Mobility Innovators Podcast

New York City Transit (NYCT) is the largest public transit agency in North America, carrying more than 2.5 billion passengers every year. NYCT is going through transformation and implanting new initiatives including predictive maintenance. The agency is implementing many new initiatives including new ticketing solution. The agency is planning to introduce electric buses and using AI to improve the maintenance of existing buses. The episode will highlight some of the key initiatives launched by NYCT and the new innovation culture within the agency.

Richard Davey is President of New York City Transit and is responsible for managing the largest transit agency in North America. He joined in May 2022. Previously, he served as a Partner and Director at the Boston Consulting Group in their Public Sector and Industrial Goods practice areas. He also served as CEO of Boston 2024, the organization that sought to bring the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games to Boston. He is a transit enthusiast and was the Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation from September 2011 to October 2014 and previously the General Manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority from March 2010 to September 2011.

Many cities and countries globally are setting ambitious targets to achieve net-zero emissions, with mobility and logistics playing a pivotal role in reaching these goals. Fleet operators are confronted with the significant challenge of planning for energy transition, necessitating substantial capital investments in the coming years. However, they must prioritize between various projects and adopt a data-driven approach. Data will also be crucial in ensuring compliance and accessing a rapidly expanding array of climate-based financing products. This will entail leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence to analyze and comprehend the data, enabling informed decision-making and strategic planning for energy transition initiatives.

Danielle Walsh is co-founder and CEO of Clearly, a startup based in the UK, which helps the global transportation sector to reach net zero emissions. Clearly is the company with the data and AI stack that enables corporations to actually achieve their net zero targets in the largest part of the economies - transport and anything related to that. It uses AI to gather, combine, and enhance data across the supply chain so companies know exactly where the most emissions are coming from in the fleet; easily assess optimal projects to reduce emissions, and automate the access of shared and cheaper financing. The company is already operating in 8 cities around the world, has more than 50,000 assets under contract, and has tracked over 100 million trips. Prior to founding her venture, she was a Director in TMT Investment Banking at HSBC and led Technology for Future Cities & New Initiatives. She is also an Angel Investor.

The global momentum towards electrification is accelerating, driven by numerous cities setting ambitious net-zero goals. Leveraging advanced technologies can expedite and streamline this process. Digital Twins emerge as a powerful tool for fleet operators, offering the capability to construct real-world scenarios and simulations that precisely reflect the impact of electrification on operations. This enables operators to gain valuable insights into potential challenges and opportunities. The integration of machine learning and artificial intelligence further enhances the optimization of various scenarios, facilitating a more efficient path towards achieving net-zero goals.

Daniel Hilson is Founder and CEO of Evenergi and BetterFleet. Evenergi is a company that focuses on accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and helping fleets transition to zero-emission technology. The company works with utilities, governments, and businesses, in implementing EV charging infrastructure and optimizing their energy systems. He also launched BetterFleet to plan, optimize and manage the transition to zero-emission fleet. Before co-founding Evenergi, he worked with some key players including Flow Systems, Veolia Environment and Siemens. He is a lifelong learner and has earned degrees in Environmental Management, Strategic Management and Music & Communication.

The automobile industry is going through a big transformation. Mckinsey coined the term ACES to define that how Automation, Connectivity, Energy transition, and shared mobility will redefine the sector. Technology will change the traditional method of how we purchase and use vehicles. New business models are emerging and new entrants especially technology companies are looking to reshare the industry with Software Defined Vehicles (SDV), autonomy, and electric drive. These changes will also create opportunities for new technology startups and build new ecosystems.

Mark Norman is General Partner of FM Capital. FM Capital is a venture capital fund focused on technologies transforming the transportation industry. He is responsible for fund leadership, investment strategy, and portfolio management. Prior to setting up the fund, he was president of Zipcar, where he led the company’s expansion creating the world’s largest carsharing network. He was also the CEO of Flexcar, a vehicle subscription company, CEO and Chairman of Chrysler Canada, and Managing Director of Summit Systems, a European technology startup.

School Bus Transportation is the largest transit system in North America. In the US alone, there are 50 million K-12 students in public schools and there are 5.8 million in private schools. So it's in total it's like 57 million students or kids who need to be transported every day. However, School Bus transportation is facing many challenges including a shortage of bus drivers, funding constraints, and increasing complexity. Technology will play an important role in improving the school bus operation and managing resources optimally.

Keith Corso is the Co-founder & CEO of BusRight. He ideated the company in high school and built the foundation for BusRight during his time at Northeastern University in Boston, alongside several other team members. BusRight is a transportation technology startup, reshaping the student transportation industry with its routing software, real-time GPS, dynamic driver navigation, and a bus tracking app for parents. He has held roles on both sides of the venture ecosystem, from serving as the President of the Entrepreneurs Club in college, to working as an Analyst for MassMutual Ventures, a Venture Fellow for Underscore VC, and Venture Director for Origin - a deep tech hub

Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany and is well-known for its busy port, which is among the largest in the world. Hamburg Hochbahn is the public transport operator in the city, operating 111 bus routes and 4 underground lines. The city has launched an ambitious project - Hamburg Takt, which to increase the market share from 22% in 2017 to 30% by 2030. The city is now investing in many innovative projects including GoA4 Metro line and autonomous fleet project. The city is looking to replace 1100 diesel buses with zero-emission buses by 2030. The episode will share “How HOCHBAHN as a key mobility provider is implementing innovative solutions (together with local and regional partners) in Hamburg.”

