Transit Unplugged

This week Paul continues his look back at his time working at Yellow Transportation with the former CEO of Yellow, Veolia, and Transdev, Mark Joseph (now CEO of Mobitas Advisors--https://www.mobitasadvisors.com/).

Mark is a true leader and visionary in the transit industry. Mark recounts how he took a failing taxi business and created a business that would be a leader in public transit contracting.

Mark reflects on the future of transit, talking about workforce challenges, the opportunities (and pitfalls) of AI, and how we need to look to technology to move the industry forward.

In our Marketing Minute, Elea Carey gives some tips for using generative AI tools like ChatGPT to help create more content for your agency's blog.

Coming up next week, we have Mike Noland, President and GM of the South Shore Line, talking with Paul about commuter rail connecting Northern Indiana and Chicago, but more importantly, what's really needed to boost inter-city rail in the U.S.

If you have a question or want to be a guest on the show, you can email us at [email protected].

Transit Unplugged is brought to by Modaxo -- https://www.modaxo.com/ . At Modaxo we're passionate about moving the world's people, and at Transit Unplugged we're passionate about telling those stories.

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(00:00) Mark Joseph Mobitas Advisors

(00:23) Mark Joseph, CEO Mobitas Advisors

(29:44) Marketing Minute with Elea Carey

(31:57) What's coming up next week on Transit Unplugged

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Imagine paying your fare just by walking through the faregate? This is being tested in Seoul, South Korea right now and hear more about it on this week's Transit Unplugged News Minute.

Transdev is the largest public transportation contractor in the world, and it got its start in North America with the acquisition of Yellow Transportation. Paul worked for Yellow Transportation for a number of years and today we bring you a special reunion show with a few of the people Paul worked with there.

Paul and his guests, John Duncan, Jeff Barnett, and Peggy Maher, worked together at Yellow during the early days of building the company from a regional taxi, limousine, and charter bus company to a national player in transportation. Listen to how they worked, learned, and grew with each other while creating life-long bonds of friendship and mentorship.

But we're just getting started.

Next week we have Mark Joseph, who was the CEO of Yellow from its revitalization in the 1990s until its acquisition by Veolia--which would later become Transdev--in 2001. Mark served as CEO at Veolia for 5 years and then CEO of Transdev for another 12 years. Paul brings the whole story together with Mark from Yellow's beginnings to the future of transportation today.

Also on the show, Mike Bismeyer reflects on how these long-standing work connections help shape and support who we are.

If you have a question or comment, email us at [email protected].

Transit Unplugged it brought to you by Modaxo. At Modaxo, we're passionate about moving the world's people, and at Transit Unplugged, we're passionate about telling those stories. Learn more at https://www.modaxo.com/

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(00:00) Yellow Transportation Reunion Show with John Duncan, Jeff Barnett, and Peggy Maher

(36:44) Mike's Minute with Mike Bismeyer

(38:40) Coming up next week on Transit Unplugged

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A quick minute of transit news from Paul Comfort. This week Paul covers the Boston MBTA's new plan to attract new drivers. In the first month they've seen more than a 350% increase in applications.

Make sure you subscribe to Transit Unplugged in your podcast app to listen to the full podcast episodes released every Wednesday.

When Paul talked with Seleta Reynolds of LA Metro, one of the places she planned to visit ahead of the Olympics in LA was Brazil. She wanted to see first-hand how Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) works and helped move people in Rio for the Olympics. This week we have the second of our Brazil-focused episodes with Tula Vandaramatos, President of the Passenger Transport Association, where Tula talks more about Brazil's unique public transport system and how BRT is helping move people faster through some of the most congested cities in the world.

Also on the show, Elea Carey gives us some tips on how to get more out of your email newsletter.

Coming up next week we have a special two-part reunion show with Paul and former colleagues of Yellow Transportation--which would later become Transdev--talking about going from taxis and limos to now the world's largest contract bus operator.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email us at [email protected].

Transit Unplugged is brought to you by Modaxo (https://www.modaxo.com/). At Modaxo we're passionate about moving the world's people. And at Transit Unplugged, we're passionate about telling those stories.

