Transit Unplugged

This week on Transit Unplugged News and Views we have two Newsmaker interviews. First Paul chats with John Seber Executive Director of the Central Indiana Regional Transport Authority (CIRTA) and they get into how John is helping the counties he serves work together and provide an integrated intercounty transit network. John also reflects on when he was working with Paul at WMATA and how a college...

This week Paul comes to you from the Bluegrass State and historic Louisville, Kentucky. Paul visited Carrie Butler, Executive Director of the Transit Authority of River City (TARC), in-person in her office in the former Union Station from the Louisville-Nashville rail line. You can read more about Paul's visit in his post on the Vontas blog .  Carrie started at TARC almost a year ago in the m...

This week on Transit Unplugged News and View we have the first Transit Tech segment. These will be monthly segments where we interview on new innovations in transit technology. This week Tris chats with Dr. Farrokh Mansouri, head of data science at Trapeze, about using machine learning and AI to predict how weather and traffic affect on-time performance. If you're interested in how Trapeze approac...

This week we wrap up our mini-tour of Latin America with Paul's conversation with Joubert Flores, Chairman of ANTPTRILHOS in Brazil. Joubert has been an integral part of the transit industry for over 45 years and his insights into where the transportation system in Brazil has been, and where it's going in the future, are essential listening for all transit agencies. To close out this pair of inter...

This week on the first episode of Transit Unplugged News and Views (what we use to call Comfort's Corner) Paul chats with Andrew Bata of UITP, North America . Paul and Andrew talk about Andrew's former role as Chief Innovator at New York MTA. He and Paul continue with his vision of the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for transit agencies around the world. Elea Carey continues the threa...

The bustling city of Fortaleza could be a model for how operators, transit agencies, and cities can work together to deliver sustainable, technology-enabled public transit. This week Paul chats with Dimas Barreira is the president of SINDIONIBUS, a group of 17 transit operators serving the city of Fortaleza and the surrounding area. What's unique in Fortaleza isn't the close partnership between SI...

What do you do when you're given the reins of one of the biggest rail projects in history that's three years late and well over budget? How do you take something that has gone decidedly off the rails, back on track? For Mark Wild of Crossrail UK, it meant going back to the fundamentals of project management. He focused on grappling with the enormous complexity of the project, correcting things tha...

Paul's on vacation this week so our producer Tris Hussey is in the host's chair for this episode. News in this episode: Proterra goes public on the NASDAQ US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg highlights and thanks the transit industry for its work getting people vaccinated . Robert Yu was tapped as President and General Manager for Oahu Transit Services . Vince Pellegrin, COO of Metro Tra...

This week Paul chats with Naif Bin Hwail of Saudi Arabia's Transport General Authority (TGA) on how his agency built a structure to serve millions of people--including the millions visiting Mecca and Medina for the Haj--using bus, rail, and taxis. In his conversation with Paul, Naif Bin Hwail talks about developing bus rapid transit (BRT) in several cities and expanding the rail network to serve t...

This week on Comfort's Corner we have  two newsmaker interviews for you. First, we talk with Candace Moore of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority about how she's used asset management data to improve maintenance in her fleet of nearly 200 vehicles. Then we travel to Saskatoon, SK, and hear an excerpt from Cory Shrigley's ThinkTransit session on how they used real-time ridership data t...

" We want to promote caring commuting culture here, a gracious one, ... working together with everyday commuters to try and improve each other's commute." This week Paul talks with Jeremy Yap, Deputy Chief Executive for Public Transport, Policy and Planning for the Land Transport Authority, Singapore. In this wide-ranging interview, we learn how Singapore is creating and expanding a transit system...

Show notes: Welcome to Comfort's Corner for May 26th, 2021. This week on Comfort's Corner we have a special newsmaker segment with board members of the North American Transit Alliance (NATA) and the International Association of Public Transit (UITP) discussing the results of a new study on private contracting in public transit agencies. UITP completed the study on behalf of NATA and conducted inte...

