Safety First: The Alligator Closest to the Boat, With Matt Maglio

Episode Transcript
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James Blain (00:27):
Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of
the Ground TransformationPodcast.
unfortunately I don't have Kenwith me.
Ken is off doing a financialdeal, I'm sure, or educating
someone on the proper way to runtheir finances.
We'll have another episodetogether soon, but I'm super
stoked about Mike yesterday.
Uh, it's someone that I'veactually known for quite a
while.
I've had the opportunity to workwith him in some associations

(00:49):
and some other places, and Ithink we're all really lucky to
kind of hear from him.
Welcome, Matt.
How are you today?

Matt Maglio (00:55):
I'm doing great.
How are I'm doing great.
How are you, James?
Thank you for having me.
me.

I'm good.
I'm excited about this one.
This, we spend a lot of time onthe safety side.
We spend a lot of time on thatworld, which I know is where you
live.
I know that's where I live, soI'm really excited about this
episode, but you actually havequite a bit of background in it.
You're not even in the samecompany you were when we first
met.
So can you tell us a little bitabout kind of how you got into

(01:19):
the industry and how you get towhere you are today?

25, maybe 26 years ago.
I started out as a bus driverwith yet another company.
and, uh, I drove for about ayear and a half, and then I
worked as a dispatcher.
I was in charter sales.
I was the outside sales managerand eventually was an operations
manager for them.

(01:42):
and then, uh, I was there forabout eight years.
I left there, went to work for aschool bus company I was a GM
for them for some time.
And then I went to, uh, my lastemployer and I was there for.
Over a decade and, uh, you know,great place and great folks
there.
And, uh, and then I came toGreyhound about a almost two
years ago.

(02:02):
Uh, it was November of 2023 thatI started with them as the
director of safety.
and, uh, I have enjoyed it.
I got promoted to regional VicePresident in January thereafter,
so January of 2024.
And it's been a, an excellentexperience overall.
Really enjoyed it.

Well, and you're in a really unique place, right?
There's a lot of people thatdon't kind of go down that same
path.
You've got this awesomeopportunity and that you've sat
in all of these seats, right?
Pun intended.
And you've gotten to see thebusiness kind of from different
angles.
One of the things that I love toask, especially for people that
start on the driving side, ishow exactly do you end up

(02:43):
driving a motor coach?
Is this something where you'relike, Hey, I wanna drive a bus,
or, or was this a steppingstone?
what was that first step ingetting into it?

Actually one, one of my mentors along my way,
Colin Johnson, who he was a vicepresident at, a company called
Peter Pan.
And, uh, he knew me as anemployee of a casino in
Connecticut.
And, uh, he was a vendor andkind of talked me into coming to
work there.
And, uh, it was, uh, probablyone of the best things that I, I

(03:12):
did for myself, you know, and,uh, it, it sounded exciting.
The pace sounded good.
it just sounded like a differentadventure.
So it like, yeah, let's trythis.
And I, you know, I've had peopletell me that I choose to work
here because I wanna be on yourteam.
uh, that's like one of the mostflattering things that I think
someone.
Can say to me, and you know, itwas kind of the same thing.

(03:32):
It was somebody who I've seen asa leader, is really intelligent
guy.
I wanna learn what, what thesepeople do.
so I went into their trainingprogram and, and got my CDL.

so you get your CDL, you start driving.
You start working your waythrough.
I gotta tell you, I have found.
That more cases than you wouldthink are exactly what you're
talking about, right?
I want to work for this person,I wanna work with this person.
it's kind of a leadership role.
And what I always findinteresting, and I'd love to get
your perspective on this, isthat a lot of being a driver,

(04:05):
and it doesn't matter if you'rein the coach world, doesn't
matter what side you're in.
A lot of it really isn't a teamsport.
And so I always love to talk topeople that are able to see that
leadership and feel that,because one of the things I hear
when I'm traveling the countrydoing training and working with
people is, well, you know, oncewe get out there on the road,
it's just us and the customers,right?
It's not, you know, I feel likeI'm part of the team, but I'm

(04:25):
kind of out there doing my ownthing.
So let me ask you, as someonewho's been in all of those
roles, what was it that thisperson was able to do that let
you feel like you're part ofthat team that was able to
bridge that gap?
And then how were you able, youknow, obviously you've had that
same position of where you'vegotten people to come work for
you.
How have you been able to kindof bridge that gap?

(04:47):
Make that more of a team sport,knowing that it's really an
individualized role.

You know, it, kind of is like a, that coach player
relationship.
you would come with a problemthat you didn't know how to
solve or a situation that youhad never been in before.
And that coach figure or thatmentor figure, he or she may
actually not know the exactanswer, but they know how to
lead you down path.
And you feel like, you know, Itrust this and this the, you

(05:12):
know, hey, I need fuel.
And I am in, Altoona,Pennsylvania, and there is not
a, you know, it, it, and wellhang on, let's check this
website, or hang on, you can gohere.
You know, they always knew howto guide you and it, it just,
you know, you felt like, Hey,these are people that can help
me along my way.
and, uh, I can learn a lot fromthem.

(05:33):
And then you wind up passingthat knowledge on time and time
again.
I, You know, we were talkingearlier about, Crawford
Lasseter, he's gonna receive the2025 CVSA International Safe
Driver Award.
Crawford and I actually met whenI I was a driver

Oh, really?

yeah.
And I, I was horrendously lostthat day.
I will tell you.
it was

So, so set the, set the stage for us.
Right.
Let, I could feel a good storycoming.
So, so set the stage.
Where are we at?

we're, we're, we're on our way into New York City to
the Port Authority for the veryfirst time in my life.
Mind you, um, not, notunderstanding the correct way in
and out of that building orwhere to go when you arrive
inside of that building oranything for that matter.
and had sweat through my shirt.
I remember this.

(06:20):
It was a hot day.
It was, it, it had nothing to dowith air It was everything to do
with my nerves and being scared.
Right.

Bus.
Bus full of passengers or onyour way for passengers.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Loaded already.
Already loaded.

Some, some very, very patient, patient
passengers, as you can imagine.
Right.
And, uh, pulled in Ann Crawford,uh, who was a Greyhound driver,
even back then.
You know, he started driving in1979.
and, Crawford was there andspotted me and said, need some
help.
And I said, yes.
You know, like the most big yesI've ever Yes.
In my Yes.

(06:51):
Right.
So he, uh.
He very patiently, I mean, forno with, with no motivation
whatsoever.
The guy guided me, he gave meadvice, he wrote out directions
for me to get back.
He was just, invaluable in thatmoment.
And, and I walked away from thatexperience saying, I wanna be
like this guy.
he was so professional, he wasso patient with me and, you

(07:13):
know, with the passengers andmy, my probably fumbling
questions.
I never forgot him.
And I'll tell you just to, bringthat together, you know, 20 some
odd years later, I'm theregional vice president for, for
this company.
And, uh, I am addressing all thetrainers in the classroom
Classroom.
I'm trying to get a, a feel forhow the, the driver training
school's going.

(07:33):
And, um, this trainer looks atme and says, we've met before.
And I said, I'm sorry, I, Ithink I just met you for the
first time today.
And he says, I remember yourfirst time at the Port
Authority.
And it was, it was CrawfordLasseter.
So, you know, I, I I was justlike, you know, and, and
immediately remember the entireexperience.
I don't know how I'll ever, I'llnever forget that that goes with
me till the day I die.

