Transit Unplugged

This week's episode comes to you from Las Vegas, Nevada when Paul visited RTC of Southern Nevada CEO MJ Maynard and her team. These segments are excerpted from the upcoming Transit Unplugged TV episode--the first episode for Transit Unplugged TV.

Also in this episode are Deputy CEOs Francis Julien and David Swallow as well as Antonette Braddock who talks about RTC's new mobile app for their network.

At RTC MJ Maynard and her team are doing great things for their community. They used COVID relief funds to bring service to a public transit desert in the desert with on-demand microtransit, kept essential runs and operators running during the pandemic, and continued their pilot/program with an autonomous vehicle shuttle from downtown to the medical center.

MJ Maynard was also a part of the women leaders in transit panel just held at APTA EXPO 2021 (and a future episode of Transit Unplugged In-Depth and Transit Unplugged TV).

If you have questions, comments, or want to be a guest on Transit Unplugged, email us any time at [email protected]. 

Welcome to season 5! Kicking off Season 5, Episode 1 we have a chat with Roger Helmy, Director of Product Management at Modaxo. Then Paul talks with regular contributor Mike Bismeyer about his Kindness is Cool campaign.

We hear from Elea Carey on how to keep your messaging relevant and top of mind for riders.

And finally, Paul and Tris talk about everything going on at APTA EXPO 2021.

Paul will be at the Trapeze-Vontas booth (booth 353) talking with GMs Teresa Domingo and Peter Aczel from 11-12:30 on Monday. We'll be taping a live Transit Unplugged segment at the Tripspark booth (booth 769) at 1:30.

Tuesday is the big day with the live CEO roundtable at 11:30 then Cocktails with Comfort at 3:00 where we celebrate 4 years of Transit Unplugged and show the Transit Unplugged TV teaser.

You can learn more about what's on tap at APTA EXPO 2021 on the Trapeze-Vontas APTA EXPO 2021 event page. 

Links mentioned in the post:

• Paul's post on steps to safety
• Pink Shirt Day

If you have questions, feedback, or would like to be a guest on Transit Unplugged, email us any time at [email protected].

This week's show is an edited re-broadcast of the UITP and Trapeze-sponsored Connected Journeys webinar from earlier this summer.

Paul leads a discussion with:

• Abimbola Akinajo, CEO, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) 
• Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO, Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)
• Djan Fanny, Director of Operations, AMUGA

About what they are doing to promote public transit and develop more integrated, connected journeys in their cities.

This episode brings home how, around the world, all transit agencies face the same challenges getting people to choose transit over private cars. The innovations the panelists are bringing in--like loyalty card programs and autonomous taxis--are truly innovative tools we all need to take note of.

Next week on Transit Unplugged, Paul talks with frequent contributor Mike Bismeyer about his Kindness is Cool campaign and his recent CUTA award. Then Paul will talk with Modaxo's Roger Helmy about innovations in transit and what their vision of the future of transit is.

If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on Transit Unplugged, email us any time at [email protected].

This is a very special Transit Unplugged News and Views. This week we not only hear from Katrina Heineking and W.C. Pihl from Transdev about autonomous vehicles, but Paul reveals all the things going on at APTA EXPO in a few weeks.

In the news segment, Paul gives you all the details on what's going on with Transit Unplugged, Transit Unplugged TV, and the other places you can find him at APTA EXPO. If you'd like to stay in the loop about everything that's going on, and get reminders when events are happening, sign up for updates on the Trapeze APTA EXPO microsite.

Next, we hear from Katrina and W.C. about everything Transdev is doing with Waymo in the autonomous vehicle space. 

Finally we hear from Mike about mentorship. Mentorship is one of the most fulfilling things you can do in your career. If you have the chance to do it, take it.

If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on Transit Unplugged feel free to email us any time at [email protected].

Full transcript for this episode is available on TransitUnplugged.com.

Paul travelled to Nashville, TN to talk with Nashville MTA CEO Steve Bland and his leadership team about all the improvements and innovations they've done in the past year. From safety to route planning to stations and stops, there is little that they haven't improved on.

Which is, of course, music to our ears.

This episode was also filmed for an upcoming episode of Transit Unplugged TV. 

People you will hear:

• Steve Bland, Nashville MTA CEO
• Approaches to COVID Response and Workplace Safety – Nick Oldham
• Better Bus and Service Restoration Reshuffling – Felix Castrodad and Katie Freudberg
• Stop Improvement Program and the Nolensville Pike Bike/Transit Corridor – Trey Walker and Lydia Benda
• Transit Signal Priority and our Emerging Headway Management System in the Charlotte Corridor – Dan Freudberg & Lydia Benda
• WeGo Link – Dan Freudberg
• Telling our Story and Getting Riders Back – Renuka Christoph

Next week we're getting behind the wheel of micro transit with Waymo and Transdev.

