Transit Unplugged

The Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) in North Carolina is one of the fastest-growing areas in the U.S. Already at 2 million people, they are expecting another million people by 2050. So, how do you keep the area moving without relying on more cars and more roads? Better regional transit, of course!

This week Paul chats with Charles Lattuca, President and CEO of GoTriangle, which works with partner agencies GoRaleigh, GoDurham, and Chapel Hill Transit to create a unified transit system to service the expected million people and 850,000 new jobs coming into the area. With eyes on commuter rail and Transit Oriented Development (TOD), Charles has a vision for making sure people can get to work and play, and not have to use a car to do it.

Also on the show this week:

• Paul's recap of APTAtransform and where he'll be speaking next
• Transit news of the week, including some exciting new leadership at APTA and other agencies
• Elea Carey on marketing transit to our youngest riders
• Mike Bismeyer on the excitement he experienced at APTAtransform with all the other amazing transit leaders from across North America.

Next week on Transit Unplugged we have Jennifer DeBruhl, Director of Rail and Public Transportation in Virginia.

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

Greater Manchester is about the size of London with a population of roughly 3 million people. Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, wants to help his region have safe, convenient, affordable, and green public transport options. Transport for Greater Manchester already has one of the largest tram networks in Europe and now they are in the process of following the Transport for London model of central oversight over buses under a franchise model. All with the goal of getting more people out of cars and use buses, scooters, bikes, and walking to get around the region.

Join Vernon and Paul as they talk about the franchise model, how safety is crucial to ridership, Vernon's custom guitar, and the future of green transport in Manchester. This recent article in Intelligent Transport talks about the new electric buses coming to the Bee Network and all of TfGM's electrification plans.

Next week on Transit Unplugged we head to North Carolina as Paul chats with Charles Lattuca of GoTriangle.

And this Friday a new episode of Transit Unplugged TV drops coming from Denver! Make sure you subscribe so you know the moment it's live.

If you have a question about the show, email us at [email protected].

Lisa Walton is the CTO of SFMTA, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (aka Muni), and is responsible for one of the largest and most complex transit regions in North America. She needs to interact with over 20 different agencies and services around the Bay Area, not to mention all the people within the city and county of San Francisco. And the biggest challenges are seamless travel and getting the right information to people at the right time. One of Lisa's biggest projects recently has been a total overhaul of Muni's customer information system. Lisa and her team replaced a 20-year-old plus system--a system you couldn't even get parts for anymore--with a state-of-the-art system that gives riders all the information they need to get where they are going. Her system goes well beyond "the next bus will be here in 5 minutes" information to capacity information and soon ways to adjust your trip based on real-time conditions.

Listen to Lisa's interview with Paul and learn all about that and more about the technology that runs Muni.

Also on Transit Unplugged News and Views this week:

• Transit news of the week
• Elea Carey on marketing to keep riders riding
• Mike Bismeyer tells the story of how one agency came together in a tragedy in the transit family
• Paul talks about his newly released book and book launch at APTATransform next week

Next week on Transit Unplugged In-Depth we have Vernon Everitt, Transit Commissioner for the City of Manchester in the UK.

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

Stretching from San Francisco to Gilroy (the garlic capital of the U.S.), Caltrain follows the spine of the Bay Area peninsula and straight through Silicon Valley. Having been around since the 1860s, Silicon Valley grew up around Caltrain. And unlike most commuter rail lines, Caltrain doesn't serve a single city center with traffic going one way in the morning and back in the afternoon; people travel up and down the peninsula in both directions getting to work. This is, as Michelle says, a blessing and a curse. She needs to plan for a constant flow of people north and south, no matter what time of day.

The pandemic has had its challenges for Caltrain, but Michelle and her team have adapted service throughout the day, nights, and weekends. Caltrain is coming back, but like all commuter rail lines, no one is quite sure what that's going to look like long term. One thing is for sure--electric trains! The first four trainsets have arrived ahead of full revenue service in 2024 and the trains look pretty amazing.

Learn more in this week's Transit Unplugged In-Depth.

Next week on Transit Unplugged News and Views Paul's guest will be Lisa Walton, CTO of SFMTA.

Don't forget to sign up for the newsletter and if you have a question or comment, email us at [email protected].

Suhair Al Khatib knows safety. After years at Baltimore MTA, he's now a Commissioner for Maryland on the Washington Metro Rail Safety Commission and his job is simple. Keep passengers safe. Safety isn't just about ticking boxes or enforcing rules, it's a mindset. It's knowing that putting safety first sometimes means disrupting service. Sometimes it means inconveniencing the traveling public. Because if you don't make those tough calls and let things slide, bad things can happen.

Join Paul and Suhair in talking about safety including Suhair's plans that won awards and are a model for how to make repairs with the least amount of disruption possible. 

Also in this episode:

• Updates from Paul on upcoming events
• Transit news of the week
• Mike's Minute with Mike Bismeyer
• And Julie Gates sitting in for Elea Carey

Tune in and enjoy.