(07:54):
But, um, you know, it was veryinteresting to see him in a
different perspective in adifferent way.
And, you know, it's incrediblethe, uh, the training that he
gives to the students.
And, you know, his mission is tocreate the next generation of
bus drivers.
So, um, he, it, it was, it was agreat experience overall.

Well, and it's funny because one of the things
that, and and you've, you'veheard me talk before, you've,
you've sat in some of my talks.
My big thing is that you reallywant to be more of a coach, and
you nailed it on the head,right?
That coach player relationship.
Because most people, when youthink of a trainer and a typical
corporate sense, it's, Hey, I'mgonna show you a bunch of stuff.

(08:32):
You're gonna forget most of it.
We're gonna turn you loose,you're gonna be on your own.
Whereas people like that, thatunderstand kinda that coach
relationship, you have to havethe patience.
You have to empower people, youhave to give them the
opportunity.
All of those types of thingscreate a completely different
experience on the learning side.
And what's interesting is, youknow, in, in his case, he, he

(08:55):
remembered that day for you,right?
For him that might have justbeen a Tuesday or a Thursday or
whatever day of the week it was.
And he sees someone and says,Hey, yeah, I'm gonna help this
guy out.
I remember my first day therefor you.
This is like this pivotal, takeit to the grave type moment.
And so I think the biggest thingfor me, especially when I'm
seeing stuff like this, isunderstanding that there's this

(09:18):
awesome opportunity to pass onknowledge and to understand that
even though we're all out thereby ourselves, kinda like you
said, there's that opportunityto, to coach and work together.
So I think it's very fitting andvery deserving that now he's
winning that award all theseyears later.
But he was actually able to helpyou at that point.

Yeah, he's, he's an incredible guy and there's no
one I know more deserving.
So, he really set the standard,you know, uniform.
His, his actions, hiswillingness to, you know,
accommodate the customers andtake time for the students.
And he's a pretty incredibleguy, so I think we're very lucky
to, to get to work with him, youknow,

Well, and I, I think it's interesting because
clearly it sounds like his rolehas shifted, your role shifted.
Let me ask you, in going fromobviously that first early on
day when you actually steppedoutta the driver's seat, you
said you'd held all thesedifferent roles.
What is it that actually got yououtta the driver's seat?
What's the main reason that youwere kind of pulled from the
driver's seat and started movinginto the other roles?

the The same guy.
You

It all comes back to one point.

we have a a few jokes that, uh, that, that, uh,
colon and, and, I know his wifeand, uh, his wife refers to me
as his like third son, you know?
I still talk to him once in awhile and they still actually go
to some a, b, a events, so I'dlove to introduce you someday.
But, uh, you know, it was hisidea and, and said, you know,
this is something I you coulddo.
And I said, right, let's go.

(10:44):
You know, I, I was interested.
and it's the same thing, youknow, I knew if I followed him,
you know, there was, there was aclear path, right?
And he, he offered a lot of, uh,years of experience and, and was
willing to teach me and patient.
And then, you know, even, postthat.
So I, I leave that company and Iworked for the school bus
company for a while, and one dayI get a phone call from a number

(11:05):
that, that, you know, I hadassociated with, with a whole
different thing.
You know, I knew the company andit him.
And, uh.
He said, uh, you know, I'm, I'm,I'm the vice president at, at
this company.
And I said, wow,congratulations.
I, you know, I'm really happy.
And he said, I'm looking for adirector of operations.
Would be interested?
And, and, and you know, this isyears later, without hesitation,

(11:25):
I said, yeah, absolutely.
When do I start?
You know, I wasn't worried abouthow much did it pay or, you
know, all the things, you know,you're gonna worry about.
Does it have insurance?
You know, what are my hours?
You know, all the things thatyou, you think about.
I just knew I wanted to for him.
Right?
So it was that, you know, thatwould, that he was, that he was
the coach of the that you knewwas gonna win.
So you wanted to be on thatteam.
there's a few things thatinspire me to do what I do now,

(11:46):
and that's one of them.
I, I wanna the vp, you know, theregional vice president of
region that everybody wants towork in because we're, we're
doing great things.
And because we're, we're doingit the best, we're putting in
maximum effort.
We know we're, we're treatingour customers right.
We're, we're doing it safely,you know, safety first with
everything we do.
and it's a good place to work.

(12:07):
and, that's, you know, that'spart of my inspiration is to
kind of be like him, you know?
And, you know, I think a lot ofpeople felt that way about him.
He's still obviously alive, buthe's retired since.
And, uh, incredible guy.
I, I won't lie to you that I'veworked for some really
incredible people in my careerI've learned a lot from.
And, uh, you know, I, I've beenvery, very fortunate.

(12:29):
and in my current capacity, ourCOO Rodney, very inspirational
leader, you know, really knowshow to, uh, get the best from
people, I think.
and that helps feed what I do inmy region.
I think that I'm fortunate toget, to continue to have, you
know, great mentors and greatleaders, that I get to work
with.
So,

I've gotta tell you, you know, it seems like
every single, right?
If you, if, if we ever had torename the podcast, I think it
would be the go get a Mentorpodcast, right?
Because every single episodethat we have, every time we have
conversations with people,there's always kind of a pivotal
moment and there's always kindof a pivotal person.
You know, I always tell peoplewhen they ask me about me, you

(13:08):
know, I think of when I firstcame to Pax, right?
And the idea that we were gonnado ongoing training and a
certification in the industryand do it online, everybody's
like, are you nuts?
Right?
Like this, this is totally new,totally crazy.
And I went back to like this JimRone quote that I'd heard,
right?
It's not about what you aregetting, kinda like you said
with the pay, the benefits.
You're not worried about it.
it's not about what you'regetting, it's about what you're

(13:29):
becoming.
And knowing that you're gonna beon that right team knowing
you're gonna be in the rightplace.
So I think you're really kind ofhitting on what I hear so often
with people that have foundsuccess in the industry is
finding the right people tendsto put you in the right place.
So.
you've gotten to the point nowwhere you're over at Greyhound
now.

(13:49):
I know that for a lot of people,you know, they saw Flix and
Greyhound coming together.
There's kind of some confusionthere, I think in general of
people trying to understand,okay, did Flix buy it?
Was there a merger?
What did that look like?
do you come in before or afterthat takes place?

After, so Flix acquired Greyhound in 2021.
Um, you know, Flix is an amazingcompany.
just from the, you know, myperspective and my experience
with them, you know, they'revery big on equality.
Um, you know, verycustomer-centric, you know, all
the things that any greatbusiness could be.
relationship with Greyhound andFlick is I think absolutely

(14:26):
fantastic.
And, uh, you know, it, it, it,it gives us, I think, a lot of
potential for big growth.
FL is all over the place.
I mean, I, I meet passengers whoare from Germany or a, any part
of Europe.
and, uh, when they see the, uh,Flick logo on the Greyhound bus.
you know, They're like, oh, flAnd, and it's almost like a sigh
of relief.
Like, because they're unfamiliarwith Greyhound and, uh, but they

(14:47):
see Flix and they associate withit and, and they're like, this
trip is gonna be fantastic.
You know, things are gonna govery well.
and, uh, you know, I, I thinkthat that is great for Greyhound
and, uh, you know, I think thepartnership amazing.