Enriched by Vizzy

(00:00) Tula Vandaramatos

(00:04) Public transportation is the only sustainable solution for cities

(00:26) Interview with Tula Vandaramatos, President ATP Group

(19:40) Marketing Minute with Elea Carey

(21:41) Coming up next week on Transit Unplugged

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This week on the show Paul chats with repeat guest Dimas Barreira about Brazil's unique way of organizing public transportation, innovations in his own city of Fortaleza, and his approach to reducing carbon emissions in his region. We kick off the episode though with Dimas retelling the story of his life-changing motorcycle accident where he was dead for 40 minutes and spent 4 days in a coma!

This episode was recorded during Paul's recent trip to Brazil where he met with industry leaders, attended a national transportation conference, and filmed segments for an upcoming episode of Transit Unplugged TV. Watch for all of this on our Transit Unplugged TV channel on YouTube.

Also on this week's show, Mike Bismeyer talks about attending TransLink's celebration of 75 years of electric trolley buses in Vancouver. Vancouver has the second largest fleet of trolley buses in North America and the only trolley buses in Canada. Check out TransLink's website for pictures and the history behind these iconic buses.

Next week we stay in Brazil and learn about Bus Rapid Transit, developed in Brazil as a "train on wheels" where digging subways isn't practical or feasible. Paul welcomes another amazing transit leader from the south of Brazil--Tula Vandaramatos--for this interview. Paul and Tula also continue the discussion of Brazil's transport system and new funding coming from all levels of government.

If you have a question or comment, email us at [email protected].

Transit Unplugged is brought to you by Modaxo. At Modaxo we're passionate about moving the world's people. And at Transit Unplugged we're passionate about telling those stories.

Enriched by Vizzy

(00:00) Dimas Barreira pragmatic solutions to carbon emissions

(00:46) Interivew with Dimas Barreira, President of Sindionibus

(30:40) Mike's Minute with Mike Bismeyer

(32:16) Coming up next week on Transit Unplugged

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This week we're staying in sunny Florida and moving down to Broward County to hear what Broward County Transit (BCT) CEO Coree Cuff Lonergan has in store for the people of her county. As the new CEO she's leading the charge on an amazing 15-year plan to add 200 miles of new transit service to the county's transit infrastructure. Over the next decade and a half Broward County will get:

• High-frequency bus service
• Commuter rail
• Light rail
• Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

Coree is starting with high-frequency bus service and then adding new services over time. On top of this, BCT will be moving to an all-electric bus and non-revenue fleet by 2035. A lot going on for an agency that, as Coree puts it, is "a sleeping giant in the transit industry."

Also on the show, Elea Carey starts a three-part series on communication basics, starting with how to make sure your website meets the needs of riders.

Next week we have the first of two episodes coming from Paul's recent trip to Brazil. We start off with repeat guest Dimas Barreira, President of Sindionibus in Fortaleza, talking about how public transport in Brazil is organized and his unconventional plans for reducing carbon emissions in his region.

Have we heard from you?

We're wrapping up our listener survey this week. We've gotten a lot of great feedback. Make sure you've had your say today! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PN3WLZP

If you have a question or comment, you can reach us at [email protected].

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(00:00) Transit Unplugged with guest Coree Cuff Lonergan

(00:23) Interview with Coree Cuff Lonergan, CEO Broward County Transit

(23:33) Marketing Minute with Elea Carey

(25:28) Coming up next week on Transit Unplugged

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This week Paul has two great interviews for you: John Slot, Chief Innovation Officer of LYNX in Central Florida, and Rudy Vidal, Managing Director of Vidal Consulting Group. Both interviews center on building strong, emotional connections with riders, so they choose transit over other options.

John Slot leads a team responsible for testing and piloting innovations in and around the Orlando area. From sustainable buses to new payment options to bring fare equity to everyone, John's team makes sure residents, tourists, and soon APTA EXPO attendees can get around the city with ease. John talks about their energy transition from diesel to CNG to electrics over the next several years, plus how payment technology will make his system easier to navigate--and cheaper--for everyone.

In our leadership segment, Rudy Vidal gets to the heart of building loyal transit riders--stop selling transportation. Public transit is a commodified quasi-monopoly, so just doing the basics--buses that are on time--isn't enough to create loyalty. Loyalty comes from creating a positive emotional response in riders. Do people feel welcome and safe? Are they relaxed getting to work? Do they feel they are helping the environment? There are no easy answers to creating loyalty, but Rudy gives you questions to think about at your own agency.

Also in this episode, Mike Bismeyer reminds us of all the opportunities in transit and the hard work marketing and communications teams do to connect with people.

