Transit Unplugged

“It’s important that we are connecting with the community constantly to share with them what we are up to and to figure out what it is they need from us.” 

Tina Quigley wanted to be a pilot when she grew up. When she realized that, unfortunately, that wasn’t an option she studied airport planning and business. After spending 15 years at McCarran Airport, she joined the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) as Deputy General Manager. Now General Manager, Tina is joined by MJ Maynard (Deputy General Manager) where they discuss how they can maximize opportunities because of the unique structure of the RTC. Tina shares how 100% of RTC’s service is contracted out. The two also discuss ridership, farebox recovery, autonomous vehicles, and a ton of technology the transportation space should use to its advantage. As Tina says, “Technology is the new asphalt.”

If you want to know more about RTC, 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 go into this together. We learn lessons together. And we apply the lessons for future opportunities together.”

It’s an honor to have Tom Lambert, President and CEO of Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) and APTA’s Outstanding Public Transportation Manager for 2018, on Transit Unplugged. Lambert shares how METRO’s redesigned bus network increased ridership. He also discusses his underlying principles for transit, METRO’s upcoming autonomous vehicle pilot, and a story of people working together during Hurricane Harvey and the impact it had on the community.

If you want to know more about METRO, 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.

“Our culture at MV Transportation is: Do whatever it takes for the passenger.”

Happy New Year! Transit Unplugged kicks off 2019 with the CEO of MV Transportation, Kevin Jones. Kevin Jones spent his first 30 in technology services (EDS, HP, and Dell) before arriving at MV. In this episode, Jones discusses the potential reasons a public transit agency would contract out their service, MV’s three areas of focus, and the future of MV and public transit.

If you want to know more about MV, 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.

“The mindset of the transit manager really has to balance the past with the present, with one eye looking toward the future.”

Gary Rosenfeld, CEO at Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA), started his career as a bus driver. Now, he oversees a multimodal agency that has heritage trolley, fixed route, and demand response systems. In this episode, Rosenfeld elaborates on aligning MATA’s transit vision plan with the city’s new land-use area plan and why ‘a good transit authority must embrace mobility as its key mission and address the mobility needs, incorporating the first-, last-mile issues, and the other new technologies that are making themselves available.’

If you want to know more about MATA, 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’re caught between trying to do things for the public good – trying to create economic development – but you’re also trying to be a private business.” 

Jeff Knueppel is a structural engineer by trade. He worked at the frontlines of Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) tackling aging infrastructure before working his way up the ranks at SEPTA before finally becoming General Manager. In this episode, Knueppel discusses the exciting nature of running a transit system with many different modes – trollies, elevated subway service, commuter rail, and bus, just to name a few – the complexity of the Northeast Corridor, and how he is a “not-so-undercover boss” as he spends time with his employees.

The discussion also gets into the five areas of focus for SEPTA: Customer Experience, Employee Development, Reliability/Rebuilding the System, SEPTA as a Business, and Safety and Security. Finally, Paul and Jeff discuss the future of SEPTA, how they are pushing to into all-electric buses, where the benefit of ridesharing is, and how the biggest value of autonomous vehicles is to improve safety – there is likely to be a human element for quite some time.  

If you want to know more about SEPTA, 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.