 million annual passenger trips: Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus (Santa Monica, California)
  • > 30 million annual passenger trips: Oahu Transit Services, Inc. (Honolulu, Hawai'i)
• 2002
  • River Valley Metro (Kankakee, Illinois)^[1]
• 2003
  • < 1 million annual passenger trips: Arlington Transit (Arlington, Virginia)
  • 1-4 million annual passenger trips: Space Coast Area Transit (Brevard County, Florida)
• 2004^[5]
  • < 1 million annual passenger trips: Southwest Metro Transit Commission (Eden Prairie, Minnesota)
  • 1-4 million annual passenger trips: Knoxville Area Transit (Knoxville, Tennessee)
  • 4-30 million annual passenger trips: Interuban Transit Partnership (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
  • > 30 million annual passenger trips: San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (San Francisco, California)
• 2005^[6]
  • < 1 million annual passenger trips: LAKETRAN (Grand River, Ohio)
  • 1-4 million annual passenger trips: Muncie Indiana Transit System (Muncie, Indiana)
  • 4-30 million annual passenger trips: Sun Tran (Tucson, Arizona)
  • > 30 million annual passenger trips: Orange County Transportation Authority (Orange County, California)
• 2006^[7]
  • < 1 million annual passenger trips: Beaver County Transit Authority (BCTA) (Rochester, Pennsylvania)
  • 1-4 million annual passenger trips:Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) (Canton, Ohio)
  • 4-30 million annual passenger trips: CENTRO (Syracuse, New York)
  • > 30 million annual passenger trips: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority,(Los Angeles County, California)

• Homepage. American Public Transportation Association. Retrieved on 22 December, 2005.

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} First Transit Awards. Retrieved on March 6, 2006.
2. ^ Lee, Venus (July 21, 2005). James Cowen 1925-2005 / TheBus thrived under manager’s leadership. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved on March 6, 2006.
3. ^ American Public Transportation Association (September 23, 1997). Transit Industry Awards Presented At APTA Annual Meeting.
4. ^ American Public Transportation Association (September 26, 2000). Transit Industry Awards Presented At APTA Annual Meeting.
5. ^ American Public Transportation Association (October, 2004). 2004 APTA Public Transportation Award Winners. APTA Media Center. Retrieved on 22 December, 2005.
6. ^ American Public Transportation Association. 2005 APTA Public Transportation Award Winners. APTA Media Center. Retrieved on 6 March, 2006.
7. ^ American Public Transportation Association. APTA: Top Public Transportation Leaders Are Honored By The American Public Transportation Association (APTA). APTA Media Center. Retrieved on 17 October, 2006.