Transport for London (TfL) covers every transport means possible from the iconic red double-deck buses to The Tube to trains and even ferries. Which means the person in charge of it all has a lot going on at any given moment. Andy Lord, Commissioner for TfL spent over 25 years in aviation before coming to transit in 2019 to run The Tube with then Commissioner Andy Byford. Sitting down with Paul, Andy about his career and the enormity of the job of managing nearly 30,000 people moving millions of...
May 15, 2024•30 min•Season 7Ep. 29
This week we're celebrating the release of Paul's newest book, The New Future of Public Transportation , which is the sequel to The Future of Public Transportation published early in 2020. To say public transport faced an crisis or inflection point in the past four years is an understatement. In this updated edition, Paul collected essays by 30 transit leaders from around the world covering every major topic facing transit today from workforce to safety, infrastructure to faring. On the show tod...
May 08, 2024•38 min•Season 7Ep. 28
In a previous episode we talked about SEPTA's innovative SCOPE (Safety, Cleaning, Ownership, Partnership, and Engagement) program -- https://transitunplugged.com/transit-unplugged-podcast/how-septa-is-making-a-difference-in-the-lives-of-vulnerable-people/ -- and how it was helping the city's most vulnerable people. This week we get the big picture from the woman at the head of it all. Emily Yates reports right to CEO Leslie Richards and leads a team that's willing to take a risk on something new...
May 01, 2024•26 min•Season 7Ep. 27
Transit Unplugged, the world's leading podcast for transit professionals, is hosted and produced by Modaxo SVP and transit evangelist Paul Comfort. Each week, Paul sits down with public transit leaders from around the world to talk about their agencies, how they're facing current challenges, their thoughts on the future of public transit, plus insights into their careers and their approaches to leadership. You'll learn exactly what it's like to lead a transit agency, big or small, urban or rural...
Apr 24, 2024•47 sec
Welcome to episode 300 of Transit Unplugged! When Paul started the podcast in November 2017, I don't think anyone would have thought that seven seasons later we'd be at our 300th episode. Paul started this podcast to shine a light on the impact of transit on society and give transit leaders a chance to talk about their agencies and their careers, unfiltered and unplugged. Throughout the pandemic Paul interviewed leaders about what it all meant to transit. How were agencies dealing with health re...
Apr 24, 2024•31 min•Season 7Ep. 26
Justin Stuehrenberg GM of Madison Metro and his team used COVID as the impetus to finally put a long-planned system redesign into motion and completed it in June 2023. Since then they've seen a 15% increase in ridership. Justin and Paul talked about how his new network works, how geography figured into it, and the new bus rapid transit (BRT) lines coming soon that will use battery electric buses charged en route with overhead pantographs. Also in this episode: Being part of city government--the ...
Apr 17, 2024•23 min•Season 7Ep. 25
In this special episode we have guest host, and past guest, Dr. Kaan Yildizgoz hosting a live CEO roundtable from the Modaxo booth at the UITP MENA Transport Congress and Exhibition. Kaan is joined by: Renée Amilcar: President of UITP & General Manager of OC Transpo, Canada Abdulla Al Marzouqi: Director General – Integrated Transport Centre (ITC), Abu Dhabi Mohammed Obaid Al Mulla: Member of the Board of Directors of Roads and Transport Authority & Chair of UITP MENA Division, Dubai Kaan...
Apr 15, 2024•25 min
Usually on Transit Unplugged we bring you the voices and stories of transit leaders from around the world, but this week we have something a little different. Join Paul as he sits down with Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt to talk about transit, politics, and changing how people view public transit in his city. As David describes it, like many cities West of the Mississippi, Oklahoma City was planned, developed, and built for cars. Transit was seen as transportation of last resort. What this trans...
Apr 10, 2024•29 min•Season 7Ep. 24
Update July 31, 2024: This podcast episode, the companion podcast episode, and the Transit Unplugged TV episode were honored with a Spotlight Award by the South West Transit Association. More info here: https://transitunplugged.com/transit-unplugged-2024-spotlight-award/ We kicked off 2024 with an episode with Rep. Earl Blumenauer-- https://transit-unplugged.captivate.fm/portland-streetcar --who could be credited for the modern streetcar boom in America, and this week we see how streetcars actua...
Apr 03, 2024•29 min•Season 7Ep. 23
Update July 31, 2024: This podcast episode, the companion podcast episode, and the Transit Unplugged TV episode were honored with a Spotlight Award by the South West Transit Association. More info here: https://transitunplugged.com/transit-unplugged-2024-spotlight-award/ Frank White III is a strong advocate of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and has a track record of making it happen. He oversaw TOD for Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) before becoming CEO nearly two years ago...