So correct me if I'm wrong, Flix starts over in
Europe, obviously now with youguys here at Greyhound, they're
operating in the United States.
does Flix operate globally?
Then what are kinda the marketsthat Flix has?

I'm not a Flips market expert, but I can tell
you

Just in general.
Right.
We'll, we'll have the mar, we'llhave the market expert guy on
later, but just just to givepeople an idea of kind of the
scale of Flix.

Europe, Turkey, Chile, and there's several more
countries.
it's a very, very big Companyand it's, it's uh, you know,
there's also the flick trainelement of the company.
It's, you know, I, I haveforever, uh, admired the, the
business concept and, uh, Ireally think it's, it's
ingenious.

Yeah.
No, and, and as, as someone thathas family in Europe, I mean it,
like you said, it's one of thosethings where if you're coming
over from Europe.
They're gonna have the brandrecognition, they're gonna know
the name.
So it's, it's neat to have kindof a global rant.
So with that in mind, you've gotkind of your region here in the
us.
What does it look like for youday to day?

(15:59):
I mean, obviously, you know,you're working with a larger
company, but what does it looklike for you day to day when
you're thinking about how youguys are operating, what you
guys are doing, kind of thoseareas.
What are the things that you'refocused on?
Because, you know, I thinkespecially a lot of the
operators that are wanting toreach scale, you know, they,
they might not have aspirationsto reach the level of Greyhound
where they're all over thecountry, but you guys manage an

(16:22):
incredibly large fleet.
You guys have got units all overthe US trips going on at any one
point in time.
So what does it look like?
Kind of operating at scale?

I will tell you that, uh, it all comes back to
the beginning.
the thing that I focus on themost is, uh, drivers.

Yeah.

You know, our motor coach operators are, are, are we
doing the right thing with them?
Are we putting them in, youknow, the, the, the best
possible scenario all the time?
Are we, we, you know, givingthem the tools that they need to
job to do the job?
Um, you know, it's always safetyand drivers.
That's, it's what it comes backto.
And, and, you uh, a driverinstructor, when I was learning

(17:00):
to drive a bus once told me, yougotta him the sleeping pill.
And I said, what does that mean?
And he said, when you're drivingthe bus smooth and your actions
are safe, and you look in themirror and all your passengers
are having a good nap on theway, he says, that's when you've
made it, that you are a gooddriver.
you know, those are the kinds ofthings that I think we can, you
know, focusing on safety, Ithink really begins in the

(17:21):
training aspect of, of driver

Oh, a hundred percent.

and you have to, uh, you have to give them the
skills they need do their job.

No, and, and I have to tell you a couple things.
One, I think you've hit on whatand impacts, we call it the
biggest compliment you can everreceive, right?
If you are driving so smoothly,so safely that people are
falling asleep, like you said,you're doing exactly what you
should be.
Because what's interesting iseven though it's a motor coach,
everybody drives a car.

(17:49):
Everybody's on that same road,right?
It's it in most of the cases,that's a road they may have
driven on, they could drive on,right?
It's not like you are somewherethey're never gonna be.
And I think people notice morethan you think when you know
there's a truck that's too closeor you know, you are riding the
guy in front of you, you'refollowing too closely.
I think a lot of people alsoforget we've got at the front of

(18:11):
the bus, a giant windshield.
So if I'm, you know, one bumperlength off, the guy in front of
me, everybody on the back of thebus that's looking forward can
see that.
Um, and, and I'm obviously, I'mmore sensitive.
The most, there's been timesI've been on a bus and I'm kinda
leaning in the aisle going, oh.
I think knowing that is huge andunderstanding that ultimately

(18:33):
it's the driver.
You know, it doesn't matter whatyou are doing in terms of your
structure, your policies, yourthis, your that, your drivers
have to take everything thatyou're putting together,
everything you're doing, andultimately they're kind of that
face to the passenger.
And I've gotta tell you, I thinkone of the big advantages that
you've got is having sat in thatdriver's seat, you know, we see

(18:55):
a lot of people that come intothe, at industry that don't ever
get to really sit there, thatdon't ever get to really see it
that way.
And sometimes you kind of see adisconnect as a result.
So I think one of the thingsthat I would ask is, you know,
if you had to pick what is thesingle most important aspect
when it comes to training orsafety or, or whatever it might

(19:18):
be, being able to come from thatdriver role.
What are some of the kind of thetop things that you see that
are, Hey, these are the keys.
These are the big things.
These are the absolute must havehaves to do that I've seen from
all of my experience.

You know, I couldn't possibly focus just to
one thing and, in my mind, butsome of the things that I tell
the drivers, like in drivertraining is that, uh, plan ahead
for And I don't mean that.
And, and it's no.
Just get ready for your turnbefore you're on your turn.
And, you know, it's, do you haveyour clothes for tomorrow?
Is your uniform set tomorrow?

(19:56):
Did you set an alarm?
Did you get yourself to bed onDid you have a good meal?
did you say goodbye to yoursignificant other when you left
the house?
Right.
You know, prepare yourself atall times and give yourself the
biggest advantages that can, bynever putting yourself in that
scenario where you're in arough.
I think that that is kind ofpivotal to, to having a, a good
career as a driver.

(20:16):
you know, I, I still this day, Ican tell you what I'm wearing
tomorrow.
I can tell, you know, my, my, myshirt's already ironed.
you know, prepare yourself inadvance and, uh, you know,
always, as you know, in, inwhatever role I've had, I'm such
a firm believer.
and if I can't be on time, I'mgonna be Right?
So, I, I would rather be a halfhour early for something and be

(20:38):
waiting around and, and readyand relaxed.
And I just think, you know, setyourself up for success as, as
often as you can, as you know,in any position.
But, you know, I think it'sespecially helpful in a, in a
role like that where everythingis about time and, and precision
and safety and, doing the safestpossible thing all the time.
and you know, when, when we talkabout like, what does safety

(21:00):
mean to you and, and things likethat, you know, it's always, you
know, doing the right thing allthe time, even when nobody's
paying attention.
those are the things if you, ifyou're prepared and you, you're
mentally ready for those things,I think it, I think it gives
them an advantage in that role.
So, you know, those are the kindof, you know, helpful pointers
and stuff like that that I tryto people.

Well, and, and I'm gonna take us completely like
total left field here, but Ialways think back to the movie
Limitless, right?
For anybody that hasn't seen themovie Limitless, there's this
pill and you take this pill andit unlocks, right?
Your, your full potential.
It basically, it's a smart pill.
you're suddenly focused, you'resmart, you're intelligent.
And you know, I watched thatmovie and I thought it was

(21:43):
great.
I'm like, oh man, we gotta getthe limitless pill.
But the cool thing about it is,if you watch that movie, the
very first thing this guy does,he takes this pill.
He's suddenly the absolutesmartest, best version of
himself.
The very first thing this guydoes is go on a cleaning spree,
an organizing spree.
He gets everything organized, hegets everything clean, he gets

(22:04):
everything in place.
Right?
Exactly what you're talkingabout now, just kind of bring it
back to where we were, right?
Not just talk about movies, butthe big thing there is.
Being intentional.
It's if I'm gonna be the mostpowerful, the most intelligent,
the best version of myself, I'mgonna be intentional.
I'm gonna know where things are,I'm gonna be prepared.
I'm gonna have everything at myfingertips.

