“Transit was very critical to me being able to live the American dream.” Joining the Transit Unplugged podcast for this episode is Alex Wiggins, CEO of New Orleans Regional Transit Authority. Alex has had a long and storied career in the transit industry, and he shares how his past experiences have shaped how he leads today. Alex also provides an in-depth look at how New Orleans RTA responded to COVID-19 and discusses his commitment to equity and transit for all. If you want to know more about N...
Jan 27, 2021•29 min•Season 4Ep. 13
“Our board made a decision very early on that if we could remove the barriers to use, more people would ride. They would frequent more businesses. They would spend more money… We think our ridership is 30% to 40% higher than it would have been with a fare, and it has totally changed the dynamic for how people view the system and its ease of use.” On this episode of Comfort's Corner, part of the Transit Unplugged podcast, Tom Gerend, Executive Director at Kansas City Streetcar Authority, joins Pa...
Jan 20, 2021•35 min•Season 4Ep. 12
"We operate the longest driverless Metro system in the whole world currently. Unlike what you normally see around Europe, the far East, etc., our Metro stations are built more like five-star hotels, very fancy transport mobility hubs, that encourage people to use the different mobility services." Joining the Transit Unplugged podcast for this episode is Ahmed Hashem Bahrozyan, Chief Executive Officer of the Roads & Transport Authority in Dubai, United Arab Emirate (UAE). Ahmed is responsible...
Jan 13, 2021•41 min•Season 4Ep. 11
"We came together to form this Public-Private Partnership, where we were able to provide what will eventually be the largest on-demand publicly provided microtransit service in the country." On this episode of Comfort's Corner, part of the Transit Unplugged podcast, Joshua Schank joins Paul Comfort from Los Angeles to discuss his career in the transit industry. He talks about how the CEO created his role, "The Office of Extraordinary Innovation," to allow LA Metro, a public sector agency, to imp...
Jan 06, 2021•35 min•Season 4Ep. 10
"Bi-State Development is one of the few agencies set by a charter, by an act of Congress. We have a federal charter that notes the governance of Bi-State and allows for the interoperability of a transit system across two states, multiple jurisdictions, and multiple towns." Joining the Transit Unplugged podcast for this episode is Taulby Roach, the President & CEO of Bi-State Development. Taulby Roach has worked in and around the transit system for the past 20 years. The skillset he has acqui...
Dec 31, 2020•23 min•Season 4Ep. 9
"Transport for London is probably one of the most integrated transport authorities in the world, in the sense that we not only planned for but also operate pretty much all of the public transport in the city. But crucially, we also are responsible for the planning for an operation of the road network." On this episode of Comfort's Corner, part of the Transit Unplugged podcast, Ben Plowden joins Paul Comfort from London to discuss Transport for London's restart and recovery program. He shares ide...
Dec 23, 2020•41 min•Season 4Ep. 8
"When we complete the six phases of the transit system in Tanzania, we expect to have more than 3,000 BRT buses in the city, and they will replace what we have currently, nearly 10,000 local buses." Joining the Transit Unplugged podcast for this episode is Ronald Lwakatare, Chief Executive of Dar Rapid Transit Agency (DART) in Tanzania. Ronald joined DART in January 2016 as Chief Executive and is working hard to bring future public transportation to his nation and city. In this episode, Ronald s...
Dec 15, 2020•32 min•Season 4Ep. 7
"In many ways, Los Angeles is going to become one of the key global hubs of new mobility. It is the largest urban car market globally, and in terms of the metro area, one of the world's biggest, along with New York and Tokyo. What happens in LA affects everything else in the world, and we are excited for CoMotion to be here." On this episode of Comfort's Corner, part of the Transit Unplugged podcast, John Rossant joins Paul Comfort to discuss his career as Chair of New Cities Foundation and the ...
Dec 09, 2020•36 min•Season 4Ep. 6
“We are constantly looking at our systems and working to ensure that when we do roll out, we do not have to roll back.” Joining the Transit Unplugged podcast for this episode is Abimbola Akinajo, the Managing Director and CEO of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA). Abimbola Akinajo is a chartered civil engineer with over 25 years of experience working in the United Kingdom and Nigeria on the design and delivery of major rail and road transport infrastructure projects. This e...
Dec 01, 2020•28 min•Season 4Ep. 5
“When looking through an industrial lens, how the future of transit might look will highly depend on its workforce. It will depend on the future of decent and sustainable work in urban transport services.” On this episode of Comfort’s Corner, part of the Transit Unplugged podcast, Alejandra Cruz Ross joins Paul Comfort from Geneva to discuss her career, outlook on the future of public transit, and career goals. Though most importantly, as the Transport Specialist in the Sectoral Policies Departm...