Mar 27, 2024•23 min•Season 7Ep. 22
Welcome to another special edition of Transit Unplugged featuring an episode from another transit podcast. This time we welcome past guest Brandon Bartneck with an episode from The Future of Mobility featuring autonomous vehicle visionary Larry Burns. The episode was released in August 2023. The original show notes are below: Aug 2023 https://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/larryburns2/ Larry Burns is a pioneer in the electrified and automated vehicle space, highly successful industry veter...
Mar 20, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 7Ep. 21
Hydrogen is one of the hottest topics in transit right now, but hydrogen is facing a huge challenge to reduce its cost and increase its availability across North America (and the world). Paul sits down with Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) CEO Kirt Conrad--who manages the largest fleet of hydrogen fuel cell buses outside California--and Ballard Power Systems Dir of Market Development and Public Affairs, Tim Sasseen to talk about hydrogen as a fuel, how hydrogen fuel cells work, and ...
Mar 13, 2024•26 min•Season 7Ep. 20
In part two of our series featuring Tulsa, OK, host Paul Comfort gets a special tour of Downtown Tulsa with Chase Phillips, the Director of Planning for MetroLink Tulsa. Chase talks about the city's rich history, architectural wonders, and the role of transit in its development. Chase sheds light on Tulsa's transformation from a 1920s hub of oil wealth, with the largest airport in the world at the time, to a vibrant city maintaining its historic charm with a modern makeover. They tour the city, ...
Mar 06, 2024•19 min•Season 7Ep. 19
In the first of two podcast episodes--and an upcoming Transit Unplugged TV episode--from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Paul chats with MetroLink Tulsa ( https://www.tulsatransit.org/ ) CEO Scott Marr about: His city His career in transit The overwhelming success of microtransit and merging it with paratransit operations His plans for expanding Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to Route 66 for the 100th anniversary And the path to lower emissions with CNG and battery-electric buses After a long career as a transit fixe...
Feb 28, 2024•21 min•Season 7Ep. 18
This is a special episode of Transit Unplugged shared with us from our friends at the Transit Authority by APTA . Recorded live at APTA EXPO 2023 in Orlando, Florida, Art Guzzetti, VP of Policy and Mobility at APTA, interviews Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardener. Make sure you follow the Transit Authority wherever you listen to podcasts. Here are the show notes for this episode originally released October, 12, 2023. "Recorded on the trade show floor at APTA’s EXPO 2023 in Orlando, Florida, our special g...
Feb 21, 2024•41 min•Season 7Ep. 17
Holly Arnold has spent her entire career at the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA). Starting as a contractor in grants administration then leading capital planning and then Deputy Administrator responsible for engineering before she became Administrator and CEO two years ago. The head of the MTA is a massive job. Not only is she responsible for massive capital projects--like the largest public-private partnership (P3) in the U.S., the Purple Line--she is responsible for transit in the City of...
Feb 14, 2024•25 min•Season 7Ep. 16
When you think of big city transit agencies you think about Boston, New York, Toronto, LA, San Francisco...maybe not Mississauga, Ontario. It might surprise you that this city of one million people supports a transit system with over 500 buses and serves as the essential connector between cities East, West, and North (South is Lake Ontario). Mississauga Transit (or MiWay) helps people in Brampton, Oakville, and Toronto get to jobs and school. But they seem to be doing something right because the...
Feb 07, 2024•26 min•Season 7Ep. 15
When we think about public transit we often think about subways or buses travelling through bustling cities, we don't often think of small towns in the midst of woods and fields. But the reality is there are thousands of rural transit agencies in North America serving people and places miles and miles away from each other. In this episode, host Paul Comfort talks with with Wendy Weedon, Deputy CEO of the Brazos Transit District in Texas, and Eddie VanStein, the Steuben County Mobility Manager in...
Jan 31, 2024•24 min•Season 7Ep. 14
There is more than a little bit of irony that when we have unprecedented levels of funding to buy and replace buses, there is a manufacturing crunch so there are few buses to be had--and with longer delivery times. From manufacturing delays and fewer manufacturers to massive price increases, agencies are pushing buses well beyond their useful life. How can we solve this crisis to not only meet the needs of today's riders, but make the transition to zero emissions? To talk about the topic, this w...
Jan 24, 2024•32 min•Season 7Ep. 13
Sometimes we're so afraid of making mistakes, that we don't push ourselves to take a chance on a new innovative idea. We've all been there, but in this conversation Adam Barth, CEO of the Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority--https://stanrta.org/--, reveals advice he got from a mentor at a critical time in his career. Paul Comfort sat down with Adam Barth, CEO of Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority to talk about his career journey from starting our as a tour bus driver in Fairbanks, Alaska, t...
