Transit Unplugged

“People want reliable services. And if you can’t deliver what you promise to the customer, it doesn’t matter how good the rest of the technology is.” – Ian Dobbs It’s time for another Transit Unplugged Live. Recorded during UITP, the world’s top transit leaders share different farebox recovery and funding structures from around the globe, how each region is handling autonomous vehicles and MaaS, and the importance of predictive maintenance.

“I like to challenge our employees to keep moving forward and keep doing good things for the community.” Jorge Cruz-Aedo recently celebrated his 5th anniversary as the CEO of Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority (CCRTA). Jorge discusses the autonomous vehicle project CCRTA is working on with Texas A&M, Corpus Christi, and the unique way he was able to finance their new 90,000 square foot facility. He also goes into the importance of culture and customer service within the CCRTA.

“We don’t build railways just for the sake of building a railway. We do it because we are going to transform people’s lives.” Steve Butcher started his career 38 years ago sweeping rail platforms. Now the Executive General Manager at John Holland, he discusses the DBOM model, what it’s like to be part of billion-dollar rail projects, how these projects set the agenda for generations to come, and why it’s about making “public transit so easy that people don’t even think of any other mode o

“I’m a railwayman. I dream about railways. I probably have for 59 and three-quarter years.” Howard Collins started his career at London Transport eventually working his way to the role of COO of the London Underground before making the jump to the land Down Under. Now CEO of Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink, Collins discusses the challenges of rebuilding a system while trying to increase capacity. He also talks about the importance of accountability and how railways can revitalize communities.

“Our whole mission is about making the city attractive, safe, and easy to move around.” Emma Thomas, former Director-General at Transport Canberra, started her career as an aeronautical engineer. She discusses how Transport Canberra “puts the livability in Canberra.” Thomas talks how public transit plays into our well-being (mental health and health of a city), and new ways to make people more mobile – a new light rail line, the importance of data and journey planning, and new transportation mo

“Railways are very, very complicated systems, and they require thousands of things to happen in order each day for them to work effectively.” James Pinder started as an engineer in the U.K. and has been in the rail industry his entire career. Pinder, CEO of V/Line, the regional rail operator for the state of Victoria, discusses the challenge of modernizing the whole system while service is growing (at ~10% per year). He also gets into his philosophy of how to build his team and the culture of V/Line

“The mission of this organization is to be the most respected and the best railway in Australia.” Raymond O’Flaherty, CEO of Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM), discusses why MTM focuses on passenger experience as a measurement of success. He also elaborates on the importance of interchanges between systems and modes, the investment into MTM, his focus on teamwork, and why he created a podcast to communicate better with his organization.

“What makes a fantastic difference for Yarra Trams, is its brand and its incredible value in every Melburnian’s heart. And I realized that every time I’m meeting new people.” Our guest this week is Nicolas Gindt, CEO of Keolis Downer Victoria and operator of Yarra Trams, discusses the challenges of operating a diverse tram system, the unique aspects of sharing 75% of the service with the road and other vehicles, and how they are trying to make the system more accessible for people with disabilit

“For the very first time, handheld technology has allowed us to say to people, ‘Your value of time has suddenly shifted.’” Transit Unplugged is off to Australia. Jeroen Weimar, CEO of Public Transport Victoria (PTV), discusses how contracting out their service is the way that PTV provides safe, efficient, and reliable service. Weimar also goes into the challenge of running some legacy systems while PTV invests in new technology. Finally, he shares the plan for PTV’s new mobile payment platform.

“I love what we do as an industry. What we do really matters.” Randy Clarke, President and CEO of CapMetro, joins Transit Unplugged to discuss CapMetro’s Project Connect plan which is set to transform the future of transit for Central Texas. He also goes into the Cap Remap program which redefined the routes in Austin by focusing on a grid style network, reflecting the new development of the city, and frequency - which has helped increase ridership in Austin.

“If real-estate is location, location, location, transit is frequency, frequency, frequency.” Jeffrey Arndt started his career as a traffic engineer and had a long stint at Houston Metro before making his way to VIA Metropolitan Transit – an award-winning agency. Now President and CEO of VIA, Arndt discusses the importance of frequency to transit service, VIA’s new bus shelters, and their plans to implement a new advance rapid transit service.

“There is no sense in running what people aren’t riding.” It’s the first ever Transit Unplugged Live. Listen to five of transit’s top CEOs discuss their career path and the big projects they are focused on within their agency, and the future of transit technology. Guests were: Phil Washington – CEO, LA Metro Lauren Skiver – CEO, SunLine Transit Robbie Makinen – CEO, KCATA Katharine Kelleman – CEO, Port Authority of Allegheny County John Sisson – CEO, Delaware Transit C

“Who says, just because you are a small agency, you have to do stuff that’s in this little box marked small operations?” Since starting in the transit industry, Bacarra Mauldin has passionately served on the board of BJCTA and ClasTran, and on many APTA committees. Now Executive Director of ClasTran, Mauldin focuses on developing the workforce of tomorrow and perfecting paratransit through coordination. Plus, you’ll learn the role of transit board of directors.

“We think, from a customer service standpoint, letting the customer decide what they want is pretty cool.” In the eyes of Gary Thomas, President and Executive Director at DART, the most important aspect of their GoPass app is giving their riders a multitude of choices. With their app, riders can take advantage of mobility as a service based on price and trip time. Additionally, the app can cap fares and has options for unbanked users. It all comes down to giving riders choice.

“2 + 2 = 5” On this bonus episode of Transit Unplugged, focussing on mobility innovations, listen to Per Bo Christensen, CEO of FlexDanmark and Thomas Øster, Managing Director of one of the local transit systems in Denmark, discuss Denmark’s nationwide demand response service, FlexDanmark. Learn how FlexDanmark makes 2 + 2 = 5 by using a single dispatching center, offers first- and last-mile options to rural parts of Denmark, and the need to continually test out new ways to improve mobility.