Next week on the show, we stay in Florida and hear from Coree Cuff Longeran, CEO of Broward County Transit and hear about her 15-year plan to create a world-class transit system for her community.

Please take a moment to rate and review Transit Unplugged on Apple Podcasts--or wherever you listen. Ratings and reviews help others find Transit Unplugged and become part of our transit evangelist community.

If you have a question or comment, you can email us at [email protected].

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(00:00) Transit Payment Innovations in Central Florida and Driving Customer Loyalty in Transit (00:33) Interview with John Slot, Chief Innovation Officer, LYNX (14:04) Mike's Minute (15:46) Interview with Rudy Vidal on creating an emotional connection with customers (36:06) Coming up next week on Transit Unplugged

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This week we bring you our final segment from the UTIP Global Summit held earlier this summer in Barcelona. In this dynamic CEO Roundtable recorded live at the summit, we hear from Dorval Carter, President of the Chicago Transit Authority, Paul Skoutelas, President and CEO of APTA, Carla Purcell, CEO of Yarra Trams, and Jeremy Yap, Deputy Chief Executive of LTA Singapore.

This panel continues the discussions started in the first CEO Roundtable with a focus on innovation across the industry, how places like Singapore are focusing on making public transport accessible for everyone, and how agencies will attract new, non-work trip riders to their systems.

Together these two CEO Roundtables give a complete view of the challenges--and opportunities--facing transit today around the world. Sustainability, funding, new ridership patterns, and accessibility, all sewn together with a renewed spirit of innovation. Around the world, as highlighted at the UITP Global Summit, agencies are buoyed with this new sense of purpose. If you haven't listened to Part One, check it out and give it a listen.

Next week on the show, we have William (John) Slot, Chief Innovation Officer at LYNX in Florida, and in our leadership segment, we have Rudy Vidal of Vidal Consulting Group.

Please take a moment while you're listening to Transit Unplugged to leave a rating and review of the show. This helps other people find the show can become part of the Transit Unplugged community.

If you have a question or comment, you can email us at [email protected].

We have a jam-packed episode for you this week. We lead off with David S. Kim, formerly the Secretary of Transportation for the State of California, now Senior Vice President & Principal, National Transportation Policy and Multimodal Strategy at WSP. Paul and David talk about two of the most pressing issues facing public transit today: finding alternatives to gas taxes to fund transportation and the transition to EVs.

For decades federal and state/provincial taxes on gas and diesel have funded roads, bridges, and public transit. It's a good system for paying for critical infrastructure, but as we switch to EVs--therefore buying less and less fuel--that money will dry up. David and Paul talk about some of the pilots and models being tested to move to a "pay-as-you-drive" model for funding.

Paul and David then pivot to talking about the challenges facing the transition to EVs and the costs associated with the transition. Sure agencies have to buy new buses, but they also have to upgrade or build new facilities to support EVs and have to train a whole new workforce to drive and manage these high tech vehicles.

We also have the second leadership segment from Keith Scott and Rebecca Klein Scott of TALLsmall Productions. This week Keith and Rebecca tell us how to defeat negative self-talk. It's more than just a nagging little voice that chides us, negative self-talk can become a self-fulfilling prophecy and damage your work, your career, and your mental health. Keith and Rebecca give you real, practical tools to silence that negative voice and turn it into your inner cheerleader.

Elea Carey joins us this week to talk about how to communicate big projects--like the transition to EVs--by focusing on where the money has really come from and the benefits to the community.

Coming up next week we have the second CEO Roundtable recorded at the UITP Global Summit featuring Carla Purcell CEO of Yarra Trams, Jeremy Yap Deputy Chief Executive of LTA in Singapore, Paul Skoutelas, President of APTA, and Dorval Carter, President of CTA in Chicago.

This roundtable has a focus on public transport in Asia-Pacific and North America. While every region and agency is different--if you've seen one transit agency, you've seen one transit agency--many of the challenges in changing ridership patterns, workforce development, transition to zero emissions, and accessibility are universal.

Our listener survey is still open! This is your chance to let us know how we're doing and what you'd like to hear on future shows. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PN3WLZP

If you have a question, comment, or would like to be a guest on the show email us at [email protected].

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(00:00) David S. Kim - TALLsmall Part 2

(00:26) Interview with David S. Kim

(22:15) Messaging Minute with Elea Carey

(24:22) Continuing with Keith Scott and Rebecca Klein Scott on stopping negative self talk

(38:30) Coming up next week on Transit Unplugged

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