(22:25):
And I think especially when itcomes to, and I think this
probably is great advice foranyone beyond driving as well.
'cause I see it with a lot ofpeople for work, right?
It's, well, you know, I go towork, I get that done.
But they're not thinking about,okay, what do I have to do to
get ready at the end of my day?
What do I prepare for tomorrow?
What do I have coming?
How can I be intentional abouteverything that I'm doing?

(22:49):
And I think when you start doingthat, you start seeing real
change.
So I think that's from adriver's standpoint, it's
something that a lot of peopledon't think about.
But I can tell you one of thebig things that I hear come up
all the time is diet andexercise.
It is so easy on the road tojust eat junk.

Oh, it is.
you know, I don't, I don't knowif you know this or not, but in
that era of my life, I alsoweighed four pounds.

No way.
There was three of you, uh, ormaybe four of you with, with how
your current weight.
Right.
So for anybody that's, that'slistening right.
Matt looks like he couldprobably fit two or three times
into someone 400 pounds.
Right?
I I, I had no idea.
I, and, and that said, uh, we'veknown each other for years now.

Yeah, yeah, it's been about, uh, 17 years since I
lost the weight.
Um, but, uh, yeah, yeah, I was,I was, had definitely created
some health issues for myselfand I decided that, uh, you
know, I wanted to a betterversion of myself and, uh, you
know, diet and exercise andjust, you know, it, it, it's
incredible as you go with ajourney like that, how much

(23:53):
better you feel throughout it.
and I think I have a, a, agreater understanding than some
about that, you know, when, whenall you make available to
yourself is, is junk food,right?
You, you're gonna eat it.
And, it definitely, you don'trealize it's the time, but diet,
exercise and, and proper restare so important.
You know, it, will change youroutlook on life.

(24:13):
You know, I was talking to avendor yesterday who said, uh, I
don't know how you're notexhausted all time.
and I just kinda laughed.
I said, when you love what youdo, not hard.
And he said, you know, you'reupbeat, you're positive and all
that.
I, I think more so now thanever, but.
Um, you know, I like what I do.
I like the people that I workfor.
and, I enjoy my job, so it makesit easy to truly it.

(24:35):
but it also, uh, speaks to like,you know, eating proper and, and
getting proper rest.
And, you know, I think we allare a better version of
ourselves when we take care ofourselves.

Well, and and I can tell you that at least I've
recently, in the past coupleyears, right.
I've started getting a lot moreactive.
There was kind of that point inmy life where, you know, it was
nothing but travel, but work.
But you know, and you're eatingwhatever's there and you're
doing whatever's there.
Now that I'm, you know, I'mactively golfing again.
I'm playing hockey again.
Right?
More so the hockey than the golfis probably responsible for

(25:08):
keeping me in shape.
I, I don't know that me drivinga cart around is helping much,
but, you know, last night outplaying hockey, you know, all
these things.
I think the big thing that Ifind is when you become active,
it's easier to stay active whenyou're eating right.
It's easier to keep eating.
Right.
Let me ask you something, youknow, having been on that

(25:29):
transformation, I've been onthat journey, what would you say
the impact was when you were atthat point versus now on your
reaction time, your ability to,do those types of things that
you need to in terms of reactand think ahead, and have you
felt a massive difference inyour ability to do that?

Absolutely, absolutely.
You, you, I think, mentally andphysically, I think I feel much
more nimble than I did backthen, if that makes sense.
More able to react, more ableto, uh, you know, engage in
things.
my concentration, I think ismuch better it was back then.
You know, I, I do have a littletouch of a DD where I wanna kind
of follow the, uh, follow the asthey say.

That's why we get along so well.
I have that same problem.

And, you know, you know, I, I wanna, working from
the garage today, you know, wewere, we were talking about
components on a vehicle and, uh,I wanted to learn everything
there is to learn about thatparticular component.
Right now, those are things thatI think I had a difficult time
doing in.
In that era of my life where nowlike, okay, well, you know, I
have now satisfied my need forthat, right?

(26:36):
So let's what's next?
You know?
So, one thing about thisindustry is it's, it's, full of
challenges and there's, alwaysnew new issues, new
developments.
And, you know, when you workwith the right team, you find
that you're able to conquer themmore easily and you're able to
get through them.
you know, which, which goes backto another thing that I say all
the time.

(26:57):
Uh, my team hears this very,very frequently from me, but
none of us are as smart as allus, right?

Oh, a

Um, and we talk about that a lot.
We also talk about the alligatorclosest to the boat concept that
we, we, we use here.
You know, it's

Oh, okay.
You're, you're, you're gonnahave to explain that one'cause
that's, that's a new one to me.
And, and that one, that onestrikes me as a bit odd because
we were talking about New York,Connecticut.
I don't know, the alligatorclosest to the boat is something
I would've expected to hear upthat way.
So, so lightness.
What is alligator coast to theboat,

Well, what alligator is the most important
one to you?
It's the one closest to theboat, right?
So you're, you're always, uh,you know, you always have to
focus on that, that most thing,and that, you know, that that
most important thing, the coreof everything we do has to be
safety.
you know, safety for the, thepassengers, safety for our
drivers, safety for everyone onroads.

(27:46):
You know, That, always the coreof what we do.
but, you know, it, you know,employee satisfaction or, you
know, this, this driver's, uh,you know, this, operator's
current biggest problem in theworld is x.
is that a problem we can, assisthim with?
We may not be able to solve butlet's least, you know, show them
that it's important to us beempathetic to their situation.

(28:07):
and you know, I, I'm sure you'veheard that quote.
you have to be careful becauseyou never know what somebody
else is going through, right?
So what, what for, to your pointearlier, but for Crawford was
probably an idle Tuesday wa waslike this pivotal, you know, day
for me that I'll never forget inmy whole life.
to this day, I still look up tohim.
Um, you know, he, he just hadsuch grace under But yeah, so

(28:29):
that's the alligator closest toboat.
And we, we talk about that, allthe time.
We have a, you know, my team andI have a couple calls every day,
seven days week, we talk and, westart having an issue of any
kind and we, we say, okay, wellwhat's the alligator closest to
the boat?
And, and, okay, that's thebiggest problem.
Then that's where we're allgonna focus and we're, we're
gonna work together to come upwith a solution and we're gonna

(28:50):
get past that.
And then we'll move on to thenext alligator.
until there's no more alligatorsto worry about.
it's just kind of a fun way ofsaying, Hey, let's, let's find
our priority and let's work onour priority together.
I'm very, very fortunate.
I won't lie to you.
I, I work with some reallytalented individuals, not only
in the leadership, but you know,that I report up to.
But, but on my team, I have somereally impressive people, with

(29:11):
amazing backgrounds.
I have a lot of folks who weredrivers and have, worked their
way up in the world, so tospeak.
uh, you know, they, understandwhat our operators do.
Um, they respect what ouroperators do.
I think important.
feel blessed with the team thatI have.
Um, and I, I wouldn't changethem for.
the world.

