Transit Unplugged

Frequent guest Rich Sampson, Executive Director of the Southwest Transit Association , sat with Paul to give him the latest updates from D.C. on transit funding. With fiscal year 2022 appropriations set, agencies now know about their new formula fund amounts and new funding grants available to them. Elea Carey talks about how to include the leaders in your communities in your transit marketing pla...

Adelee Le Grand is a long-time transit rider. Growing up in New York, Adelee says taking transit was like brushing your teeth and toothpaste--you just did it, it's always there. Transit was how you got places and experienced things. Like Terry White , and more than a few of our guests, Adelee has spent her entire career associated with transit and moving people. You can hear Adelee's passion...

Sara Stickler, CEO of WTS International , chats with Paul on International Women's Day about her work supporting and creating opportunities for women in transit. Founded in the 1970s as a group providing seminars and training--since women were discouraged from joining "associations"--WTS International strives to increase opportunities for women in the transit industry. Many of the women leaders on...

This week Paul talks with Darren Kettle, CEO of Metrolink in Southern California. Not long in the job at Metrolink, Darren is a long-time transit veteran coming from Ventura County Transportation Commission and is looking forward to building and improving a critical piece of California's public transit system. Metrolink will be a key part of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, connecting many o...

This week on Transit Unplugged News and Views Paul talks with Patrick Goddard, President of Brightline Trains about high-speed rail in Florida. Brightline Trains is the only privately-held high-speed rail service in the U.S. and serves as a vital connection between South and Central and beyond. Brightline serves the niche getting people to places that are too far to drive, but too short to fly. Th...

Continuing the series of interviews from the UITP MENA Congress and Expo earlier this year, Paul speaks with Mohammed Salim Al Ghafri, COO of Mwasalat in the Sultanate of Oman on how he's creating a transit culture in a country where private cars are cheap and affordable. One of the newer transit agencies in the world, Mwasalat manages the bus and ferry service connecting the major cities in Oman...

Noormah Noor, CEO of Express Rail Link in Malaysia has accomplished something that very few people have done--create an award-winning, world-class, and economically viable high-speed rail service. ERL runs between Kuala Lumpur and the airport connecting downtown for travelers and everyday commuters. Her service offers nonstop service, including airport check-in , from downtown to the airport....

Terry White, General Manager of King County Metro , is a life-long public transit rider in his hometown of Seattle, Washington. He relied on transit to get him to school and work, buoyed by his mother her stack of timetables. If it wasn't for public transit, Terry wouldn't be where he is today. The experience of relying on transit and growing up on the system--including turning the signs...

Paul was at the UITP Middle East North Africa Conference and Expo in Dubai, UAE recently and this is the first of several interviews from his trip. The first is with Alexander Pazuchanics, Head of Policy & Partnerships at Vianova I/O. Alexander and Paul talk about something we don't hear much about these days, ever really--managing curb space. Not just for parking, but travel and making the be...

Here's part two of our Legacy Leaders Series ( listen to part 1 ) where Paul taps into decades of leadership, perspective, and insight from some of the foremost leaders in the public transit industry. In this episode we hear from: Paul Toliver Grace Crunican Peter Varga Mike Scanlon The advice in this episode is second to none and everyone, no matter your role, can take something away from this to...

Have you ever wondered how people get training on running a public transit agency? Public transit is a very complex business/service to run, so how do you learn everything you need to know? The answer is the National Transit Institute at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Paul talks with Executive Director Billy Terry about NTI and everything it does. Like having to switch from 98% in-pe...

This is the first of two special episodes where Paul chats with some of the leading figures in public transit. These are the people who built the foundations and set the standards for how public transit is done. Their perspectives are absolutely not to be missed. On part one of the series are: Paul Toliver Fred Gilliam Robert Prince Rod Diridon See the full show notes on TransitUnplugged.com for t...

In the public transit industry, we are all standing on the shoulders of giants. People who set the stage for the progress we're making now. The next several episodes on Transit Unplugged epitomize this fact looking back powering our way forward. This week Paul talks with Karen Philbrick, Executive Director of the Mineta Transportation Institute . Named for Secretary Norman Mineta, the Institute co...