Nov 25, 2020•33 min•Season 4Ep. 4
“[Of our 160-million-dollar operating budget], we are proud that 88% goes to direct service on the road and 12% goes to administration. We try to keep that within that range for our 32 local routes.” Joining Paul Comfort on this episode of “Transit Unplugged” is Sue Dreier, Chief Executive Officer of Pierce Transit, a public transit operator for Pierce County, Washington. Pierce Transit offers fixed route bus, vanpool, microtransit, and paratransit services, all with the goal of connecting peopl...
Nov 16, 2020•31 min•Season 4Ep. 3
“The [interviews I have conducted over the last three years] confirmed that CEOs of public transit agencies have a very tough job. They are half politician and half operations director. They are a staff leader and a planner.” This episode marks the 3rd anniversary of Transit Unplugged! As one of the world’s first podcasts for public transit professionals, the show is now listened to in over 99 countries. In honor of this milestone, we have compiled a few best moments and key learnings out of the...
Nov 12, 2020•27 min•Season 4Ep. 2
“Though there is a second wave [of COVID-19] in many countries, the ridership of public transport is not decreasing – it is still increasing. Thus, the main difference from the first wave is that we now know [public transportation] is safe and people know how to behave.” On this episode of Comfort’s Corner, part of the Transit Unplugged podcast, Mohamed Mezghani, Elected Secretary General of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) joins Paul Comfort to discuss his current work a...
Nov 04, 2020•32 min•Season 4Ep. 1
“[As NATA members], I think we collectively felt a sense of duty to the communities we serve to create an organization that advocates for effective public transportation systems, plays a leading role in serving the needs of cities across North America, and maintains confidence in public transportation.” Tom Egan, Chief Executive Officer of MV Transportation is a dedicated leader to both his company and the industry. On this episode of Transit Unplugged, Tom virtually sat down with host and trans...
Oct 28, 2020•20 min•Season 3Ep. 53
“We are social creatures. We are going to go back to the offices. So, the next twelve months for me will be spent planning for that increase in patronage. [I will be looking for] ways to run the timetable better, provide a better customer experience, and ensure the public that our transit is safe to travel on.” On this episode of Transit Unplugged Magda Robertson, General Manager at Torrens Connect, joins Paul Comfort from Australia to discuss careers, goals, technology, and predictions for the ...
Oct 20, 2020•43 min•Season 3Ep. 52
“We are going to phase 13 routes in over many years, but once those are in place, we will serve a population of 487,000. That is a 169% increase. On the job side, right now our market share is about 137,500 jobs, and that will see a 127% increase to make it roughly 312,500 jobs. This is a revolutionary change in how we do business.” William Harrell, President and CEO at Hampton Roads Transit, joins Transit Unplugged to discuss what has been made possible for his community in Virginia as a result...
Oct 15, 2020•25 min•Season 3Ep. 51
“I think it is incredibly important that staff at all levels get regular exposure to their [transit] system. Doing so, gives you a greater perspective and will help you be more effective in your job.” This week on Transit Unplugged, Paul Comfort hosts three of Mass Transit magazine’s 40 Under 40 honorees who have been recognized as outstanding young individuals actively making a difference in the public transit industry. Guests include Alice Grossman, an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow...
Oct 07, 2020•43 min•Season 3Ep. 50
“I think great data and analytics, joining up the various data pools in the organization, will challenge our thinking and will open up new opportunities we have not thought of and help our customers in ways we did not think we could.” Joining this episode of “Transit Unplugged” from Australia is Rodd Staples, Secretary of Transport for New South Wales. In this role, Rodd leads 25,000 employees and oversees an expansive public transport ecosystem that serves a state population of over 8 million p...
Sep 30, 2020•32 min•Season 3Ep. 49
“Many people in our industry get up every day to make sure that Canadians, Americans, and commuters around the world get to where they need to be. To do that, it creates an environment where you continuously need to be improving, figuring out the next trend, and in the meanwhile, operating a business and transit operations effectively. All of which requires a great deal of self-motivation.” On this week’s episode of Transit Unplugged – Comfort’s Corner, your host Paul Comfort, kicks off a series...
Sep 23, 2020•43 min•Season 3Ep. 48
“We need to think about...how we harness social media…new technology…messaging in vehicles...how we give the attending customers as much information as we can, so they can make good transportation choices.” Neil Scales, Director-General of Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, joins Transit Unplugged to discuss his career, the transit industry, and the exciting ecosystem of operations that his department oversees. The Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads is working towa...
