 
          NOVEMBER 2018  |  BUSINESS ELITE CANADA   111
        
        
          strategic asset to grow the economy,
        
        
          public health and improve the trans-
        
        
          portation network.”
        
        
          D’Angelo says CUTA is also looking at
        
        
          transit in the long-term, “to continue to
        
        
          give people the ability to move more
        
        
          easily from place to place according
        
        
          to their own needs, while connected
        
        
          to all modes.”
        
        
          This long-term vision is supported
        
        
          by CUTA’s Transit Vision 2040 plan,
        
        
          whichwas developed to anticipate and
        
        
          enhance the growth and evolution of
        
        
          Canadian communities, while identi-
        
        
          fying the contribution that transit can
        
        
          make to support strong, livable and
        
        
          environmentally responsible commu-
        
        
          nities. Specifically, CUTA advocates
        
        
          on policies for better accessibility to
        
        
          transit, on easing congestion, on build-
        
        
          ing new transit infrastructure nation-
        
        
          ally, and on having the economic,
        
        
          social and environmental benefits of
        
        
          transit recognized across the legisla-
        
        
          tive spectrum. In other words, CUTA is
        
        
          focused on making a positive impact
        
        
          on the daily lives of Canadians across
        
        
          the country.
        
        
          “Customers are at the centre of our
        
        
          vision,” says D’Angelo, adding this will
        
        
          be a major focus at the 2018 CUTA
        
        
          Annual Conference and Canadian
        
        
          Transit Show, the theme of which is
        
        
          Putting the Customer at the Heart of
        
        
          Transit.
        
        
          “The customer base is becoming more
        
        
          diverse. They are now offered better
        
        
          services through innovations such as
        
        
          transit apps that provide riders with
        
        
          real-time scheduling information,