Well, and I, I think you're hitting on
something really important andsomething that I see becomes a
bigger and bigger deal ascompanies scale and you get
larger, having a team that youcan trust, having the ability to
delegate, like you said, beingable to sit down and say, Hey,
what's the alligator closest tothe boat?
What are we worried about now?
What are we taking care of?
I think that becomes a muchbigger deal, especially as, I'll

(29:51):
give you an example.
One of the things I see all thetime is when companies go from
one location to two, one of acouple things happen.
The companies that figure it outand are ready to move to the
third locations are typicallythe ones that stop and say, Hey,
what worked in one location,what we were kind of shooting
off the hip doesn't work.
We start getting outta sync.

(30:12):
And I see a lot of companies,especially'cause in my world of
training, there are companiesthat I work with that might have
four or five locations that feellike four or five completely,
totally different companies.
They don't run the same way.
The brand feels different, thesafety feels different, the
culture feels different.
The ones that are really able tokind of scale and develop it are
the ones that are able to say,Hey, we've got the right people

(30:35):
in place, we've got the rightsystems in place.
We've built everything out in away that we are all rowing in
the same direction.
And then we're coming together,like you said, and we're, we're
tackling those things.
I think one of the neat things,and this is a group that you and
I have both been a part of, is Ithink you've got resources out
there that often get overlooked.
Um, you know, you and I aretypically at all the bus

(30:57):
industry Safety Council events.
You and I are very involvedthere and I think understanding
that you have.
Resources and people you can goto is huge.
and by the way, for anyone who'snot familiar, bus Industry
Safety Council is a councilunder the American Bus
Association.
And kind of our whole goals ofBus Industry Safety Council is

(31:17):
to educate and really work onthat safety piece.
Now, you've been involved,actually, I believe you're
actually involved with BostonSafety Council even longer than
I've been.
cause I know you were, I believeyou might have already been
involved with them.
When, when I came on the scene,how, yeah.
I,'cause I, if I remember right,that's where we originally met
when you were with your lastemployer.
So let me ask you, how has thatkind of impacted the trajectory

(31:40):
of your career and what are ofsome of the values or pieces
that you get from being involvedin that council, from going to
those events?

Well, assumed you knew this, but now that I'm
thinking back, I you, didn't.
But, so Al Smith, longtimemember of the Bus Industry
Safety Council was the safetydirector at, Greyhound.
And, uh, I the vice chair ofthe, his committee.

Oh, I didn't know that part.
I, I, I was lucky enough, youknow, God rest, I, I knew Al, he
was great, but I didn't

so that was kind of the thing that, got me
interested in coming Greyhoundand, uh, Al kind of.
Pushed me along and, uh, here Iam.
But, uh, and, and I got to workwith Al Gear up for a while as
well before he retired.
Um, and, that was, pretty huge.
and I've really it.
Um, you know, I will say that,uh, you know, some people from
the council that, that broughtme into it originally, um, and

(32:32):
kind of promoted the idea of meparticipating in it.
you know, I, I, I couldn't bethankful for it.
I think learned, you know, atremendous amount.
I think that hearing theinformation that's presented,
and I don't know if I can namedrop some of'em, but I'm gonna,
anyway, guess.
But, uh, you know, like, uh,Mike McDonald for example, from
Salcon Amazing Knowledge.

(32:54):
I've learned a lot from thematerials that he's presented
over the years.
Pam Marez from Daco, she hasdelivered some very intricate,
human resource.
Presentations, many about andthings like that companies have
brought forth.
Um, you know, so veryinteresting stuff and, and
learned a great deal from them.
but the list goes on and on.

(33:14):
There's so many talented peoplethere that have so much
experience.
And when you attend, it's notjust going to be sessions, you
get networking time with them,you get to know these other
folks.
And, uh, you know, for me, inthe beginning it was really, you
know, Al Smith and just learningfrom Al and I would have 4
million questions for Al everytime I would see him.
It was like, I kind saved himup.

(33:36):
and, uh, Al would verypatiently, you know, well, you
know, this is how I would handlethis.
And, you he, he, you know, well,if you look in the regulation,
Matt, you would see X, Y, Z,right?
And, uh, you know, it, it, it,it it al was pretty fantastic as
a, you know, he was kind of amentor of mine well.
But, you know, in Bisk.
we have a mentor program.
Um, and I, think that one of thehardest parts about when you

(33:58):
start out in a council like thatis you don't anybody.
You feel like the new kid inschool.
Right.
And, by connecting with a mentorwhen new, you, it of goes'cause
you almost immediately havesomebody, right?
you have common commonalitieswith everybody who's there you
are on kind of the same mission,most likely to, you know, learn
and grow and develop and helpmake the world a safer place,

(34:20):
really.
Um, and I, I think what we do isvery important.
So, you know, I I, I, I thinkthat, uh, The Bus Industry
Safety Council has been n notonly good for, you know, my
education, but kind of growth asa person as well.
Um, so it, been a fantasticexperience for me.
And I, I feel very privilegedthat, uh, that Greyhound allows
me to continue to do that.

(34:40):
and very happy to serve as theVice Chairman of council.
And, uh, you know, I, I, I'mvery appreciative of that
opportunity.

Well, and I, I've gotta say, you know, I've been
to a lot of different groups,you know, and, and I think
you've hit on something reallybig.
You know, you go for your firsttime ever to a new association,
a new group.
You're nervous.
I've been on both sides of that,right?
I've been there as a vendor.
I've been there as a member, andI can tell you, you know.
the big thing is always tryingto kind of get over that hump of

(35:11):
the first day of school, right?
I always think back to when Iwas a kid and it's the first day
of school at a new school andyou don't know anybody and
you're terrified.
And back to what we saidearlier, for everyone else, it's
Tuesday, Wednesday, whatever dayof the week it is.
Right?
They're all seeing theirbuddies, they're all, but that
first one is always reallytough.
And one of the things thatinstantly let me know I was in

(35:32):
the right place for the BostonSafety Council is that it really
is very much about learning andseeking knowledge.
you go to a lot of sessionswhere it's, I'm the guy that
knows everything.
I'm gonna tell you everything.
You gotta go through me.
I know it all.
whereas what I find is in thebus industry safety council.

(35:52):
It's a lot more of, you know,you've got all these different
people from all these differentparts.
You know, you've got Pam, who'san HR expert.
You've got Mike, who's acompliance expert.
You know, you've got JeffShanker who came from law
enforcement, has got, you know,the safety background.
He's got the operationsbackground.
You've got all of thesedifferent people, right?
Sal is the OSHA expert.
You know, you've got all ofthese different walks and all

(36:15):
these different perspectives andyou bring them together and
suddenly you start getting allof these different viewpoints
and everybody is more worriedabout educating and networking
and communicating, and notnecessarily about who's right.
Now.
That said, I think we've allseen a couple heated discussions

(36:36):
over how, you know, whateverpoint, whatever was interpreted
and how it applied.
And, but it's, it's one ofthose, it's one of those things
where I can tell you, I've hadsituations where, you know, I
was, So I was out west and I wasthe client and they were asking
me some questions about hours ofservice and you know, they had a
very specific super niche, superodd, you know, position on it.

