OTA SPRING TRANSIT CONFERENCE

May 23-25, 2022, Norman, OK

Join us in Norman, Oklahoma from May 23-25, 2022 for the Oklahoma Transit Association Spring Conference. Stay at the beautiful Embassy Suites by Hilton for the discounted conference rate of $134. You’ll enjoy educational breakouts, professional development, networking, and much more. We hope to see you there! Click here for a printable schedule of events.

Hotel Reservations

To reserve your room, call the reservations line (1-866-577-1273) or book online through via the hotel website, using the group code ‘OTA’.

Embassy Suites by Hilton Hotel & Conference Center: Reservation Link
Discounted room rate of $134

OTA Spring Conference Schedule

Monday, May 23rd

9:00 AM – 6:00 PM      Registration Open

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Board of Directors Meeting

10:00 AM – 4:00 PM    Trade Show Set Up

12:30 – 2:30 PM          Opening Session – Soup and Sandwich Buffet                                                                OK GH

                                     Conference Welcome: Jesse Rush, OTA President                   

2:45 – 3:45 PM            Breakout 1 – OTA Advocacy Priorities and National Grassroots Engagement                  Boomer

                                           Oklahoma Transit Association, along with our regional and national partner associations,
                                           like Southwest Transit Association, advocate for transit.  Find out what issues are important
and how you can engage in the dialogue on a grassroots level.                             

Breakout 2 – Transit Planning Panel –Learn ways that Oklahoma Transit Agencies          Sooner
are planning for the future of transit and how you can do the same.                                                           

4:00 – 5:00 PM            Breakout 3 – Leveraging Creative Partnerships – Oklahoma Transit Agencies                 Boomer                                             are leveraging interstate partnerships and creative partnerships with other agencies to manage programs like
CLINB-RIDE and PICK. Learn how to get involved.

                                                                                                                                                                                                       Sooner

Breakout 4 – National Electric Vehicle Implementation Plan for OK Strategic Corridors                                                                                             The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), passed in late 2021, establishes a National Electric
Vehicle Infrastructure Program (NEVI) to provide funding to states to deploy electric vehicle charging
infrastructure and to establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and
reliability. The presenters will review the Oklahoma Electric Vehicle Plan currently in progress.  In
addition, the presenters are looking to better understand transit agency electric vehicle plans and the
intersection between the transit agency plans and the Oklahoma state NEVI plan.                                                            

• Kip Strauss, HNTB Corporation
• Mike Patterson, Vice President, National DOT Practice Consultant at HNT
• Ryan Billings – Oklahoma Transit Practice Leader
• Makenzie Allen – Oklahoma Transit / Multimodal Engineer

5:30 – 7:00 PM              Tradeshow Grand Opening/Happy Hour (Sponsored by Creative Bus Sales) 

Tuesday, May 24th

7:30 AM – 5:00 PM      Registration Open

7:30 – 9:00 AM            Breakfast and Coffee the Trade Show Floor                                                             OK ABCDE

7:30 AM – 12:00 PM    Trade Show Open

8:30 – 9:45 AM            State of the OTA and Upcoming OTA Projects                                                               OK GH
Kendra McGeady, and Olivia Hook

9:45 – 10:00 AM           Break                                  

10:00 – 11:15 AM        Breakout 5 – Future Transit Fuel Solutions Panel                                                        Boomer

Breakout 6 – How to Protect your Transit Tech Infrastructure from Cyber Attacks Sooner

11:15 – 11:30 AM        Pick Up Boxed Lunches                                                                                       Boomer/Sooner

11:30 AM – 12:45 PM Breakout 7 – Stopping Human Trafficking in Transit                                                Boomer

Breakout 8 – Employee Retention and Recruitment Ideas and Challenges            Sooner

Human Resources

1:00 – 6:00 PM             Off Site Activity/Tours

1:00 – 6:00 PM              PAC Golf Tournament

7:00 -10:00pm            Transit Honky Tonk Networking featuring the Bottom of the Barrel Band         UNIV BC

Wednesday, May 25th

7:30 AM – 12:00 PM    Registration Open

7:30 – 9:00 AM            Continental Breakfast on the Trade Show Floor                                                      OK ABCDE

7:30 – 9:00 AM            Trade Show Open

9:00 AM – 11:30 AM   Trade Show Breakdown

9:00 – 9:45 AM            Closing Session- Sec. Timothy Gatz, ODOT                                                                       OK GH     

9:45 – 10:00 AM          Coffee Break                                                                                                          Boomer/Sooner
10:00 – 11:00 AM        Task Force Meetings      
                                                                                                 

• Tribal Task Force       Soon A                                                                                                                       
  • Rural Task Force/5311                                                                                                Boom B
  • 5310                                                                                                                            Soon A
  • Urban/Small Urban Task Force                                                                                    Soon B
  • Allied Business/Vendors                                                                                                   OK GH     

11:00 – 11:30 AM        Hotel Check Out

11:30 – 1:00 PM          OTA Awards of Excellence Luncheon                                                                                   OK IJ

• OTA Awards Presentations
• Trade Show/Door Prize Giveaways

Conference Registration

Register below or click here.