“What I love about transport [is] you’re changing people’s lives. You’re changing cities.”

What do India, Qatar, and Australia have in common? It’s where our next guest of Transit Unplugged oversees some of the most innovative public transport operations in the world. Transit Unplugged is lucky to have Leila Frances, President Middle East and Hyderabad of Keolis and Chairman of Keolis Downer, as our guest this week.

Frances discusses the automated metro services in India and Qatar, which makes Keolis the world leader in automated metro operations. She also does a deep dive into the importance of data in decision making. Data can give everyone (employees, passengers, politicians, residents) a better understanding of how public transport affects their daily lives. It can impact operations by analyzing trends – seeing the correlation of external factors that impact and extend dwell times. You can use data and real-time information to communicate with passengers, creating a positive passenger and community experience by setting expectations during times of expansion and building individualized experiences for your riders. 

She also shares her insight on her approach to management through their visualization rooms. By holding everyone accountable and giving them operational information (through KPIs), it gives every employee a better understanding of what is going on within the business. Finally, she talks about how on-demand service, the potential of flying public transport, and Hyperloop might factor into the future of transportation.

If you want to know more about Keolis, Keolis Downer (Australia and New Zealand), the Doha Metro Project (Qatar), or Keolis Hyderabad (India), please check out the associated links.

Remember to check out transitunplugged.com to learn from top transit professionals and stay up to date to catch all the latest episodes.