(36:58):
I said, well, you know, this ismy gut instinct, but I'm gonna
phone a friend, right?
Who did I call?
Mike McDonald.
Hey Mike.
I know.
Yeah, right.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I said, Hey, you know, Mike,Mike hours of service are really
one of his things.
This is a super niche and one ofthe cool things is because the
way this council's structured,instead of just like giving me

(37:19):
the answer, it was, alright,well let's walk through the
scenario.
Let's look at it like it becamethis teaching moment.
And I'm forever grateful topeople that do that.
'cause I think you and I sharethis commonality that we love to
learn.
You know, you want to learn, youwant to figure it out.
You've mentioned Al, which if,if you wouldn't mind, I'd love
for you to talk a little bitmore about Al because he was

(37:40):
great.
He was one of those guys thatreally got it.
I think understanding thatthere's resources like this out
there is half the battle.
you know, when it comes to Alare you able to share some of
the things that, that he wasable to teach and bring you on
and, and more so can you give usa little bit of background?
He was, he was a heck of acharacter when it comes to
someone who gets it.
Knows it, does it.

(38:01):
He was, he was right there.

He had big personality.
I think was a part of it.
I, I can share, uh, some aboutAl certainly.
you know, Al Smith worked forGreyhound for 40 plus years, and
he started as a, a driver in acompany that, I believe it was a
trailways company that wasacquired by Greyhound throughout
the history.
And, uh, Al Al started out west.

(38:23):
And, uh, you know, Al was just,he knew.
One of the things I think I Imost appreciate Al Smith was his
ability to relate to the driver.
Be reasonable, but look for theright way.
You know, it wasn't, uh, youknow, it, there was never like a
a just boom, this is solution.

(38:44):
He always put a lot of thoughtthings.
he wanted the drivers to do thebest possible job.
He wanted them to go out and dothe safest possible, and he
wanted them to treat thecustomers well, and he wanted
them to represent the companywell.
and, you know, he would look fora way to do that.
And Al Smith, you, you, youjust, you know, I don't know how
well you knew him, but youdidn't wanna Al.

(39:06):
but not because you were scaredof him.
You just, you know, I thinkpeople just wanted to live up to
the man's expectations.

Well, I mean, he was also a tall man.
I mean, Al I think both of usare safe in saying we both
looked up to Al, literally.

most people did.
I think Al was probably went sixthree or six four.

Yeah.
He's pretty tall guy.

But he was, uh, uh, just a phenomenal individual
who, um, you know, drivers tothis day, you know, within the
company, still, still talk abouthim.
you know, he was well respectedin the community just, people
really, looked up to him in manyways.
And, uh, you know, and regardedhim as an expert in the field,
you know, and, uh, you know, itwas an honor to get to work with

(39:49):
him and be his vice chair oncommittees.
Um, you know, and I, I alwayslooked forward to, uh, to
talking to Al and, uh, uh, I'llbe honest with you, I was very
flattered, when Al thought thatI could quote, replace him.
and I told then that I don'tthink anybody could ever you,
Al, but, uh, you know, it, uh,it was, uh, it was an honor for

(40:09):
him to, even think of that forme.
So, you I, I, I've always reallyappreciated that he thought of
me in that.
regard.

Well, and I think that goes back to the mentorship
piece that we talked aboutearlier, right?
I think we, and, and, we'll,we'll call it what it is.
although neither one of us wouldconsider ourselves like the
really young guys.
You know, we are in an industrywhere the average age of people,
especially on the safety and thetraining side, are much older
than you and I, you know, I, Iconsider myself middle aged, but

(40:40):
a lot of times, I dunno aboutyou, I get, I get told, Hey,
you're the young guy, you're thekid.
I'm going, Yeah, yeah.
40-year-old kid over here.
but I think, there's a lot ofknowledge that right now is at
risk of being lost in ourindustry because of the fact
we're not seeing as many youngerpeople come in.
we do have some that have comethrough, especially in terms of,

(41:01):
you know, ownership and the nextgeneration taking over.
but I think there's a hugeamount of people in our industry
that are willing to share thatknowledge.
When I first came over to themotor coach side, I wasn't
involved in BISC yet.
but I, I got put on the drivingforce.
So, so shout out to, to AaronBloom, who, who runs the, the
driving force and now we're acouncil there.
but I got put on the drivingforce and when I say I was the

(41:24):
least experienced, that's anunderstatement.
So we had Brett Maitland, we hadAdam Hall, we had Pam Martinez,
we had Mike McDonald.
you know, the list just goes onof all of these people that have
all of this years and years andyears of experience.
And here I am coming towardsmotor coach industry, obviously,

(41:44):
you know, with Pax moving intothat space.
And very quickly it became,well, we're going to BISC You
need to do bis well, you need tobe involved over here.
Well, you need to be doing this,you need to be looking at that.
And very quickly that kind ofhelped steer you in the right
direction.
So I think it sounds like youkind of had similar experiences
so.
Let me ask you something and,and I know what my answer would

(42:06):
be, but I'd love to hear yours.
what would you tell somebodythat is newer to the industry,
or maybe even they're a driverand they're looking to get into
a different role, or, you know,maybe they're in one role now,
wanna be involved in a differentpart, or maybe they're just
trying to learn more.
How, how would somebody, youknow, you were very lucky in

(42:27):
that it almost seems like theseguys found you.
What would someone do if theywanted to be in that place to be
found or to learn more or topick up a mentor?
What, what advice would you givesomeone that's looking for that?

Ask questions, curious.
You know, don't, accept ananswer as you know, as what it
is.
Ask why.
Um, and, and you know what, I, Ithink a lot of this business is
networking, you know, andgetting to know others and, and,
uh, you know, don't be bashful.
That's the other It's, uh, youknow, don't be scared to say,
you know, what is this?

(43:02):
What is a VA all about?
What is.
BIS all about.
And, I, I always encourage whenI talk to other operators who
part of, you know, BIS or a or,you know, try it, come to a
meeting.
You, you, you, you, I thinkyou'll find there's a lot being
offered there.
Um, you know, and you know.
And you were on all the, the biexecutive committee halls?

(43:23):
Yeah.
Where you know I We are as ateam trying to jazz it up a
little bit.
The best contest.
I still think that was a lotfun.
I hope that that catches youknow, it's like kind of my baby,
but I, I, I I think it's a coolHey, throughout your best idea
and, hopefully you win somecash, right?
but, you know, being part ofthose things I think will, will
very quickly, you know, bringout for folks the, the

(43:46):
opportunities that are thereand, and help them get the
exposure to it that need.
to learn.
I mean, you know, a being new tothis can be difficult for the
same reasons that we're worriedabout losing that knowledge.
You know, everybody who's beenhere has been here a time, and,
uh, you know, not all of us arequick to warm up to new people.
so, you know, I think that, uh,the BIS mentor program helps

(44:08):
with that.
I just, you know, reaching outand talking to BIS members or,
you know, any of that is ahelpful thing.
you know, I, I, gotta say 20something years ago, you know,
when I was, you know, brand newto industry, I never thought
that social media would playsuch a role, but are some
absolutely amazing, you know,uh, motor coach operator groups

(44:31):
out there.
And, I know we talked aboutRachel Greenwell on, uh, on some
of our

Yeah.
Big shout out to Rachel.
She's, uh, she's doing great onsocial media.
For anybody that's notfollowing, that's a driver that,
that is posting videos.
Who, Rachel, if you wanna be onpodcast, let us know.
But

I'm, I'm sure she'd be open to it, but, uh, you
know, it, it, that, that's thekind of stuff, and I think that
by bringing that to the, youknow, the things like when you
tell somebody about a BAmarketplace for the time, you
know, how many people are there,all of the vendors that are
there, the marketplace itself,the Broadway piece of it, the,
the, you know,

it can be overwhelming.

it's, it's such an amazing opportunity.
You know, I am still everthankful to, uh, Dennis Lyons,
who invited me to come to a BAfor first time years ago.
And, uh, you know, I, I havebeen almost every year since
then, but, uh.
You know, I, I remember gettingback from that trip and, and
telling him, thank you forletting me do that.