On today's special edition of Transit Unplugged. We want it to honor the memory of Jeff Parker, CEO of MARTA in Atlanta, after his recent tragic death. He was a strong leader for his city and our industry, and will be sorely missed. Original show notes from February, 2020: “While we have to think about the future, we also have to think about the here and now and making sure that we’re improving th...

This week Paul catches up with Laura Koprowski, CEO of Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority ( TARTA ) and they talk about Laura's plan to revitalize TARTA with a new leadership team, new branding, and a new focus on customer experience. Laura and Paul also talk about the successful ballot measures that will help TARTA expand service and have a stable financial future. Next week, Paul interviews...

This week we have a special double interview episode on Transit Unplugged News and Views . Paul, and special guest Mischa Wanek-Libman Executive Editor of Mass Transit Magazine , speak with two of Mass Transit's 40 Under 40 honorees. We start the show with Shofi Ull Azum, MBA , Operational Innovations and Performance Manager, Kansas City Area Transportation Authority ( KCATA ), followed by Brittne...

This week Paul chats with Kevin Quinn, CEO of TransLink in Vancouver, BC. Kevin succeeded Paul as CEO of MTA Baltimore and now is the head of a multi-city transit network in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. Kevin talks about managing North America's largest autonomous subway systems (SkyTrain), the major expansion projects underway, and life in Vancouver. Next week on Transit Unplugge...

It's the end of the year and the last episode of Transit Unplugged for 2021. This is a really special episode with Paul Comfort convening a panel with our producer Tris Hussey, regular contributors Elea Carey and Mike Bismeyer, and a special guest Mike Dukart, Dir. of Sales at TripSpark. On the show, we talk about what are going to be the hottest trends in 2022, and a little look back at the past...

Welcome to our second special episode of Transit Unplugged, the Best of Transit Unplugged In-Depth. In this episode, you'll hear excerpts from five of the best interviews this year. You'll hear ... Anne Graham, National Transport Authority, Ireland ( full episode ) Ahmed Bahrozyan, Road and Transport Authority, Dubai, UAE ( full episode ) Leslie Richards, SEPTA ( full episode ) Nat...

Kicking off a trio of special episodes on Transit Unplugged is a transit tech episode with guest host Tris Hussey. Tris interviews Daniel Saddy, Director of (IT) Architecture at Trapeze about cyber and computer security at transit agencies with real, concrete advice on how agencies can help protect themselves. Then we have a special technology expert panel with Sebastian Vaitus, VP of Innovation a...

Paul returns to the island nation of Singapore to chat with Mr. Lee Ling Wee, Deputy Group CEO and President, International, SMRT Corporation. Like his earlier interview with Jeremy Yap earlier this year, the conversation focuses on how Singapore and SMRT are innovating and pushing towards a low/no emissions future. Paul sets the stage for the interview with Trapeze General Manager for the ASEAN r...

In our final episode from APTA EXPO 2021, Paul chats with Jane Grogg, Director of Sarasota County Area Transit . If there was one singular thing that is the hallmark of the post-COVID transit world, it's on-demand microtransit. Jane Grogg replaced fixed routes that had lower ridership and replaced them with on-demand microtransit. And it's been a smashing success! Typically these low ridership fix...

Update: An audio issue kept one of the panelists from being heard. We've pushed out an updated audio track. In the second of three APTA EXPO special episodes, this week it's the highlight of the week--the special panel of the 5 top women leading transit today. Nadine Lee (CEO,  Dallas DART ), Leslie Richards (CEO,  SEPTA ), Lauren Skiver (CEO,  SunLine Transit ), MJ Maynard (CE...

Paul and Tris were at APTA EXPO 2021 in Orlando, FL last week and recorded several interviews while they were there. From "Get to Know the GM" with the heads of Vontas and Trapeze Group and interviews with transit leaders to our amazing panel of amazing women leading transit agencies in the U.S., Paul and Tris covered a lot of ground in a few days. This week we highlight two of the interviews from...

This week's episode comes to you from Las Vegas, Nevada when Paul visited RTC of Southern Nevada CEO MJ Maynard and her team. These segments are excerpted from the upcoming Transit Unplugged TV episode--the first episode for Transit Unplugged TV. Also in this episode are Deputy CEOs Francis Julien and David Swallow as well as Antonette Braddock who talks about RTC's new mobile app for their networ...