Transit Unplugged

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...

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 h...

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 CUT...

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...

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 mu...

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 introd...

This week, we give you Part 2 of our special CEO roundtable recorded live at APTA TRANSform Conference and EXPO. The conversation picks up with host and producer Paul Comfort asking the panel what are the big projects they have going on. From Dave Dech's trash clearing to Coree Cuff Lonergan's just culture, each CEO highlights an essential aspect of public transit today. The discussion continues w...

Welcome to our 6th anniversary and the start of season 7 of Transit Unplugged. Host Paul Comfort has a special opening reflecting on the past 270+ episodes so far and what lies ahead down the road. In our interview this week, we have Randy Clarke, GM and CEO of WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority) https://www.wmata.com/ , chatting with Paul from his new LEED Platinum office build...

What's it like being the CEO of a transit agency? Paul Comfort asked a panel of five CEOs who've been on the job for about a year what it's been like, what's surprised them the most, and why they love working in transit. Listen to this lively and engaging panel featuring Coree Cuff Lonergan, GM of Broward County Transit, Dave Dech, Executive Dir of Tri-Rail, Dottie Watkins, CEO of CapMetro, Frank...

This week Paul Chats with Carl Sedoryk, CEO of Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) https://mst.org/ , about his jazz-themed BRT line, applying their new vision statement to serve the people who need transit the most better, and how his practice of martial arts makes him a better leader. Monterey-Salinas Transit is in an interesting place, geographically and within the larger transit industry. Nestled o...

This week we focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in public transit with Eve Machol, Director of Aviation and Transportation Strategy at Microsoft, and Renee Autumn Ray, Senior Director of Transportation Policy at Hayden AI https://www.hayden.ai/ . As both our guests point out, AI in transit isn't new; we've been using AI for years, but with recent attention on generative AI tools like ChatGPT, A...

This week Paul talks with Laura Hendricks, CEO of Transdev US https://transdevna.com/ , about her career starting as a driver at FedEx, Trandev's global expertise transitioning to zero emissions, and how Transdev combined with First Transit brings more cohesive transit solutions to transit agencies. As the largest private transportation contractor in the world, Transdev is uniquely positioned to a...

This week join Paul in conversation with Diana Kotler, CEO of the Anaheim Transit Network https://rideart.org/ . Recorded live at APTA Tech earlier this summer, Paul and Diana connect transit, tech, and people in this engaging interview. Diana runs a very unique transit system. It's funded by businesses, but all Anaheim residents and people who work in Anaheim ride for free. Tourists coming to vis...

This week Mike Noland, President and GM of the South Shore Line https://mysouthshoreline.com/ , joins Paul to talk about commuter rail in the Midwest. The South Shore Line connects Northwestern Indiana with Chicago. This busy corridor is used by commuters and casual riders heading into the Windy City for work or fun. Mike talks about the South Shore Line, how he's adapting to changing ridership, a...

This week Paul continues his look back at his time working at Yellow Transportation with the former CEO of Yellow, Veolia, and Transdev, Mark Joseph (now CEO of Mobitas Advisors-- https://www.mobitasadvisors.com/ ). Mark is a true leader and visionary in the transit industry. Mark recounts how he took a failing taxi business and created a business that would be a leader in public transit contracti...

Transdev is the largest public transportation contractor in the world, and it got its start in North America with the acquisition of Yellow Transportation. Paul worked for Yellow Transportation for a number of years and today we bring you a special reunion show with a few of the people Paul worked with there. Paul and his guests, John Duncan, Jeff Barnett, and Peggy Maher, worked together at Yello...

When Paul talked with Seleta Reynolds of LA Metro, one of the places she planned to visit ahead of the Olympics in LA was Brazil. She wanted to see first-hand how Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) works and helped move people in Rio for the Olympics. This week we have the second of our Brazil-focused episodes with Tula Vandaramatos, President of the Passenger Transport Association, where Tula talks more abo...

This week on the show Paul chats with repeat guest Dimas Barreira about Brazil's unique way of organizing public transportation, innovations in his own city of Fortaleza, and his approach to reducing carbon emissions in his region. We kick off the episode though with Dimas retelling the story of his life-changing motorcycle accident where he was dead for 40 minutes and spent 4 days in a coma! This...

This week we're staying in sunny Florida and moving down to Broward County to hear what Broward County Transit (BCT) CEO Coree Cuff Lonergan has in store for the people of her county. As the new CEO she's leading the charge on an amazing 15-year plan to add 200 miles of new transit service to the county's transit infrastructure. Over the next decade and a half Broward County will get: High-frequen...

This week Paul has two great interviews for you: John Slot, Chief Innovation Officer of LYNX in Central Florida, and Rudy Vidal, Managing Director of Vidal Consulting Group . Both interviews center on building strong, emotional connections with riders, so they choose transit over other options. John Slot leads a team responsible for testing and piloting innovations in and around the Orlando area....

This week we bring you our final segment from the UTIP Global Summit held earlier this summer in Barcelona. In this dynamic CEO Roundtable recorded live at the summit, we hear from Dorval Carter, President of the Chicago Transit Authority , Paul Skoutelas, President and CEO of APTA , Carla Purcell, CEO of Yarra Trams , and Jeremy Yap, Deputy Chief Executive of LTA Singapore . This panel continues...

We have a jam-packed episode for you this week. We lead off with David S. Kim, formerly the Secretary of Transportation for the State of California, now Senior Vice President & Principal, National Transportation Policy and Multimodal Strategy at WSP . Paul and David talk about two of the most pressing issues facing public transit today: finding alternatives to gas taxes to fund transportation...

This week we bring you the first of two special CEO Roundtables recorded live at the UITP Global Summit in Barcelona. This first panel features: Thierry Mallet,CEO of Transdev Anjes Tjarks, Minister of Transport in Hamburg Laura Shoaf, CEO of the  West Midlands Combined Authority Ruben Leonor, Strategy & Quality Director at Renfe Paul leads this all-star lineup of transit leaders through...

Every week we bring you the top transit thought leaders from around the world, and this week is no exception. Recorded while at the UITP Global Summit in Barcelona, Paul sits in conversation with Dr. Kaan Yildizgöz, Senior Director of Membership and Global Operations at  UITP . Kaan and Paul dive into one of the most important topics facing public transport today--helping people rely less on...

We wrap up our special look at Canadian transit tech innovation with three great innovators in the transit tech landscape. We lead off with Paul in conversation with Jean-Pierre Baracat, VP and Partner at Cysca Technologies , talking about the need for enhanced operational cybersecurity for the vehicles and systems that power transit. Then Paul talks with Tim Bigwood, GM of Trapeze Workforce Manag...