(45:28):
And, you know, I met so people.
You interface with vendors and,you know, as an operator, you're
always at, you know, am I buyingthe best this, you know, is this
the best way for us to handlething?
And, uh, you know, we, we, it'salways good to see what's there.
And that, that was part of themotivation and bringing those
vendors that we're at, uh, atthe BIS conference.

(45:51):
You know, it was, uh, bring somefaces in and, you know, they
really seemed to enjoy theirexperience there.
And, and they got some reallygood quality t uh, time to talk
folks.
But a lot of operators who werethere had the opportunity to, to
talk to them, ask questionsabout their products, uh, and
then some of them gave reallygood educational, uh, sessions.

(46:12):
You know, and, and, and I thinkthat knowledge is, is important
and, uh, we can all learn eachother.
And, uh, you know, I, I thinkthat by continuing doing that
and, and bringing some freshfaces in, I hope that we attract
some more people.
And I, I that the, the folkslisten to this, if you're not
part of Bisk and you're, you'recurious, please reach out to
James, reach out to myself.
We would be absolutely happy totalk you about it.

(46:35):
Um, and tell you about theexperience.
And, uh, you know, I, I think,you know, it's very educational,
it's great networking, and alsofun, you know, so.
I, I, you know, reception thatwe went to, uh, that a, b,
hosted it.
It's so interesting, you know,as somebody in the industry to
see the behind the curtain ofsome other part of the right?

(46:56):
So the tour ABC's Place, um,thought was, you know, I, I
thought it was great.
Um, it was so, uh, it was sointeresting to me and so, so
enjoyable, right?
So see where those parts arebeing stored, how things come
together on their end.
And then, you know, you seethose things roll into garage
and it's like, wow, I, I knowwhere you came from.

(47:17):
I know your whole life storybefore you got here now.
So I, think this Bisk has beenone of the best things that, uh,
that I've been able to, uh, toattend my, uh, actually, and,
and, and, and fun story for you,a little side quest but, uh, I
have a son named Matt, also, youMatt Junior, and he got to go to
Bisk once, uh, when he,

How old is he?

he's 25 now.
and he has CDL got a CDL when heuh, the tender age of 20 years
old.
And, uh, he got to go on acouple charters with me, you
know, years before, um, as adriver.
And then, uh, he got to drivesome trips, uh, and, uh, he
still actually works in theindustry, so, and he, loves he
does and, uh, you know, it,it's, it's always kind of fun

(47:59):
because he, he got to go to Biskonce and, he enjoyed it and he
always asked me, you know, howit, what, you know, who was
there?
And, and all of those things.
So it's, kind of a, I guess it'sa family business for us now.
You know, we're all gonna workin transportation maybe.
But it's, uh, it, it it wasalways cool to see him kind of
come up in.
that business.

Well, I think, I think you've kind of hit the
nail on the head, right?
Part of this is, is having thatfire there.
Um, you know, obviously not, notto withhold the love because we
haven't mentioned them yet, butI think one of the coolest part
about our bisk events for me isthat.
You have bis, which is the busindustry safety council, me
being training you, being right.
Both of us are in that samesafety training space, so that's

(48:39):
where we tend to put a lot ofour focus.
But then you have bus mark thattags on right to the back of it,
which is the bus industrymaintenance council.
And what's really cool for meabout these events is that
unlike a lot of other shows,you've got these moving.
So you might be in Florida, youknow, we were in Minnesota, you
know, California, you've got allof these different places and

(49:00):
typically what you're gonna see.
Is you are going to havemeetings on the BIS side that
are educational sessions.
You know, you've got safetycompliance director one-on-one.
You've got all of thesedifferent pieces there that are
really focused on the safety.
But then one of my big thingsthat I love doing is on Bus
mark, we basically have FieldTrip day, right?

(49:22):
And clearly not the officialterm for it, but field trip day
for us big kids, you know, andwe do our site visits.
And so, you know, when we werein Minnesota, there were three
incredible operators that we gotto go and see.
And so we're getting to seetheir location, their vehicles,
you know, they're touring youthrough the facility, they're
sharing everything that they'redoing, how they have stuff

(49:42):
structured.
And so you're getting to see itfrom a whole different point of
view.
And so.
I always really liked that modeland that you are learning and,
and me, of course we have bothmentioned low A, d, D, right?
I want to touch it, feel it, seeit run around.
Uh, for me that's always thecoolest part of that is you're
getting to learn on the safetyside, but then you're getting to

(50:03):
see those operations.
You're getting to go and bethere.
And I think that's somethingthat's really unique.
Um, fun story.
You know, for us, we have apartnership with A B, C, where
they have all of their vehiclespecific van H training in the
PAX training platform.
So any operator that's runningVan Hs, you have all the
training videos directly fromthe manufacturers.

(50:23):
And that actually came from, youknow, Ryan Cornell.
I got lucky.
We were in, um.
So we're out in Florida andwe're at their Florida location,
which for anyone that hasn'tbeen, it's almost like a little
campus, right?
They basically got a campusthere with all the different
parts and we started talkingthere and we were able to, to
get something figured out.
She put me in touch with Danny,who is the guy that takes care

(50:44):
of their in-house trainingmaterial.
And we were able to putsomething together.
And that happened as a result ofthe Bus New City Safety Council.
'cause we were doing a tourthere.
And so for me, I think a lot ofthis is just really getting out
there and getting involved.
now let me ask you, what, ifanything, do you think has been
one of the most valuable thingsyou've been able to get from

(51:06):
that group?
I know you mentioned your, yourtime with Al and you've got
things there.
Is there any one thing that kindof stands out for you?

You know, I, I think that, uh, the visits are
something that you always takesomething back from that

Oh, there's always something new.
It's

And if it's not the way that, you know, company X,
Y, Z decided to their parts in aroom and label them this way
that nobody else has thought of.
You know, it was, uh, or, orit's a very unique idea that
they've had that is, isapplicable to your, your
facility.
you it, it's, or if it's, youknow, talking to one of their

(51:42):
folks that, has the exact samechallenge that you have, and
they, you know, they're like,well, this is what I did.
And it's like, wow, wait aminute.
I didn't think of that.
You know, and, and you alwayswalk away from them with
something.
even that, and one of the thingsthat I've always enjoyed is,
when they.
The, you know, Jeremy Dispo fromthe CVSA when he comes out and

(52:04):
his updates that he provides tothe, the council.
I, I think that's an invaluableservice that he provides
because, you know, he is tellingyou from the enforcement
perspective what is gonna happenroadside and that that gives you
the ability to, you know, toprep your driver or to
understand it, or to be readyfor it in whatever capacity.

