On the curb at CALACT Fall 2025 in Tahoe — exterior walk-through and step height demo.
The CALACT Fall Conference and Expo returned to the Tahoe region with a full week of learning, networking, and hands-on equipment time for rural and small urban transit leaders. The program ran October 20 through October 24 at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Stateline, with the conference hotel at Margaritaville Resort in South Lake Tahoe. CALACT and the host agency, Tahoe Transportation District, staged a seamless week that kept sessions, expo time, and after-hours conversations within easy reach, which made it simple to maximize every hour on site.
Inside the cabin — securement layout, overhead HVAC, and operator ergonomics
A week built around substance and access
The schedule was intentionally structured to let agencies learn, compare options on the expo floor, then circle back with targeted questions. Monday opened with the annual golf event and registration windows. Tuesday featured the CALACT Board meeting, the RTAP advisory meeting, and two afternoon pre-conference sessions so that teams could arrive, settle in, and immediately engage with practical content.
Wednesday brought the Welcome Session and a keynote from Amy Blankson, a nationally recognized voice on performance, focus, and well-being in a hyperconnected world. The room stayed engaged as she connected research-based habits with leadership realities in transit, where teams juggle service reliability, staffing, rider expectations, and digital change. Her talk set a thoughtful tone for the rest of the program.
Across the middle of the week, breakouts and plenaries explored funding, service design, customer feedback, safety, compliance, workforce development, and leadership skills. The at-a-glance agenda documented a steady cadence of sessions alongside the Bus Show Luncheon, afternoon expo hours, and a reception on the floor. That structure kept the learning loop tight. Attendees could hear a policy or planning idea in the morning, step onto a vehicle that afternoon to translate the concept into specifications, then return to sessions the next day with sharper questions.
What we heard and what we showed
On the expo floor and out in the bus yard, conversations centered on accessibility, maintainability, and total cost of ownership. Agencies wanted practical details: interior layouts that ease boarding and securement, components that speed service, materials that hold up under daily cleaning, and options that preserve uptime in mountain weather and mixed duty cycles. Our team walked through securement hardware, entry geometry, aisle flow, driver ergonomics, and the maintenance considerations that matter after year one and year five, not just day one.
Zero-emission shuttle on display — translating policy and funding into real fleet plans.
Zero-emission readiness remained a recurring thread. Many teams used the sessions to map current funding and regulatory timelines, then used the expo to compare vehicle platforms and infrastructure pathways that match local duty cycles, elevations, and garage constraints. The good news is that agencies have more choices than ever, and the conversation has matured from early pilots to scaled, sustainable deployment. CALACT’s format helped agencies separate signal from noise.
Expo yard flow — quick movement between sessions and vehicle demos.
For smaller metropolitan areas and rural service providers, the CALACT community remains the most focused place to understand what is working now. The program balances strategic guidance with operational depth, and it gives leaders access to peers who face similar geography, weather, staffing, and budget constraints. By keeping the conference venue and hotel within a few minutes of each other, CALACT made it easy to build relationships that continue long after the week ends. The 2025 program details underscore that balance, including clear dates, venue information, and host agency coordination, which together deliver a high-return week for any operations or procurement team.
Our commitment going forward
Team huddle at the specialty vehicle display — discussing interior layouts and serviceability.
We left Tahoe with a long list of follow-ups that will turn show-floor conversations into real solutions. That includes spec refinements for accessibility and rider experience, serviceability upgrades that reduce downtime, and procurement support that connects funding windows to realistic delivery schedules. If we met at the conference, you will hear from us with a concise recap of the configurations we discussed and the next steps you requested. If we missed you, we are happy to schedule a private walk-through for your team.
Low-floor entry and ramp — smooth boarding and clear aisle flow.
Thank you
Thank you to CALACT for curating a strong agenda and an efficient format, and to the Tahoe Transportation District for hosting in the Tahoe Blue Event Center and helping every attendee move smoothly between events. Thank you to the speakers, moderators, exhibitors, volunteers, and agency leaders who invested their time to push the industry forward. The week worked because the right people were in the room with the right information at the right time.
Most importantly, thank you to our customers. Your feedback and trust drive every decision we make, and we are honored to be your long-term partner in accessible mobility and fleet transportation. We measure success by your uptime, your rider experience, and your confidence that the vehicles and support you receive from us will stand up to the real world, year after year.
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