Transit Unplugged

By Paul Comfort, SVP ModaxoBusiness Government Careers

Transit Unplugged episodes

April 30, 2018 Paul Wiedefeld Part 1 (of 2) – Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
“What we’re about is safety. And safety trumps service.”
One of the most famous names in the public transit industry, Paul Wiedefeld, joins Transit Unplugged. Having spent time in the public and private sector, Wiedefeld is currently the CEO of WMATA. The first in a two-part episode, Wiedefeld discusses the cultural shift from service first to safety first, the challenges of shutting down, WMATA’s SafeTrack plan, and WMATA’s Back2Good campaign. It’s an exciting one, so sit back and enjoy.
29 min
April 16, 2018 Michael Allegra – Retired Transit CEO, Utah Transit Authority
“Cities are the engines of this nation. To have healthy and thriving cities, you need a good public transportation system. You need good mobility.”
Michael Allegra, now retired, is the former CEO of the UTA. His public transit career is a bit of an oddity because he spent his entire 37-year career with a single agency. In this episode, Allegra discusses the big victories during his time at UTA (hosting the Winter Olympics and building 200km of transit in 14 years) and how partnerships were essential to their success.
Remember to check out transitunplugged.com to learn from top transit professionals and stay up to date to catch all the latest episodes.
28 min
April 16, 2018 Michael Allegra – Retired Transit CEO, Utah Transit Authority
“Cities are the engines of this nation. To have healthy and thriving cities, you need a good public transportation system. You need good mobility.”
Michael Allegra is the former CEO of the UTA. His public transit career is a bit of an oddity because he spent his entire 37-year career with a single agency. In this episode, Allegra discusses the big victories during his time at UTA (hosting the Winter Olympics and building 200km of transit in 14 years) and how partnerships were essential to their success
28 min
March 29, 2018 Carolyn Flowers – AECOM
“You have to understand the state of your assets, what is the lifecycle and what is your replacement cycle, and how are you going to prioritize [your assets].”
It is an absolute pleasure to have industry legend Carolyn Flowers on Transit Unplugged. She has held prominent roles in the industry, including COO of LA Metro, CEO of Charlotte Area Transit System, and Acting Administrator of the FTA. Now leading AECOM’s transit business in North America, Flowers gives an in-depth look at the FTA and discusses how women can be more successful in the transit industry.
If you want to know more about AECOM, you can check out their website aecom.com.
Remember to check out transitunplugged.com to learn from top transit professionals and stay up to date to catch all the latest episodes.
36 min
March 29, 2018 Carolyn Flowers – AECOM
“You have to understand the state of your assets, what is the lifecycle and what is your replacement cycle, and how are you going to prioritize [your assets].”
Industry legend Carolyn Flowers has held prominent roles in the industry, including COO of LA Metro, CEO of Charlotte Area Transit System, and Acting Administrator of the FTA. Now leading AECOM’s transit business in North America, Flowers gives an in-depth look at the FTA and discusses how women can be more successful in the transit industry.
35 min
March 15, 2018 Nat Ford – Jacksonville Transportation Authority
“I think, when we talk public transit, we are limiting ourselves. We are mobility managers.”
Nat Ford started his public transit career as a train conductor for New York MTA. He went on to work for the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). Currently, he is the CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) and Chairman of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). In this episode, Ford discusses JTA’s U2C project and his five priorities as Chair of APTA: Leadership and Advocacy, New Mobility Paradigm, Workforce Development, Leveraging Big Data, and Enterprise Risk Management.
If you want to know more about JTA, you can check out their website jtafla.com.
Remember to check out transitunplugged.com to learn from top transit professionals and stay up to date to catch all the latest episodes.
32 min
March 15, 2018 Nat Ford – Jacksonville Transportation Authority
“I think, when we talk public transit, we are limiting ourselves. We are mobility managers.”
Nat Ford started his public transit career as a train conductor for New York MTA. He went on to work for BART, MARTA, and SFMTA. He is the current CEO of JTA and Chair of APTA. In this episode, Ford discusses JTA’s U2C project and his five priorities as the Chair of APTA: Leadership and Advocacy, New Mobility Paradigm, Workforce Development, Leveraging Big Data, and Enterprise Risk Management.
32 min
February 28, 2018 Paul Ballard – Fort Worth Transportation Authority
“Anything that gets people out of the single occupant vehicle…is good for transit. It’s good for everybody. It’s good for the communities.”
Paul Ballard, CEO of Fort Worth Transportation Authority (FWTA), goes in-depth on FWTA’s new commuter service, TEXRail. Using the new Fast Light Innovative Regional Train (FLIRT), the service spans 27 miles. Ballard also talks about the T Master Plan, how bus service is like the limbs of a tree, and how they plan to expand bus service.
If you want to know more about FWTA, you can check out their website the-t.com.
Remember to check out transitunplugged.com to learn from top transit professionals and stay up to date to catch all the latest episodes.
19 min
February 28, 2018 Paul Ballard – Fort Worth Transportation Authority
“Anything that gets people out of the single occupant vehicle…is good for transit. It’s good for everybody. It’s good for the communities.”
Paul Ballard, CEO of Fort Worth Transportation Authority (FWTA), goes in-depth on FWTA’s new commuter service, TEXRail. Using the new Fast Light Innovative Regional Train (FLIRT), the service spans 27 miles. Ballard also talks about the T Master Plan, how bus service is like the limbs of a tree, and how they plan to expand bus service.
19 min
February 15, 2018 David Leininger – Dallas Area Rapid Transit
“We were going to do this in a way where it was multimodal, multijurisdictional, [and] multiproduct.”
Are disruptive and displacement technologies an opportunity? Or an existential threat? Does public transit need to start acting more like the private sector – getting speed to market, while seeking cheaper options? Is the future really mobility as a service (MaaS)? David Leininger, CFO at Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), looks to answer all this (and more) on this episode of Transit Unplugged.
If you want to know more about DART you can check out their website dart.org.
Remember to check out transitunplugged.com to learn from top transit professionals and stay up to date to catch all the latest episodes.

32 min

About Transit Unplugged

From the publisher's feed

We share the stories, challenges, and successes of the top transit professionals from around the world. Learn how top transit leaders got to where they are with stories and insights from their careers. Get the inside story about public transit and transit trends from the people who run it. Transit Unplugged is hosted and produced by Paul Comfort and brought to you by Modaxo