Transit Unplugged

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...

“We need transit to not only survive the pandemic, but to thrive.”   Joining the Transit Unplugged podcast for this episode is David Kim, Secretary of Transportation for the State of California. David chats with Paul Comfort about CalSTA’s new high-speed rail project, the future of zero-emission buses, and his thoughts on autonomous vehicles.&...

“We have two projects that were always on our books and our capital improvement program, however with the Amazon decision, it did provide us with the ability to actually put those projects forward even quicker.”  On this episode of Comfort's Corner, part of the Transit Unplugged podcast, Pierre Holloman, Assistant Transit Bureau Chief at the Arling...

“In times of crisis, you tend to come up with more creative solutions when you want to deliver them quite quickly.”  Joining the Transit Unplugged podcast for this episode is Anne Graham, Chief Executive Officer of the National Transport Authority of Ireland. Anne chats with Paul Comfort about three major projects that the NTA is currently working on, includ...

“We’re trying to remind Congress that the pandemic’s everywhere. And transit is a national program. It's not a program in 15 largest cities in the country. It's a national program, and if we're going to be able to get votes in Congress to the numbers we need, members need to have a reason to vote for the transit in their communities.”  On this episode of Comfort's Corner, part of the Tra...

“It's not transport for the sake of it … it's got a purpose, and it's worth investing in for that purpose. And as habits change, we should adapt what transit is there for to address the issues.”  Joining the Transit Unplugged podcast for this episode is Sir Peter Hendy CBE, Chair of Network Rail. Sir Peter shares the story of his long and illustrio...

“Some of those agencies where we've brought microtransit in, they’ve heard about it, but they weren't really looking into how to implement it. We get it up and running within 30-60 days ... I think private contracting can bring that value and that innovation and flexibility to put new services and products in at a faster pace.”  On this episode of Comfort's Corner, part of the Transit Unplugg...

“Transit was very critical to me being able to live the American dream.”  Joining the Transit Unplugged podcast for this episode is Alex Wiggins, CEO of New Orleans Regional Transit Authority. Alex has had a long and storied career in the transit industry, and he shares how his past experiences have shaped how he leads today.  Alex also provides an in-depth look at how New Orleans RTA re...

“Our board made a decision very early on that if we could remove the barriers to use, more people would ride. They would frequent more businesses. They would spend more money… We think our ridership is 30% to 40% higher than it would have been with a fare, and it has totally changed the dynamic for how people view the system and its ease of use.” On this episode of Comfort's Corner,...

"We operate the longest driverless Metro system in the whole world currently. Unlike what you normally see around Europe, the far East, etc., our Metro stations are built more like five-star hotels, very fancy transport mobility hubs, that encourage people to use the different mobility services." Joining the Transit Unplugged podcast for this episode is Ahmed Hashem Bahrozyan,...

"We came together to form this Public-Private Partnership, where we were able to provide what will eventually be the largest on-demand publicly provided microtransit service in the country." On this episode of Comfort's Corner, part of the Transit Unplugged podcast, Joshua Schank joins Paul Comfort from Los Angeles to discuss his career in the transit industry. He talks about how the CEO created h...

"Bi-State Development is one of the few agencies set by a charter, by an act of Congress. We have a federal charter that notes the governance of Bi-State and allows for the interoperability of a transit system across two states, multiple jurisdictions, and multiple towns." Joining the Transit Unplugged podcast for this episode is Taulby Roach, the President & CEO of Bi-State Development. Taulb...

"Transport for London is probably one of the most integrated transport authorities in the world, in the sense that we not only planned for but also operate pretty much all of the public transport in the city. But crucially, we also are responsible for the planning for an operation of the road network." On this episode of Comfort's Corner, part of the Transit Unplugged podcast, Ben Plowden joins Pa...

"When we complete the six phases of the transit system in Tanzania, we expect to have more than 3,000 BRT buses in the city, and they will replace what we have currently, nearly 10,000 local buses." Joining the Transit Unplugged podcast for this episode is Ronald Lwakatare, Chief Executive of Dar Rapid Transit Agency (DART) in Tanzania. Ronald joined DART in January 2016 as Chief Executive and is...