NEW ORLEANS Most public transit agencies that are members of the American Public Transportation Association exist thanks largely to the largesse of U.S. taxpayers.

Taxpayers at the local and state level subsidize their fares.

American taxpayers writ large pay for much of their equipment through handouts from the Federal Transit Administration.

At its Expo 2011 conducted here last month, APTA touted a new award it had established that not only seems sadly out of step with the times but appears to reward a transit agencys ability to siphon-off as many federal taxpayer dollars as it possibly can.

The award is called "Special Recognition for Extraordinary Recovery."

It was no coincidence, of course, that the winner of the inaugural award was the Regional Transit Authority of New Orleans, which was recognized for its "tremendous comeback after Hurricane Katrina."

"Despite losing most of its vehicles, facilities and technology systems after the natural disaster, the agency managed to implement partial bus service within 60 days of the hurricane, and partial streetcar service six months later.

"The RTA now has completely new fleets for both its bus and paratransit operations, and has managed to hold its operations costs flat for the past three years," APTA said in its award announcement.

So, how did New Orleans RTA come by its "completely new fleets" and keep its operational costs in check?

You guessed it, through federal grants that paid for new facilities and buses everywhere. As for holding down costs, those new buses are more fuel efficient than the buses they replaced and the RTA route system has shrunk, reflecting the reduced size of New Orleans.

In fact, New Orleans RTA has done so well it was able to provide "free" shuttle service for the 17,000 folks who attended APTAs four-day annual meeting and exposition.

Of course, since the service was provided "free," it skirted the federal charter service rule and it was an offensive and outrageous exploitation of taxpayer money. (See Oct. 1 Bus & Motorcoach News.)

Forgotten during the awards ceremony was how NORTA was completely missing from action during the chaotic evacuation of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Only 15 percent of the agencys aging fleet happened to have been parked on high ground and avoided being ruined by the flooding.