One of the biggest challenges at transit agencies during the pandemic has been making sure there was enough money to stay in operation. In New Mexico, the Department of Transportation took a unique approach that underscores the spirit of cooperation we found throughout the transit industry.

They funded the operating expenses for the 21 transit agencies in the state and were able to do that because the three largest agencies in the state agreed to forego their share of federal funding to help the other 18 agencies.

David Harris, Director of Transit and Rail Division in the New Mexico Department of Transportation tells Paul how this unique funding plan came together and how his state of 2 million people is connected by bus and rail.

Next week we have a special episode from Nashville, Tennesee and hear from not just the head of the agency, but his executive team as well. The interviews from the episode will also air as one of the upcoming Transit Unplugged TV episodes, along with extra behind-the-scenes footage of the agency and the city.

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

Until next week, ride safe and ride happy.

As a woman in transit and the tech industry, it’s not every day that you get to see female leaders in transit share how they got to where they are today and the hurdles they had to overcome to do so. Transit has traditionally been a male-dominated industry; and years ago, it would’ve been rare to see a female CEO rise up the ranks.

It’s inspiring that that’s no longer the case.

On today’s episode of Transit Unplugged, we put together more than just an interview with one female transit leader – for the first time ever, we brought together an all-female panel from leaders on transit in the land down under, to talk about their journeys, share career advice, and learn from their inspiring stories.

Four years ago, I was one of the individuals behind the scenes that worked with Paul Comfort to create the Transit Unplugged podcast. To witness the evolution of where we started to where we are today encourages me to continue to shoot for the stars and shows me the power of female leadership in such an important industry.

That’s why this note might sound a little different than our other show notes. Normally they’re written by our producer, Tris Hussey, but for today’s all-female show, I decided to peek out from behind the curtain and share a few words about what episodes like this, and stories like these, mean to a young female and dare-I-say leader in transit.

I hope you enjoy the episode and share it – more people need to hear these stories.

Now, I’ll head back behind the scenes!

Vicky Abihsira, Director of Integrated Marketing, Trapeze Group

This week's guests are:

• Magda Robertson, General Manager, Torrens Connect
• Catherine Baxter, COO Metro Trains
• Samantha Abeydeera, Executive Director Strategic Operations, Transport for New South Wales
• Michelle Batsas, Executive Director, UITP, Australia and New Zealand who also hosts the Women Who Move Nations podcast

Next week on Transit Unplugged News and Views we have David Harris Director of Transport and Rail for the Department of Transportation in New Mexico.

If you want to get in touch with the show, be a guest, or have feedback, you can email us at [email protected].

More and more agencies are going green and reducing their carbon emissions. There are lots of ways to get there, but one that isn't talked about often is hydrogen fuel cell electric buses.

Karl Gnadt of Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District is serious about going zero emissions. And truly zero emissions. In October his agency will open its solar-powered hydrogen generating and fueling complex and deploy its first hydrogen fuel cell electric buses. Making this deployment truly zero emissions. No fossil fuels will be burned to power these buses. A truly fantastic achievement.

Paul, of course, has his usual transit industry news update and at the end of the show, he reveals some exciting changes coming to the show.

If you have feedback, comments, or like to be on the show, just drop us a line at [email protected].

Julien Dehornoy, CEO of Yarra Trams, is responsible for the iconic Melbourne streetcar tram system. This is storied tram system has run continuously since 1884 and is the longest light rail system in the world.

Which is a blessing and a curse.

Julien wants to modernize the tram system to make it more efficient, more nimble, more accessible, and faster. But that's easier said than done when you're working with legacy systems.

In this episode, you'll hear about Julien's vision for the future of the tram system and for public transport as a whole in Melbourne.

Next week on Transit Unplugged News and Views we head to Illinois and learn about the hydrogen generating and refueling complex at Champaign Urbana Mass Transit District. Hope you'll tune in.

Feedback? Questions? Want to be a guest on the show? Email us at [email protected].

It's not often you get the results of a customer survey and the results clearly say, "we think you're doing great, can you do more of it please?". But that's what David Bruffy of Mountain Line Transit in Morgantown, West Virginia found when he got feedback from his community.

And while his plans for helping his community, including microtransit and helping the unbanked in a universal fare program, are important, just as important is what he does to recharge. David runs Smoke n Mirrors Photography as a side business/passion project that helps him stay grounded and use both sides of his brain.

It's important, as Mike Bismeyer will tell you in his Mike's Minute segment, to have those things to connect you with others. Especially now we need to have ways to connect and see the bigger world around us.

Speaking of survey's Elea Carey gives some great advice for using open and close-ended questions in surveys. Both types are essential to getting a complete picture of what people are really thinking.

Next week on Transit Unplugged In-Depth Julien Dehornoy of Yarra Trams is talking with Paul about light rail.

We'd love to hear from you! You can email us at [email protected] with comments, questions, or if you'd like to be a guest. 

Until next week, ride safe and ride happy.