Jan 17, 2024•28 min•Season 7Ep. 12
Host Paul Comfort interviews Ken Divers, Director of Outreach Programs at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), and Flora Castillo, President of Pivot Strategies and former APTA chair, about SEPTA's innovative SCOPE (Safety, Cleaning, Ownership, Partnership, and Engagement) program. Ken and Flora talk with Paul about how they created the program over a weekend and its goals for helping vulnerable people. One of the main goals is connecting people with resources to help ...
Jan 10, 2024•22 min•Season 7Ep. 11
Over his five-decade long career in politics Congressman Earl Blumenauer has been a staunch support of transit and livable cities. Paul sat down with Rep. Blumenauer after a chance meeting at the Impact Conference in Phoenix last fall to talk about his life, career, passions, and what's next after he leaves Congress at the end of his term. In their wide-ranging discussion, Paul and Rep. Blumenauer talk about what got him into politics, and more importantly, his lifelong passion for streetcars, t...
Jan 03, 2024•28 min•Season 7Ep. 10
We have a special holiday gift for you with a special bonus episode to close out the year. We worked with Jeff Wood from Talking Headways and The Overhead Wire -- https://theoverheadwire.com/ -- to trade episodes with each other. Jeff will be playing our interview with Randy Clarke that kicked off Season 7 and we have his interview with Dr. Karel Martens from March 2021 talking about the philosophy behind city planning. This is something very different from our usual topics, and we hope you enjo...
Dec 29, 2023•58 min
In our final regular episode of Transit Unplugged for 2023 we have Paul Skoutelas, President & CEO of APTA, and Petra Mollet, VP of Strategic International Programs at APTA talking with Paul about the year that was in 2023 and what we should be looking forward to in 2024. The boost in infrastructure funding was, of course, the big news of the year, but it's somewhat overshadowed by ongoing funding issues at many agencies across North America. But it's not all bad, because Taylor Swift's Eras...
Dec 27, 2023•29 min•Season 7Ep. 9
Welcome to the penultimate episode of Transit Unplugged for 2023! This week we wrap our series recorded at the CUTA conference in Edmonton with an interview with Arthur Nicolet, CEO of Transdev Canada ( https://www.transdev.ca/en/ ). Paul and Arthur not only talk about contracting in Canada, but pairing with the episode featuring Transdev US CEO Laura Hendricks, talk about the role of contracting around the world. Contracting seems to naturally pair with public-private partnerships (P3s) and Art...
Dec 20, 2023•28 min•Season 7Ep. 8
Will battery electric buses work in the northern-most large city in North America? This week on Transit Unplugged, we continue our series from the CUTA conference in Edmonton, AB. Edmonton has been leading the way in transit for 20 years. The first city in Canada to have LRT and now the first city to have a hydrogen fuel cell bus in active service. So what's next? Deputy City Manager--and former head of the Edmonton Transit System--Eddie Robar talks about plans to make oil-rich Alberta the hydro...
Dec 13, 2023•28 min•Season 7Ep. 7
This week we have the first of three episodes recorded during the CUTA (Canadian Urban Transit Association) Annual Fall Conference. In this first episode, Paul first sits down with the President and CEO of CUTA, Marco D’Angelo talking about housing policy, and later with regular contributor Mike Bismeyer, talking about how Mike started his life-long kindness advocacy. Paul and Marco talk about CUTA’s recent report on the housing affordability crisis in Canada https://cutaactu.ca/cuta-report-high...
Dec 06, 2023•23 min•Season 7Ep. 6
This week we’re staying in Phoenix and picking up where we left off last week. Paul talks with current Valley Metro (https://www.valleymetro.org/) CEO Jessica Mefford-Miller about the light rail expansion, but more than that, Jessica talks about how Valley Metro keeps its cool in the scorching summer heat. You would not believe the amount of air conditioning needed for each light rail train. Small hint, it’s more than a house or two. While riding the LRT and streetcars Paul and Jessica talk abou...
Nov 29, 2023•24 min•Season 7Ep. 5
Usually when people vote on ballot measures about transit, the transit agency and supporters want the measure to pass. Not in Phoenix in 2019. That ballot measure would have literally derailed bringing light rail--any rail--to Phoenix forever. Then Valley Metro CEO Scott Smith rallied support throughout Maricopa County and discovered there was overwhelming support for transit and light rail. So much support that the ballot measure was defeated by a landslide. But we start this episode with a som...
Nov 22, 2023•32 min•Season 7Ep. 4
In this episode of Transit Unplugged, host Paul Comfort interviews Adam Hill, Editor in Chief of ITS International Magazine. They discuss the challenges and prospects of high-speed rail in England and the US, including the various political and logistical issues. Adam explains London's new Ultra Low Emission Zone, designed to encourage public transit use and discusses the struggles with its introduction. They explore how public transit can be made popular, touching on how to capture public inter...
Nov 15, 2023•29 min•Season 7Ep. 3