Next week we have Michelle Bouchard Acting Executive Director of CalTrain to talk about the seventh largest commuter rail line in the U.S.

Don't forget to sign up for the newsletter and if you have a question, comment, or would like to be a guest on Transit Unplugged, email us at [email protected].

Our guest host Julie Gates, award-winning broadcaster and Director of Marketing at Trapeze interviews Paul about his upcoming book Conversations on Equity and Inclusion in Public Transportation. They talk about why he wrote it, what it's about, what you'll learn from it, and most importantly what it means to Paul. We also hear from Bacarra Mauldin of MARTA reading excerpts from her forward to the book and Alex Wiggins of NORTA on the practical things he's doing for diversity and inclusion in New Orleans.

Paul's book will be unveiled on October 10th in the Vontas booth at APTA TRANSform. At APTA Paul will be giving away and signing copies of the book. Several of the contributors to the book will also be on hand to sign your copy and chat. You'll be able to buy the book shortly thereafter from all the places you get books.

Next week Paul chats with Suhair Al Khatib from Metro Rail in Washington D.C.

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

We've all stood at a stop wondering when the next bus will arrive. And a lot of us have wondered why a bus didn't go where we thought it would because of a detour or closure. These are not good feelings as a rider. Steve Young, VP of Technology and Innovation at VIA Metropolitan Transit in San Antonio, TX knows a thing or two about data and customers. He and his team have pushed the limits of technology to give his customers the absolutely latest information about routes and buses.

VIA riders always know where a bus is, and route changes are updated every day so your planned trips go as planned. It's these little things that have given VIA an off the charts NPS (Net Promoter Score) rating from its customers. Hear how Steve dug into the technology and data so his team could deliver these amazing results.

Also this week on Transit Unplugged News and Views:

• This week's transit news
• Messaging Minute with Elea Carey
• Mike's Minute with Mike Bismeyer
• Update from Paul on where he'll be over the next few months, including where you can get a copy of his new book coming out in October.

And don't forget this Friday we'll have a special episode of Transit Unplugged TV from APTA Tech all about ... transit technology!

Next week on Transit Unplugged In-Depth we have Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Manchester U.K. 

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

David Scorey leads Keolis North America working with agencies across the U.S. and Canada. From starting in the trenches in the UK's rail sector to managing the MBTA commuter rail contract, and now CEO of Keolis North America, David keeps his sights on what's important to agencies and riders.

David looks at transit holistically, like how he views accessibility:

"When I talk about accessibility, many people think of step-free access, you know, elevators and things like that. And of course, that's an important part of it, but accessibility is more than that to me; it's about what we can do to take away the mystique of every journey and make it again, as easy as possible for people to travel and encourage that travel."

David leverages Keolis worldwide to both learn from other regions, but also help other regions learn from North American examples too. The Keolis KPI room is a key part of keeping sight of what's important to riders--safe, efficient journeys--and agencies--On Time Performance, budgets, and improving the transit system overall. The KPI room gives everyone at Keolis, regardless of where in the world they work, a north star for what they are working on.

Next week on Transit Unplugged News and Views, Paul is talking with Steve Young, Chief Innovation Officer at VIA in San Antonio, and technology and innovation at his agency and beyond.

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

Six years ago Steve Martingano challenged conventions with his innovative policing strategy at Denver RTD by pairing officers with mental health workers. He saw a lot of police interactions weren't criminal issues, but medical issues. People needed help. They needed medical care. They needed support. They needed housing. Steve talks with Paul about how after six years he's expanding his efforts beyond medical and mental health support to housing and social service access. Steve talks about changing mindsets about the causes and solutions of issues on transit and how it's positively affected the region.

Learn how it started, where it is today, and how he continues to help those most vulnerable in his community.

We also hear in the news segment about the billions of dollars of funding awarded for low and no emissions plus other infrastructure investments. 

Elea Carey talks about how to measure the effectiveness of your communications plans and Mike Bismeyer checks in on great work helping others in Orlando, FL.

Next week Paul is talking with David Scorey of Keolis about contracting in public transit.

If you have a question, comment, or would like to be a guest on Transit Unplugged, email info@transitunplugged.

Monica Backmon, CEO of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, has a unique job in the transit world. Her agency plans and funds transportation projects as small as traffic calming and as big as Bus Rapid Transit. And she does it across cities, towns, and counties in Northern Virginia. While often compared to a Municipal Planning Organization, NVTA has no close comparators in the United States. Her responsibility is broad and so is her mandate to help move people across her region. From supporting a town of 123 people to cities of millions with planning and funding, Monica juggles the needs of a diverse set of people in one of the fastest growing regions of the U.S.

Her extraordinary vision gives helps with diverse needs and incomes. Those for whom transit is a necessity and those who could use something else. Her goal is to improve transit and the region for a brighter, greener future through better, smarter technology.

If you have a comment, question, or would like to be a guest on Transit Unplugged, email [email protected].