Countywide : 14,000 Could Attend Transit Conference

About 14,000 transit experts could descend on Anaheim in 1996, generating $15 million or more for the local economy, if the Orange County Transportation Authority board agrees on Monday to host the American Public Transit Assn.’s annual conference and trade show.

Meeting in New Orleans last week, the APTA Site Selection Committee recommended Orange County, after an earlier offer by a now-retired OCTA official to have the convention here.

The only downside, according to OCTA Chief Executive Officer Stan Oftelie, is that it will cost his agency more than $200,000 to provide bus service for delegates and other support costs during the convention. Although vendors such as bus manufacturers help pay some of the expenses, a major staff effort also is required to support the event.

“Bringing visitors to Orange County is important to the local economy,” states an OCTA staff report that will go before the OCTA board at its Monday meeting. “The conference would also bring state and national legislators and policy-makers to Orange County where they can become more directly familiar with the county.”

And of course there’s both positive and negative PR to consider.

“Hosting a quality event could be a tremendous success for the authority and lead to positive media exposure for Orange County and the agency,” the report states. “On the other hand, committing valuable staff resources and general funds to this project could make the authority a target for criticism at a time when the authority is trying to build credibility with the citizens of Orange County as an efficient, cost-conscious government agency.”