Transit Unplugged

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John Seber answers the why question Aug 11, 2021

Show notes

This week on Transit Unplugged News and Views we have two Newsmaker interviews.

First Paul chats with John Seber Executive Director of the Central Indiana Regional Transport Authority (CIRTA) and they get into how John is helping the counties he serves work together and provide an integrated intercounty transit network. John also reflects on when he was working with Paul at WMATA and how a college poster sticks with him today.

If that wasn't enough, Paul chats with Stewart Mader and Scott Bogren about a new study from CTAA on how transit supported communities during the pandemic and 6 concrete things we should be doing next.

For the next several episodes look for Paul's interviews from the Small Urban Network Conference happening now in Montana.

If you like what you hear on Transit Unplugged, take a moment leave a rating and review. Ratings and reviews are how people find new shows to listen to, and don't you think more people should be listening to us!

And speaking of liking...guess what! We're in the running for another award! Take a moment and give a vote for us on the Podcast Awards.

Carrie Butler Executive Director of TARC – Optimism and excitement about the future of transit Aug 04, 2021

Show notes

This week Paul comes to you from the Bluegrass State and historic Louisville, Kentucky. Paul visited Carrie Butler, Executive Director of the Transit Authority of River City (TARC), in-person in her office in the former Union Station from the Louisville-Nashville rail line. You can read more about Paul's visit in his post on the Vontas blog.

Carrie started at TARC almost a year ago in the midst of the pandemic, but that challenge only seems to have buoyed her optimism and drive to bring fresh optimism and excitement to the agency.

Listen to learn Carrie's plan for the future of TARC and how she's tackling the driver shortage that is dogging agencies across the U.S. and Canada.

Next week Paul is chatting with John Seber of Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority on Transit Unplugged News and Views. Paul is attending the upcoming SUN Conference., so look for some special interviews with transit leaders over the next several weeks.

Don't forget to rate and review Transit Unplugged wherever you listen to podcasts. Leaving ratings and reviews helps people find Transit Unplugged.

Using AI to predict when your bus will arrive, meeting tips from Paul Comfort, and people are coming back to transit Jul 28, 2021

Show notes

This week on Transit Unplugged News and View we have the first Transit Tech segment. These will be monthly segments where we interview on new innovations in transit technology.

This week Tris chats with Dr. Farrokh Mansouri, head of data science at Trapeze, about using machine learning and AI to predict how weather and traffic affect on-time performance. If you're interested in how Trapeze approaches machine learning and AI you might like Farrokh's recent blog post.

Paul gives his weekly look into the latest transit news and this week gives us some valuable tips for running more effective meetings in his future of transit segment.

Mike Bismeyer reflects on the transit leaders who were willing to take risks and try new technologies. Imagine where we'd be if we never innovated in transit?

Next week on Transit Unplugged In-Depth Paul talks with Carrie Butler, head of the Transit Authority of River City (TARC). This is another interview that will energize you and inspire you for what's coming as we emerge from the pandemic.

Joubert Flores on creating an integrated and supported public transportation system in Brazil Jul 21, 2021

Show notes

This week we wrap up our mini-tour of Latin America with Paul's conversation with Joubert Flores, Chairman of ANTPTRILHOS in Brazil.

Joubert has been an integral part of the transit industry for over 45 years and his insights into where the transportation system in Brazil has been, and where it's going in the future, are essential listening for all transit agencies.

To close out this pair of interviews, Paul hosted a roundtable with Paola Realpozo, VP Marketing at Trapeze, and Juan Goritti, Sales Director for Latin America, with their thoughts on the state of public transit in Latin America.

Next week on Transit Unplugged News and Views we have the first Transit Tech segment with Dr. Farohk Mansouri, Lead Data Scientist at Trapeze. Dr. Mansouri and Tris talk about what machine learning and AI have in store for the transit industry.

Thank you for being a Transit Unplugged listener. You can help support the podcast and help other people find it by leaving a rating and review in your podcast app.

If you'd like to be a guest on Transit Unplugged you can email our producer Tris Hussey at tris.hussey@trapezegroup.com.

Until next week, ride safe and ride happy.

Capitalizing on transit’s opportunity with Andrew Bata of UITP Jul 14, 2021

Show notes

This week on the first episode of Transit Unplugged News and Views (what we use to call Comfort's Corner) Paul chats with Andrew Bata of UITP, North America. Paul and Andrew talk about Andrew's former role as Chief Innovator at New York MTA. He and Paul continue with his vision of the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for transit agencies around the world.

Elea Carey continues the thread with how agencies should communicate getting people back to transit.

And finally, Paul wraps up the episode with insights into one of the biggest challenges facing agencies right now: recruiting and training drivers for the coming ridership surge.

Next week on Transit Unplugged In Depth we continue our Latin American series with Joubert Flores of Brazil's national rail transport association.

Dimas Barreira Putting Technology and Innovation in the Driver’s Seat in Fortaleza, Brazil Jul 07, 2021

Show notes

The bustling city of Fortaleza could be a model for how operators, transit agencies, and cities can work together to deliver sustainable, technology-enabled public transit. This week Paul chats with Dimas Barreira is the president of SINDIONIBUS, a group of 17 transit operators serving the city of Fortaleza and the surrounding area.