Sep 15, 2020•43 min•Season 3Ep. 47
“We did a lot of user research to understand what kinds of information did people need? What did they want? How should it best be presented so that it would be as useful as possible? That user-based research is really a cornerstone of the way that we try to attack problems here.” In today’s Comfort’s Corner episode, we hear from David Gerstle, Chief Digital Officer at MBTA, a messaging minute from Elea Carey on focusing your transit service as a mobility utility, and a new Mike’s Minute on the g...
Sep 09, 2020•34 min•Season 3Ep. 46
“I had huge empathy for front line employees. I always have. But it also really influenced my management philosophy because very occasionally when the top brass visited Regents Park and…or on occasion they’d stop and say hello to you. And then you’d feel 10 foot tall. That always resonated with me. It’s seared into my psyche. So now if you ever follow me around in transport on any of the jobs I’ve done or watch me walk through a subway station or out on the streets I will not walk past one of my...
Sep 01, 2020•32 min•Season 3Ep. 45
“Never a dull moment, which is what I’ve always loved about this industry ‘cause it changes, the opportunities change and you know it’s infectious….I think what’s fun about it now what’s exciting about it now is technology now plays such a huge role in transit that we’re getting all of these just young and smart bright people in the industry “ Dick Alexander, CEO of TransDev, the largest privately owned transportation company in the world, and Chairman of the North American Transit Alliance (NAT...
Aug 26, 2020•40 min•Season 3Ep. 44
“Transport is not only one solution. It’s a combination of different solutions...Integration of the different modes of transport [to provide] mobility.” In today’s Comfort’s Corner episode, we hear from Arnaud Legrand, CEO of RATP Dev USA, a messaging minute from Elea Carey on focusing your messaging on the outcomes of transit, and a new Mike’s Minute on the value of mentorship. Plus, Paul Comfort shares a reading from his book the Future of Public Transportation. Arnaud Legrand, CEO of RATP Dev...
Aug 19, 2020•44 min•Season 3Ep. 43
“We could see these technology improvements coming, and the changes in the industry… we felt that…our fastrak would be the perfect opportunity…to start implementing automated technologies.” Dennis Solensky, Public Transit Administrator, Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), joins Transit Unplugged to discuss the transit industry, his career, and an exciting autonomous bus project that will be launching at the end of 2020. Dennis has a strong passion for the public transit industry, w...
Aug 14, 2020•24 min•Season 3Ep. 42
In today’s Comfort’s Corner episode, we hear from Sam Sargent, Deputy Chief of Staff at Capital Metro, a messaging minute from Elea Carey on the importance of internal messaging, and a new Mike’s Minute on the power of kindness. Plus, learn Paul’s top ten ways to future proof your transit agency! Sam Sargent, Deputy Chief of Staff at Capital Metro, shares the impact that COVID-19 has had on transit ridership in Austin, Texas. Capital Metro has approached COVID in 3 phases: responding, recovering...
Aug 05, 2020•43 min•Season 3Ep. 41
"You're going to be in a place in your career where you're going to need mentors. You're going to need trusted people that you can talk [to] about the aspects where you may not have the career strength." Michael Hursh, General Manager of AC Transit joins Transit Unplugged to provide us with an outlook on his career, experiences, and his role at AC Transit for the past five years. Michael provides an update on the impact COVID-19 has had on ridership in Alameda Contra Costa and what implications ...
Jul 31, 2020•31 min•Season 3Ep. 40
“How do we maximize the full scope of services that best serve the community? That comes from the standpoint of environment…social equity…mobility. Those big picture goals are going to be critical as we move into this post-COVID phase.” In today’s Comfort’s Corner episode, we hear from Doran Barnes, Executive Director at Foothill Transit in Los Angeles, a messaging minute from Elea Carey on how to improve your agency’s press relations with local journalists/reporters, and a new Mike’s Minute on ...
Jul 22, 2020•34 min•Season 3Ep. 39
“The important thing about transit…It is the engine for economics and economic development.” In this special edition of Transit Unplugged, you’ll hear a global view on what is happening around the world in the public transit industry, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Today’s episode is a two-part feature from a recent live webinar with global panelists. In the first half, our host, Paul Comfort, shares an overview of how to future-proof your agency – and what tools and technologies can be l...
Jul 16, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Season 3Ep. 38
“We may see some short-term pain, but in the long run, I think it's going to stabilize itself…and public transportation is going to be a big piece of that. On our first BRT, we saw almost 100-150 million dollars in economic development as a result of us putting a BRT line on our major corridor." As COVID-19 affects public transit dramatically, we're proud to present a special edition of Transit Unplugged led by transit evangelist and Trapeze VP Paul Comfort. In today's episode, we hear from Shaw...
Jul 09, 2020•36 min•Season 3Ep. 37