(52:25):
to have the folks from F-M-C-S-Athere to hear from them directly
why a rule made.
what that means for you as anoperator and to get to ask them
the questions that probably, youknow, could never ask, right?
standing right in front of youand they're so understanding and
patient.
and they have such talentedfolks that, that are of that.

(52:45):
You know, it, it, it, it's greatopportunity to clarify those
things that you're just not surebecause, you know, this is new
and, and, you know, what doesall mean?
Um, you know, when, when theDrug and Alcohol Clearing house
came out, I don't know that Iwould've ever held the
understanding of that wholephilosophy like I now, if it
wasn't for all the presentationsthat I got to go to, and all the

(53:07):
people from F-M-C-S-A that, thatwere there, where you could say
to, you know, to Smith whenbefore she retired, you could
say to her, Hey, what, what doesthis mean for this scenario?
You know, and she would explainthat, very patiently to you.
And, uh, you know, I, I, I justthink that.
Those are, some of thoseopportunities are, you can't
force, you know, and going toBisk or to bus Mark or all

(53:30):
above, gives you that, you know,that kind of doorway to, you
know, and then you, you go tothe reception in the afternoon
and those same people are andwait a minute, I didn't ask
about.
Right.
So now you have, you can get aquiet audience with them and,
and you can kind of say, Hey,how does this affect this
company, my company, in thiscapacity?
And, and they'll patiently foryou, you know, and, and that's

(53:52):
amazing.
You're never gonna get that atany other event that I've
attended.
So I, I think that's almostindispensable.
It's invaluable.
you know, a big thing that wasinteresting to me is I could ask
the actual people from those,those places and say, you know,
how do I deal with this Or, youknow, what, what is everyone
else doing?
You know?
So that's a huge part of what Ithink folks really get at a bis

(54:16):
and bus mark.
I think we did that exercise atthis meeting, um, the, the one
we were at together, uh, abouthow many years of experience
we're the room as far as likementors.
And it was like thousands ofyears of experience, right?

bonkers.

Yeah.
So, you know, I, I, I don't knowwhere else you can go, where you
have those people all in thesame room, and they're all there
for the same thing.
So I, I, I just think that it'sa, a huge opportunity for folks,
to come in there and to, uh, toget that knowledge.
Ask the questions you have,bring that back to your company,
and help make your company, youknow, the best possible company

(54:53):
could be.

No, absolutely.
You know, to what you're sayingabout the years of experience,
you know, I, I was thinking tomyself the other day, man, 10
years, I've been in thisindustry for 10 years, right?
My kids haven't even been alive10 years.
But you go to Bisk and they'relike, all right, so five years
sit down, 10 years, sit down,half the room is still standing.

(55:16):
20 years, half the room is stillstanding, right?
You've got all of these peoplethat have been in these roles
that know this backwards andforwards, and like you said, I
think your, my answer to thatwould've mirrored yours almost
perfectly.
You've just got so muchexperience.
You've got people that you cancall on.
Um, you're able to find peoplethat are, they're dealing with a
lot of the same challenges youare, but they've got that lens

(55:39):
of time that they're lookingthrough, and I have yet to meet
anyone that wasn't willing toshare it with you.
So, I, I couldn't agree more.
So we're, we're, we're comingclose to the, the very end here.
You know, as someone who hasbeen in this industry, who
started as a driver, who's kindof gone here now, let me ask you
something.
If you had to say, there's onething that has been your key,

(56:04):
right?
This is, this is what got methrough to where I am today.
This is that pivotal moment, orthat pivotal action, or that
pivotal thing, what do you thinkthat would be, and how do you go
about trying to find that inyour own career?

along the way, you, you, you do, most people hold
more than one job, right?
You, you try something a littledifferent and, and when you find
something that interests you andthat you're truly to, I, I think
you have to do that thing.
Um, know, from the time I was alittle kid, I had interest in
mass transit, buses, trains,things like that

Hold on, hold on.
You were, you were the kiddrawing the buses on the binder.

yeah, that was

You're, you're the, you're one of the few.
I I, I've met three in my life.
Most of us end up here byaccident.

We, uh, you know, I was always interested in it.
And, uh, you know, it, it just,so it, it was an easy fit for me
in that, you know, I, I could,uh, I could somehow participate
in it, you know, and it was, youknow, I wanted learn about the
buses, the models, the makes,the, you know, why, why do you
choose, uh, why do you wannachoose an Allison transmission

(57:08):
over, you know, whatever.
What, what about that?
You know?
And I, I would always have allthe questions that probably,
especially in my early days, I'msure I drove a lot of people
nuts.
Um, but, but, but why?
You know, and, uh.
It's, um, you know, if if you'reinterested in something and, and
you continue to have a thirstfor knowledge in that area, I, I
think you, you stay it and you,you put your heart and your soul

(57:30):
into it and, and, you know, youdo everything you can to make
the biggest impact in the bestway.
And, uh, you know, don't forgetabout people.
I see that meme all the time onLinkedIn.
If you're not fighting for yourpeople, do you deserve to be a
manager?
And, and, you know, I, I thinkyou have an obligation, to, not
only teach them the right way ofdoing things, but to look out

(57:50):
for them in, in appropriateways, know, and, to try and help
them on their quest for theirnext move or their, their
education or, you know, helpthem grow into the next thing.
And, uh, you know, you just,That part of the game.
And, uh, my, one of my favoritesis also until you a manager who
is, who is capable of creatinganother manager, have you

(58:13):
succeeded?
um, so I, I mean, if enjoy this,and if you like a challenge, you
like an ever changing businesswith people, safety is important
to you, I, think the, motorindustry is, is, a very
satisfying career.

Yeah.
I, I agree.
I, I think you've absolutelynailed it.
think as far as seeing someonethat's really gone through what
you've gone through as far asleaving with something, I, I
don't know that we could haveleft this episode any better.
So Matt, I can't thank youenough for coming on.
Obviously you and I have fundoing this kind of stuff.
I think we've both kind of gotthe passion.
for anybody that wants to learnmore about the bus industry

(58:49):
Safety Council, Bisk, or the BusMaintenance council, bus mark, I
would say buses.org is the ABAwebsite.
You can go there.
I'm on the executive committeewith Matt for Bisk, so you can
reach out to either myself or toMatt, uh, Matt, if anybody has
questions they want to get aholdof you, anything like that,
what's the easiest way for themto get ahold of you?

Shoot me an an email, um, Matthew, m ae w
maglio, MA Greyhound, And, youknow, just know you're, you're,
you're interested in hearingabout.
And, uh, we can some time totalk.

Awesome.
Well, Matt, I can't thank youenough for coming on.
Thank you everyone forlistening.
if you enjoyed this episode,leave us a, like, leave us a
comment.
If you wanna see more episodeslike this.
If there's a topic that youwished Matt would've talked
about that we've just absolutelygotta come back to, leave us a
comment, let us know, and welook forward to seeing you guys
in the next episode of theGround Transportation Podcast.
Thanks.
Bye-bye.

(59:45):
Thank you for listening to theground transportation podcast.
If you enjoyed this episode,please remember to subscribe to
the show on apple, Spotify,YouTube, or wherever you get
your podcasts.
For more information about PAXtraining and to contact James,
go to PAX training.com.
And for more information aboutdriving transactions and to
contact Ken, Go to drivingtransactions.com.

(01:00:08):
We'll see you next time on theground transportation podcast.

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