This week Paul chats with Esmaeel Hasan Al Blooshi of the RAK Transport Authority in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. Ras Al Khaimah is the northernmost of the seven Emirates in the UAE and home to over 60 km of beaches, the world's longest zip line, and... A really innovative and integrated transit system. From buses to taxis, e-scooters and e-bikes to ferries, RAK Transport is creating a un...

This week is a special Comfort's Corner with a focus on access and equality in the transit system. After this week's transit news, we hear from Julie Timm of the Greater Richmond Transit Company on how she is looking at how the fare system, might not be fair to the people who need and depend on it most. Julie's segment was taken from her Virtual ThinkTransit talk she gave on April 28th, 2021. In p...

" ...it was really that project that showed me how much transportation can add to the economic development of a region, can hurt, or help, neighborhoods. can really impact people at their business levels ... in the communities they choose to raise their families... " This week Paul is joined by Leslie Richards General Manager of SEPTA (Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) . In this Tra...

This is the second of three special Transit Unplugged episodes from Virtual ThinkTransit. Our Day Two keynote was by Lauren Skiver, CEO of SunLine Transit Agency . challenged us to find our power and purpose to innovate. Lauren hit head-on the challenge of innovating in a regulated business like transit. We have a great responsibility to our staff, riders, and everyone else sharing the road, but w...

In the third of our special Transit Unplugged episodes from Virtual ThinkTransit, we have the final keynote from Day Three. Our final keynote of the conference had Geoff Gray step into Paul Comfort's shoes to moderate this amazing panel of Phil Verster, President and CEO,  Metrolinx ; Erinn Pinkerton, President and CEO,  BC Transit ; and Alex Wiggins, CEO,  New Orleans Transit . Phi...

In the first of three special Transit Unplugged episodes, we bring you the keynote from Day One of Virtual ThinkTransit (VTT).  Robbie Makinen's (CEO of the  Kansas City Area Transportation Authority ) keynote was an inspiration to the entire audience. Robbie is well known as an inspiring speaker and he did not disappoint today. He lost his sight about eight years ago and related a story...

“This industry is absolutely crucial for people to live their lives in the way that they are used to doing.” On this episode of Comfort's Corner, part of the Transit Unplugged podcast, Luke Antoniou, Editor of Intelligent Transport, joins Paul Comfort to discuss new transit trends in Europe and his thoughts on Mobility-as-a-Service. Paul also shares an exciting Q&A from ThinkTransit featu...

“I have always said that crisis breeds innovation.”  Joining the Transit Unplugged podcast for this episode is Clinton Forbes, Executive Director at Palm Tran. Clinton chats with Paul Comfort about Palm Tran’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, their new flex routes for remote areas, and shares his thoughts on the future of electric vehicles.   Cli...

“We're looking at the big picture. Where are we going? What's happening? How do we make this all make sense together?”  On this episode of Comfort's Corner, part of the Transit Unplugged podcast, Valerie Neilson, Deputy Director of the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency, joins Paul Comfort to discuss the role of a metropolitan planning agenc...

“I think we are best prepared and situated to be holistic transportation service providers, and we should not limit ourselves and stay in one lane.”   Joining the Transit Unplugged podcast for this episode is Nat Ford, CEO of Jacksonville Transportation Authority. Nat chats with Paul Comfort about the latest and greatest innovations at the JTA, from vac...

“We're fortunate enough to work in a community that is supportive of our efforts.”  On this episode of Comfort's Corner, part of the Transit Unplugged podcast, Brian Litchfield, Transit Director for the Town of Chapel Hill, joins Paul Comfort to discuss how COVID-19 has helped to bring his agency closer to the local community. Brian also chats abou...

“These people who take care of us every day, we need to take care of them, and make sure that we're ensuring that our services are for everyone.”   Joining the Transit Unplugged podcast for this episode is Tilly Chang, Executive Director for the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. Tilly chats with Paul Comfort about autonomous vehicles, the impact of T...

“When we're challenged in transit, that's often sometimes where the greatest innovation comes.”  On this episode of Comfort's Corner, part of the Transit Unplugged podcast, Christian Kent, Transit Management Consultant and former Assistant GM at WMATA, joins Paul Comfort to discuss how he believes paratransit services will change after COVID-19. Christian also chats a...