What's unique in Fortaleza isn't the close partnership between SINDIONIBUS and the city, but the confederation of independent companies who have come together to agree on how to deliver transit to the 2.7 million people in the region.

Together they have invested in technology, like MaaS, bike sharing for transit riders, automated payment systems, and a fully GPS and ITS enabled fleet of over 2000 buses.

But technology and working together is the part of the story you see, beneath the surface Dimas is a true transit leader and visionary. He sees, and promotes, the connection between riders, the city government, and the city at large. He has a vision for transit supporting UN Climate and Sustainability goals and ensuring SINDIONIBUS leverages technology to adapt to our changing world.

For more show notes and a complete transcript visit TransitUnplugged.com.

Mark Wild of Crossrail UK getting a massive rail project back on track Jun 30, 2021

Show notes

What do you do when you're given the reins of one of the biggest rail projects in history that's three years late and well over budget? How do you take something that has gone decidedly off the rails, back on track?

For Mark Wild of Crossrail UK, it meant going back to the fundamentals of project management. He focused on grappling with the enormous complexity of the project, correcting things that had gone off course, and building a team that could adapt to uncertainty.

No project of this scale goes off without a hitch, and Crossrail is no different. After running The Tube, Mark took on the challenge of completing the project and getting trains into stations. This episode of Transit Unplugged is a great lesson in applying project fundamentals to a project that has gone pear-shaped.

Learn more in the show notes: https://www.transitunplugged.com/mark-wild-of-crossrail-uk/

Comfort’s Corner: Is It Time to Call It Regional Rail? Jun 23, 2021

Show notes

Paul's on vacation this week so our producer Tris Hussey is in the host's chair for this episode.

News in this episode:

Proterra goes public on the NASDAQ
US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg highlights and thanks the transit industry for its work getting people vaccinated.
Robert Yu was tapped as President and General Manager for Oahu Transit Services.
Vince Pellegrin, COO of Metro Transit retires after 24 years at the agency. We wish him the best on his retirement.
The Chicago Transit Authority has ended capacity limits on buses and trains. Because the federal mask mandate is still in effect, they will deploy employee volunteers to help the public understand the rules and what the CTA is doing to keep them safe.

Our feature interview is with Stewart Mader of VAX Transit. Beyond spearheading getting transit agencies involved in rolling out vaccines in the U.S., Canada, and U.K., he's been doing a lot of thinkings about the future of transit.

After talking about the success of VAX Transit, they move on to discuss the role of commuter rail in our new reality. Stewart, and Paul, both feel a sea change is needed. Commuter rail is better thought of as regional rail that gets people into the city from outlying areas. This is a discussion we need to continue in another episode.

Related to masks and health, both Stewart and Elea Carey talk about communicating health and safety, and masks, to the public. Stewart mentions his article in Mass Transit with advice on masks for transit agencies and Elea talks about how to expand the discussion away from masks per se to how transit is a healthy way to travel.

Finally in Mike's Minute we get a great piece of advice from his dad that makes the world a little better place.

Next week Paul is back in the chair with an in-depth interview with Mark Wild CEO of Crossrail UK.

Have a great week and ride safe and ride happy.

Making Taxis Part of the Transport Solution in Saudi Arabia with Naif Bin Hwail Jun 16, 2021

Show notes

This week Paul chats with Naif Bin Hwail of Saudi Arabia's Transport General Authority (TGA) on how his agency built a structure to serve millions of people--including the millions visiting Mecca and Medina for the Haj--using bus, rail, and taxis.

In his conversation with Paul, Naif Bin Hwail talks about developing bus rapid transit (BRT) in several cities and expanding the rail network to serve the millions of people who come to Saudi Arabia.

Unlike many transportation agencies, TGA is also responsible for the vast private taxi network in the country. Their job is to ensure all taxis meet the same high standard of safety, comfort, and reliability. Based on this foundation TGA is well-placed to build an expansive national transit system as part of their vision 2030 plans.

Next week, please join us for Comfort's Corner where Paul's guest will be Stewart Mader of VAX Transit. After talking about the herculean efforts to get people to vaccines and vaccines to people, Stewart and Paul talk about commuter rail and the future of masks on transit

For a complete transcript of this episode and links to our guests, please visit: https://www.transitunplugged.com/making-taxis-part-of-the-transport-solution-in-saudi-arabia/

Comfort’s Corner: Using data to improve operations and meet the changing needs of riders Jun 09, 2021

Show notes

This week on Comfort's Corner we have two newsmaker interviews for you. First, we talk with Candace Moore of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority about how she's used asset management data to improve maintenance in her fleet of nearly 200 vehicles. Then we travel to Saskatoon, SK, and hear an excerpt from Cory Shrigley's ThinkTransit session on how they used real-time ridership data to quickly adapt their service to meet the needs of essential workers during pandemic lockdowns and help health officials target COVID education programs right to the areas that needed it most.

These are two great uses of data that highlight how transit agencies can use data they might already have to make real, impactful decisions.

We also hear from Elea Carey in her messaging minute on using radio ads to promote your agency. What better way to increase ridership than target drives while stuck in traffic!

Finally, Paul shares some exciting news about some improvements we're making to the show starting in July. Listen to the whole episode to learn about the changes.

Interested in being a guest on Transit Unplugged? You can email our producer at tris.hussey@trapezegroup.com. We'd love to hear and share your stories on the transit industry's number one podcast.

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