Transit Unplugged

“Who says, just because you are a small agency, you have to do stuff that’s in this little box marked small operations?” 

Bacarra Mauldin got her start in the transit industry as a board member on the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority. Since then, she has been an active and passionate member in the industry – having been part of many American Public Transportation Association committees and making a move to the ClasTran board. Now, Executive Director of ClasTran, Mauldin focuses on developing the workforce of tomorrow with a focus on customer service and perfecting paratransit operations through coordination.  

She also discusses the role of transit boards, the value of APTA and learning from others, and how the heart of the business is serving the community to make people’s lives better.  

If you want to know more about ClasTran, you can check out their website. 

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

“We think, from a customer service standpoint, letting the customer decide what they want is pretty cool.” 

The definition of mobility is changing, so what does mean to be a public transit agency? In the eyes of Gary Thomas, President and Executive Director at Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), it means becoming the mobility manager and integrator for the Dallas region. One of the ways they can do this is via their GoPass app.  

The app offers mobility as a service options based on the criteria most important to the individual user. Is their preferred option based on cost or trip time? Additionally, the app offers cash options for unbanked users or those that don’t want their credit card tied to an app. Finally, you’ll learn about a great feature that caps fares once you’ve purchased the equivalent to a monthly pass, saving some riders $60-80 a month. 

Learn all that and more on this episode of Transit Unplugged. 

If you want to know more about DART, you can check out their website. 

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

“2 + 2 = 5”

What does mobility innovations mean to you? Some might say autonomous vehicles or even the Hyperloop. But what about a nationwide demand response service? Now that sounds innovative. In this bonus episode of Transit Unplugged, focussed on mobility innovations, Per Bo Christensen, CEO of FlexDanmark and Thomas Øster, Managing Director of one of the local transit systems, join Paul Comfort to discuss how a nationwide demand response service works in Denmark.

Approximately ten years ago, the major public transit agencies (PTAs) in Denmark banded together to create the demand response cooperative, FlexDanmark, to share resources and create more efficiencies. Leveraging a single dispatching source, they can make 2 + 2 = 5 because of the coordinated effort of leveraging ~500 operators during off-peak periods.

FlexDanmark is also leveraged to help rural areas of the country have a first- and last-mile option that feeds into the high-density routes. They’ve been able to eliminate inefficient rural routes, yet still provide a way for those citizens a way to get around using public transit.

Some of the reasons for the success of this program is Denmark’s nationwide ticketing system, a mixed financing model (PTAs on a pay as you go model for using FlexDanmark), and automating as many manual processes as possible (people taking calls). Using these techniques, they’ve been able to create economies of scale to drive the success of the program. However, the Denmark PTAs aren’t resting on their laurels - they are continually thinking of how to develop and improve their model. There isn't one model that works, so you need to test them out – some work, some fail, but you will see and learn a lot of interesting and positive things when you continuously look to innovate your mobility options.

Join us once a quarter for these bonus episodes highlighting some of the industry’s best mobility innovations. 

If you want to know more about FlexDanmark, you can check out their website.

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

“You can start using information, using artificial intelligence, to start delivering better transportation to the masses.”

John Sisson started at the Delaware Transit Corporation (DTC – at the time called the Delaware Transit Authority) as an intern in his junior year of school. Since then, he has spent a good majority of his career there – working through the facilities and performance management sides of the business before becoming CEO. During this episode of Transit Unplugged, Sisson shares DTC’s unique statewide-structure (for fixed route and paratransit) and how 45% of their budget goes to operating paratransit service.

Sisson also dives into the importance of using data and technology to deliver a better customer experience to the transportation masses, using things like artificial intelligence and connected vehicles. Then, he elaborates on the challenges of finding and retaining the transit workforce – why you “hire for attitude and train for skill” – and the future focuses of DTC (mobility as a service, autonomous vehicles, and safety).

All that, and more, on this episode of Transit Unplugged.

If you want to know more about DTC, you can check out their website.

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

“Can you do [same-day paratransit service] in a cost-effective fashion?” 

Joining Transit Unplugged is Andre Colaiace, Executive Director at Access Services in Los Angeles, California, one of the few standalone ADA paratransit agencies in the United States. In this episode, Andre highlights that paratransit is a civil right, how to balance the needs of your customers against the needs of your contractors, a quick lesson on transit funding, and shares his thoughts on the future of paratransit in America.

If you want to know more about Access Services, you can check out their website. 

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