Natalie Rodriguez is Head of Innovation of Hamburg Hochbahn AG, the second largest transport company in Germany. From 2018 until 2021, she was the lead project manager of automated driving, Bus-Segment and was in charge of the HEAT-Project (Hamburg Electric Autonomous Transportation). Natalie has been working for over 15 years in international planning and consulting companies specialized in public transport in Caracas, Lyon, Karlsruhe and since 2011 for the HOCHBAHN holding different positions in the areas of tariff, demand, and revenue estimations; corporate management, project management office, business development and Innovation and Change. She has always tried to combine my love for languages and for Mobility throughout her professional career.

Traffic Congestion is emerging as a major challenge for the cities. More than 1.35 million people die in road accidents every year people are losing 51 hours in traffic jams every year. Traffic management systems use traditional methods to regulate the traffic flow. However, many cities are using artificial intelligence and machine learning to solve traffic congestion issues and follow a network approach rather than a single junction. The cities can simulate different scenarios in real-time to understand the impact on a network basis. Further, Transit Signal Priority (TSP) is helping to reduce travel time for the riders and improve efficiency. The episode will cover the topics related to AI in Traffic Management and the role of traffic signals for autonomous vehicles.

Tal Kresier is the Co-founder and CEO of @NoTraffic . NoTraffic is a company that focuses on developing technology for intelligent traffic management and optimization. As CEO, he manages a large team of industry leaders from various fields such as AI, Machine Vision, Cybersecurity, and Engineering, bringing the team together and creating the most sophisticated traffic management platform. Prior to NoTraffic, Tal served as a Business Analyst at Beta Finance consulting firm, where he led complex projects in the transportation, infrastructure, and energy industries.

India is investing lots of funds in rail infrastructure projects including urban rail systems in cities, rapid rail transit system for regional cities, and High-Speed rail project to connect cities. Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) projects in the National Capital Region of India is connecting 3 major satellite cities with the capital city – Meerut (82 km), Alwar (198 km) and Panipat (103 km). The first corridor from Delhi to Meerut is under construction, costing $5 billion in investment. National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) is mandated to design, develop, implement, financing, operate, and maintain the RRTS project. RapidX has adopted an outsourcing model and has appointed Deutsche Bahn for operation and maintenance. The agency is using many innovative technologies to build the project, including BIM (Building Information Modelling), Digital twins, Precasted Tracks, Catenary (Rigid), Rolling stocks, and UPI ticketing solutions.

Vijay Kumar Singh is Managing Director of NCRTC and presently leading transformation in regional mobility by implementing Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) projects in the National Capital Region of India. NCRTC is mandated for designing, developing, implementing, financing, operating, and maintaining the RRTS project. He has built NCRTC from scratch and is now spearheading the development of the idea into a reality through this $ 15 billion project. Before joining NCRTC, he was the Chief Executive Officer of the High-Speed Rail Corporation, where he played a key role in developing the Mumbai-Ahmedab ad HSR project. Having served as Executive Director in the Ministry of Railways, Government of India, he has experience working on the Board of many joint venture companies and has acquired a profound policy perspective. He has been the officer in charge of the execution team of the first section of Delhi Metro project in the field.

Transit recovery in North America remains sluggish, with ridership hovering around the 60-70% mark compared to pre-pandemic levels. However, many transit agencies are experiencing that riders are back in the system, but ridership is not back as travel behavior has changed. The riders are not traveling in the same way. At the same time, public transport operators require to plan the transition to zero-emission buses. Thus, it is becoming increasingly important for agencies to follow a data-driven approach to improve transit riders' experience. One notable example is the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), a prominent mass transit operator in Chicago, responsible for a fleet of 1,900 buses and approximately 1,200 rail cars that transport around 800,000 passengers daily. The CTA is actively pursuing various innovative initiatives aimed at attracting riders back into the system.

Maulik Vaishnav is a transportation policy and transit leader with 15 years of experience in government and consulting. He is currently Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)’s Vice President of Innovation and leads the agency’s ‘Meeting the Moment’ action plan, customer experience and marketing strategy, and a PMO team. During his 11-year tenure at CTA, he has worked in or overseen analytics, strategic planning, budget, revenue, business development, and fare policy teams. He also served as a transportation policy advisor at the City of Chicago Mayor’s Office from 2019 to 2022 where he helped advance a strategic plan for transportation, a forward-thinking ground transportation tax surcharge on downtown ride-hail trips, temporary pandemic bus lanes, a climate action plan, and a vision for trails and open spaces.

Entrepreneurship is a journey of failures. The founders need to stay focused on the execution and achieve product-market fit. Most of the founders start their journey with the problem but they very soon forget about it. The same principle applies to all startups, including mobility and logistics. It is very important to understand your users and focus on solving their problems. Most people think of solving mobility challenges from the system perspective, not from the user perspective. Riders are looking at mobility from three parameters – Convenience, Speed and Cost. The founders should ask what is the value that I'm going to create for those users? This podcast will share some of the key ingredients to build a successful startup. Public transport will face challenges from new emerging mobility options. It is important to reimagine mobility from the users’ perspective.

Guest: Uri Levine is a passionate entrepreneur, a 2x 'unicorn' builder (Duocorn), and the author of the book “Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution” – A Handbook for Entrepreneurs. He is co-founder of Waze, the world's largest community-based driving traffic and navigation app, which Google acquired for $1.1 billion in 2013, and former investor and board member in Moovit, 'Waze of public transportation, which Intel acquired for $1 Billion in 2020. Levine's vision is building startups that are doing good and doing well, focusing on solving problems and hence changing the world for the better. He has been in the high-tech business for the last 40 years, more than half of them in the startup scene, and has seen everything ranging from failure, to moderate success, and big success. The startups Levine is Co-Founder, Chairman or Board Member, include Pontera (formerly FeeX); FairFly; SeeTree; Refundit; Fibo; Dynamo; Kahun, and he’s always working on the next one.