Transit Unplugged

This week we kick off something new on Transit Unplugged. Every other week, in addition to our newsmaker interview, Paul will talk with a leadership expert on developing and improving your leadership skills. No matter what level you're at in your organization, these segments are essential to your career. As this week's guest Dale Walls, founder of Lions Guide , says: "You're always the leader of y...

Paul kicks off 2023 talking with Jim Derwinski CEO of Metra Commuter Rail in Chicago. The changing face and role of commuter rail in connecting suburbs to cities was a big topic in 2022 and will certainly continue throughout 2023. As we see Tuesday-Thursday cities and flattening the peak across North America and the world, we're seeing commuter rail becoming less about "get me to work on time" and...

Join Paul for a very special Transit Unplugged episode. This look back at 2022 and ahead to 2023 features four amazing transportation leaders: Mohamed Mezghani, Secretary General, UITP Jeremy Yap, Deputy Chief Executive, LTA , Vice President, UITP Executive Board Julie Timm, CEO, Sound Transit Rod Jones, Portfolio Leader, Head of Americas, Modaxo In this wide-ranging, three-part conversa...

This week we bring you something a little different. Usually, when we talk about rail we're talking about commuters or inter-city rail, but in this episode, we're talking about rail tourism. Dave McKenna, CEO of the Rocky Mountaineer talks with Paul about delivering an unparalleled rail experience traveling through some of the most amazing scenery in North America. With routes in British Columbia,...

We're winding down the year with another trip across the pond to London. Paul talks with Mike Bagshaw, COO MTR UK, about running the Elizabeth Line (and completing all the remaining connections), the technology needed to run it on time, and how MTR uses property development to fund transit operations in cities like Hong Kong. Mike talks about how MTR UK used digital twin tech to test, refine, and...

We wrap up our Mass Transit Magazine 40 Under 40 series with interviews with three more amazing transit leaders: Carlos Cruz-Casas, Chief Innovation Officer, Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works Roman Steichen,  Director of Transit Services, Frederick County, MD Sophia Maletz Franklyn, Director of Fare Revenue & Administrative Services, TriMet In conve...

This week we have the first of two special Mass Transit 40 Under 40 shows. This week Paul Comfort and Mischa Wanek-Libman, Editor in Chief of Mass Transit Magazine talk with two of the honorees: Kayleigh Cleek, Transit Planning Manager, Greenville Transit Authority, and Sapna Shah, Superintendent, NY MTA talk about their careers, what they do at their agencies, and their visions for the futur...

This week we head out east to Halifax, Nova Scotia and hear from Dave Reage, Executive Director of Halifax Transit about his uniquely Canadian transit system. In conversation with Paul, Dave talks about the balance of being a center of government, the Atlantic home of the Canadian Navy, serving rural communities, and running a commuter ferry service across Halifax Harbor. As a trivia note, Halifax...

Welcome to part two of Paul's interview with Jarrett Walker of Jarret Walker & Associates . In this part of the interview, Paul and Jarrett talk about two of the hottest topics in public transport: equity and the demise of rush hour. Jarrett discusses the tension and balance between focusing on ridership versus coverage when looking at transit equality. As he talked about in part one, too far...

We continue our special kick-off to Season 6 with a special two-part Transit Unplugged News and Views with Jarrett Walker of Jarrett Walker & Associates talking about what it takes to rebuild and replan a transit network. Jarrett and his team are the minds behind the Houston Model transit system. The Houston Model brought focus on providing fast, efficient, frequent service with minimal transf...

Welcome to a very special episode of Transit Unplugged In-Depth! This episode marks our fifth anniversary, the start of Season 6,  and it also happens to be our 225th show! To celebrate these milestones we have an interview with Rich Davey, President New York City Transit, NY MTA as our guest. Paul interviewed Rich live from the APTATRANSform show in the Vontas booth in October after Paul's v...

With decades of transportation experience in Virginia, Jennifer DeBruhl knows the value of connecting people with reliable transit. From successful rural microtransit projects to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to invigorated North-South and East-West rail connections, Jennifer is creating the infrastructure for growth in the Commonwealth. In this week's Transit Unplugged In-Depth, Paul talks with Je...

The Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) in North Carolina is one of the fastest-growing areas in the U.S. Already at 2 million people, they are expecting another million people by 2050. So, how do you keep the area moving without relying on more cars and more roads? Better regional transit, of course! This week Paul chats with Charles Lattuca, President and CEO of GoTriangle , which wor...

Greater Manchester is about the size of London with a population of roughly 3 million people. Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, wants to help his region have safe, convenient, affordable, and green public transport options. Transport for Greater Manchester already has one of the largest tram networks in Europe and now they are in the process of following the Transport...

Lisa Walton is the CTO of SFMTA, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (aka Muni) , and is responsible for one of the largest and most complex transit regions in North America. She needs to interact with over 20 different agencies and services around the Bay Area, not to mention all the people within the city and county of San Francisco. And the biggest challenges are seamless travel and g...

Stretching from San Francisco to Gilroy (the garlic capital of the U.S.), Caltrain follows the spine of the Bay Area peninsula and straight through Silicon Valley. Having been around since the 1860s, Silicon Valley  grew up  around Caltrain. And unlike most commuter rail lines, Caltrain doesn't serve a single city center with traffic going one way in the morning and back in the afternoon...

Suhair Al Khatib knows safety. After years at Baltimore MTA, he's now a Commissioner for Maryland on the Washington Metro Rail Safety Commission and his job is simple. Keep passengers safe. Safety isn't just about ticking boxes or enforcing rules, it's a mindset. It's knowing that putting safety first sometimes means disrupting service. Sometimes it means inconveniencing the traveling public. Beca...

Our guest host Julie Gates, award-winning broadcaster and Director of Marketing at Trapeze interviews Paul about his upcoming book Conversations on Equity and Inclusion in Public Transportation . They talk about why he wrote it, what it's about, what you'll learn from it, and most importantly what it means to Paul. We also hear from Bacarra Mauldin of MARTA reading excerpts from her forward to the...

We've all stood at a stop wondering when the next bus will arrive. And a lot of us have wondered why a bus didn't go where we thought it would because of a detour or closure. These are not good feelings as a rider. Steve Young, VP of Technology and Innovation at VIA Metropolitan Transit in San Antonio, TX knows a thing or two about data and customers. He and his team have pushed the limi...

David Scorey leads Keolis North America working with agencies across the U.S. and Canada. From starting in the trenches in the UK's rail sector to managing the MBTA commuter rail contract, and now CEO of Keolis North America, David keeps his sights on what's important to agencies and riders. David looks at transit holistically, like how he views accessibility: "When I talk about accessibility, man...

Six years ago Steve Martingano challenged conventions with his innovative policing strategy at Denver RTD by pairing officers with mental health workers. He saw a lot of police interactions weren't  criminal  issues, but  medical  issues. People needed help. They needed medical care. They needed support. They needed housing. Steve talks with Paul about how after six years he's...

Monica Backmon, CEO of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority , has a unique job in the transit world. Her agency plans and funds transportation projects as small as traffic calming and as big as Bus Rapid Transit. And she does it across cities, towns, and counties in Northern Virginia. While often compared to a Municipal Planning Organization, NVTA has no close comparators in the United S...

Paul met April Rai, CEO of COMTO (Conference of Minority Transportation Officials) at the recent COMTO conference in Miami. He sat down with April to talk about the origins of COMTO, the challenges transit is facing today, and her vision for how we'll solve them. On Transit Unplugged News and Views this week we also have: Transit news of the week Elea Carey's messaging minute Mike Bismeyer on lead...

This week Paul talks with a guest we've wanted to get on the show for a long, long time. When Henry Li arrived in Sacramento, the agency needed to restore both public trust in the system and financial stability for the agency. In his 7 year tenure so far he's launched the first microtransit pilot in the U.S., made the system free for kids in grades K-12, and ensured there was pay equity across his...

Alva Carrasco and Herold Humphrey are on a mission. A mission to increase the visibility, opportunities, and voice of Latinos in public transit. And not just when talking about issues, but more importantly in leadership positions to help the communities they serve. Alva and Herold talk with Paul about the origins of Latinos In Transit from a casual group of people working in the same industry...