Case Study: APTA IT Strategy Development

Organization

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is an international organization that has been representing the transit industry for over 100 years, since 1882. APTA members serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient and economical transit services, and by improving those services to meet national energy, environmental, and financial concerns. Over ninety percent of passengers using transit in the U.S. and Canada are carried by APTA members. APTA members include bus, rapid transit and commuter rail systems, and the organizations responsible for planning, designing, constructing, financing and operating transit systems.

Challenge

During the years leading up to Fusion’s engagement, the explosive use of information technologies fueled by the Internet — as well as the expansion of e-commerce activities —stretched the capabilities of APTA’s existing information systems. Increased programs and services to members also put too much of a burden on APTA staff.

In addition to providing support for continued expansion of IT and web applications, APTA wished to focus on developing a comprehensive IT Strategic Plan to guide its programs in the coming three to five years. The Plan was required to:

  1. Evaluate the information technology usage and needs among all APTA departments;
  2. Assess the adequacy of IT infrastructure support; and
  3. Suggest automation requirements (including the recommendation of new ways to do business to make optimum use of the new technologies) to improve the overall efficiency of operations.

The ultimate purpose of the Plan was to guide APTA in providing a favorable automated environment to better serve members.

Solution

In late 2001, as the first step in a comprehensive discovery and analysis (“D&A”) process, Fusion conducted a series of in-depth, on-site interviews with APTA staff and members to determine IT priorities. They worked with key directors and department managers as well as the APTA Senior Management in assessing and identifying Internet and IT strategies that would improve effectiveness and efficiency in support of the digital transformation process.

The output of the D&A process was the production of a comprehensive document that identified specific technology tools and applications, as well as providing an overall impact assessment to guide APTA over the subsequent three years. Key directives included:

  • A recommendation to migrate from its custom-built AMS to a web-based product that enabled next-generation member services and efficiencies.
  • In concert with a move to a new AMS, a recommendation to implement technologies and practices that would directly support individuals with more targeted, personalized service — something that was difficult to do with the existing AMS, which was designed to support the trade association model by treating the member organization with primacy.
  • Recommendations regarding the formation of an “eMarketplace” to transform business-to-business opportunities in the public transportation business sphere.
  • Recommendation of software and procedures to reduce postage costs.
  • Specific re-architecture of systems to create better integration between human resources, payroll and accounting systems.
  • Recommendations for more cost-effectively distributing month-end reports to staff.
  • Recommendations for expanding the use of APTA’s intranet to provide document-sharing capabilities.
  • Recommendations for classifying and filing documents for easier retrieval.
  • Other strategies for taking select publishing, education, and public relations initiatives online.

The D&A report was accompanied by an outline of the associated process change plan(s), which included high-level project plans as well as budgetary estimates for each of the plan’s three years of recommendations.

Subsequent to the delivery of the plan, Fusion remained engaged in two key activities that related to the directives outlined in the Plan:

  • Selection of a new AMS that would fit the Plan directives; and
  • Implementation of a new website infrastructure that would provide a platform for delivery of personalized services that could be supported by the new AMS.

Results

APTA is in the process of acting on the strategies outlined in the report, and has engaged with a major AMS vendor in a comprehensive implementation. Additionally, Fusion’s “eMarketplace” recommendations and strategic direction have been a resounding success — helping to transform the public transportation business-to-business marketplace.

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