Welcome to episode 300 of Transit Unplugged! When Paul started the podcast in November 2017, I don't think anyone would have thought that seven seasons later we'd be at our 300th episode. Paul started this podcast to shine a light on the impact of transit on society and give transit leaders a chance to talk about their agencies and their careers, unfiltered and unplugged. Throughout the pandemic Paul interviewed leaders about what it all meant to transit. How were agencies dealing with health restrictions. How agencies were keeping front line workers safe. Since the pandemic, the issues have c ..read more

Justin Stuehrenberg GM of Madison Metro and his team used COVID as the impetus to finally put a long-planned system redesign into motion and completed it in June 2023. Since then they've seen a 15% increase in ridership. Justin and Paul talked about how his new network works, how geography figured into it, and the new bus rapid transit (BRT) lines coming soon that will use battery electric buses charged en route with overhead pantographs. Also in this episode: Being part of city government--the good and bad Working with multiple city councils for approvals and funding Justin's path from desig ..read more

In this special episode we have guest host, and past guest, Dr. Kaan Yildizgoz hosting a live CEO roundtable from the Modaxo booth at the UITP MENA Transport Congress and Exhibition. Kaan is joined by: Renée Amilcar: President of UITP & General Manager of OC Transpo, Canada Abdulla Al Marzouqi: Director General – Integrated Transport Centre (ITC), Abu Dhabi Mohammed Obaid Al Mulla: Member of the Board of Directors of Roads and Transport Authority & Chair of UITP MENA Division, Dubai Kaan and his guests talked about not only public transport in the Middle East post-COVID, but also th ..read more

Usually on Transit Unplugged we bring you the voices and stories of transit leaders from around the world, but this week we have something a little different. Join Paul as he sits down with Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt to talk about transit, politics, and changing how people view public transit in his city. As David describes it, like many cities West of the Mississippi, Oklahoma City was planned, developed, and built for cars. Transit was seen as transportation of last resort. What this translated into was a sporadic and sparse transit system where people could wait a hour for the next bus ..read more

We kicked off 2024 with an episode with Rep. Earl Blumenauer--https://transit-unplugged.captivate.fm/portland-streetcar--who could be credited for the modern streetcar boom in America, and this week we see how streetcars actually drive billions in economic development in Kansas City. Streetcars aren't just moving people and connecting the city in Kansas City, they are driving businesses like the aptly named Streetcar Grill which stands in what used to be a parking lot. Tom Gerend has been part of the Kansas City streetcar project since the beginning, first as part of the planning organization ..read more

Frank White III is a strong advocate of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and has a track record of making it happen. He oversaw TOD for Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) before becoming CEO nearly two years ago, now faced with a fiscal cliff, Frank is pushing KCATA into the future of transit and TOD. KCATA was one of the first systems to go fare free during the pandemic, but that decision to keep people riding has a clear cost--KCATA doesn't have farebox revenue to close funding gaps, but TOD could change that. Developing land managed by the agency could bring in not only mor ..read more

Welcome to another special edition of Transit Unplugged featuring an episode from another transit podcast. This time we welcome past guest Brandon Bartneck with an episode from The Future of Mobility featuring autonomous vehicle visionary Larry Burns. The episode was released in August 2023. The original show notes are below: Aug 2023 https://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/larryburns2/ Larry Burns is a pioneer in the electrified and automated vehicle space, highly successful industry veteran, and author of Autonomy: The Quest to Build the Driverless Car – And How It Will Reshape Our ..read more

Hydrogen is one of the hottest topics in transit right now, but hydrogen is facing a huge challenge to reduce its cost and increase its availability across North America (and the world). Paul sits down with Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) CEO Kirt Conrad--who manages the largest fleet of hydrogen fuel cell buses outside California--and Ballard Power Systems Dir of Market Development and Public Affairs, Tim Sasseen to talk about hydrogen as a fuel, how hydrogen fuel cells work, and how the hydrogen hub project will break down barriers to adopting hydrogen as the zero-emissions fue ..read more

In part two of our series featuring Tulsa, OK, host Paul Comfort gets a special tour of Downtown Tulsa with Chase Phillips, the Director of Planning for MetroLink Tulsa. Chase talks about the city's rich history, architectural wonders, and the role of transit in its development. Chase sheds light on Tulsa's transformation from a 1920s hub of oil wealth, with the largest airport in the world at the time, to a vibrant city maintaining its historic charm with a modern makeover. They tour the city, exploring some iconic Art Deco buildings, hidden tunnels, and experiencing the quiet streets of down ..read more

In the first of two podcast episodes--and an upcoming Transit Unplugged TV episode--from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Paul chats with MetroLink Tulsa (https://www.tulsatransit.org/) CEO Scott Marr about: His city His career in transit The overwhelming success of microtransit and merging it with paratransit operations His plans for expanding Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to Route 66 for the 100th anniversary And the path to lower emissions with CNG and battery-electric buses After a long career as a transit fixer across the U.S., Scott returned to Tulsa as the CEO taking the reins of a system revitalized with ..read more