December 24, 2024 • 18 mins
We're turning the tables on host Paul Comfort this week with guest host and Transit Unplugged Executive Producer Julie Gates interviewing Paul on the best of 2024 from Transit Unplugged, what to watch for in 2025, and what they are thankful for. This is also our first video podcast on the podcast! You can watch the video version on YouTube and Spotify, and listen to the audio version everywhere else (the audio-only version will also be on YouTube). Let us know what you think of this new format in the comments on YouTube and Spotify.
We're going to close out 2024 on New Year's Eve with transit futurist Rudy Salo giving Paul his thoughts on the big trends that will influence transit next year and beyond.
00:00 Introduction to Transit Unplugged from Paul Comfort
00:15 Julie Gates Interviews Paul Comfort
01:06 Lessons from Running for Public Office
02:46 Highlights of 2024
06:18 Insights from Washington, D.C.
11:53 The Three Fs of Transit
14:13 End of Year Reflections and Gratitude
18:13 Coming up next week on Transit Unplugged
If you have a question or comment, email us at info@transitunplugged.com.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Modaxo Inc., its affiliates or subsidiaries, or any entities they represent (“Modaxo”). This production belongs to Modaxo, and may contain information that may be subject to trademark, copyright, or other intellectual property rights and restrictions. This production provides general information, and should not be relied on as legal advice or opinion. Modaxo specifically disclaims all warranties, express or implied, and will not be liable for any losses, claims, or damages arising from the use of this presentation, from any material contained in it, or from any action or decision taken in response to it.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
This is Transit Unplugged.
I'm Paul Comfort.
Great to have you with us onanother episode of the world's
leading transit executive podcast.
Today we're going to trysomething a little different.
Instead of me interviewing a CEO, my goodfriend and colleague, Julie Gates, who
is our executive producer here at TransitUnplugged and the head of the Modaxo
Media Group and a former FM DJ herselfis going to join us and interview me
(00:28):
about what's happening in the industry,where we think we're going, and some
of the highlights over the past year.
Julie, thanks for beingpart of the show today.
Yeah, it's an honor.
I have been behind thescenes for many years.
Transit Unplugged is nearand dear to my heart.
It's been fun to watch usgrow it and become a TV show.
And now we've added the News Minute.
So just creating more and more waysfor our community to connect and
(00:49):
know what's going on in the industry.
And also you just returnedfrom Washington, DC.
So you have some pretty goodinsight on what's going on with
the new Administration that'llbe coming in in January and how
our communities can get funding.
And what's going to happen with allthese projects that are in the works.
So you ready to dig in?
Let's do it.
What's the one lesson, the bestlesson you learned from losing
when you ran for public office?
(01:11):
Yeah,
out of it, right?
If you run a good, clean campaign,you put your heart into it.
Julie, every great job I'vegotten is because I met a guy, and
many of those times it happenedwhile on the campaign trail.
My very first job, um, and, um, Up until,you know, recent jobs, when I was head of
the MTA, you know, that happened largelybecause I ran for county commissioner
(01:34):
in my home county, and Larry Hogan ranfor governor, we both ran at the same
time, we knew each other pretty well,and we both won, and, uh, but, you know,
working together on the campaign trail,him coming over, speaking at my first
fundraiser, me going and being on thecampaign trail with him, shortly after
that, he said, Paul, you know, We've beentalking about you, you're an attorney,
(01:56):
you've run government organizations,and you've spent 25 years in transit.
We think you're the perfect guy to runthe Maryland Transit Administration.
So, uh, I would say that it's a goodlife lesson for all of us, right?
When you feel that you are calledto do something, And you feel
like you're prepared for it andready, then I would say go for it.
That's what my whole theme aboutliving full throttle is, is don't
(02:16):
let the fears hold you back.
What if this?
What if that?
Because once we get in the maze oflife, you can't always see what's
all the way, where you're gonna go.
You can only see to theend of the line you're in.
And then when you get to the endof the line, win or lose, usually
something else opens up for you.
And so you gotta be willingto adapt and adjust.
I would say you're the mostfearless person I know.
You always have big ideasand then you just go do it.
(02:38):
I don't ever see you havingthe analysis paralysis that I
see in a lot of other places.
So that's what makes workingat Transit Unplugged so fun.
So let's shift into transit, right?
We're here at the end of the year.
Looking back, it's been an excitingyear for the shows, TV show,
podcast, news minute, All the eventsand conferences you've attended.
What have been a highlightor two for you for 2024?
(03:02):
Yeah, I think, uh, for me, So, one ofthe highlights is the fact that we won
three great awards this year, uh, withour, um, and you've got one behind
you on the, on the wall there, I see,
got a couple of them.
Yeah,
our, for our Rocky Mountaineerepisode of Transit Unplugged TV.
The other big The biggest win forme this year with our TV show, which
(03:22):
I spend 30 to 40 percent of my timeon now, is the fact that, um, our
viewership has gone through the roof.
I mean, when we started the showthree years ago, we were having
under 500 viewers each episode.
And the first couple episodes, myfriends in Nashville and Vegas, the
CEOs there, uh, MJ, uh, and Steve, Theywere like, you know, we'll help you out.
(03:43):
You know, we'll have our ITdirector film you with his cellphone
so we started out there and, and it'sgrown to be a professional production.
And, you know, we're having150, 160, 000 views per episode.
And then to see it expand now onto MSNand onto the transportation channel.
And I think more, more good news.
We'll have announcements in the newyear about distribution channels.
(04:03):
So that's been a big one.
The other personal kind of, uh,Win for me this year was, I think
you know, I've written a book ayear since I retired from the MTA.
I left them, uh, seven years ago, andI'm working on my seventh book now, and
Julie, I wanted to have, there was abook agent that had been talked to me
about, her name was Nina Madonia, andshe is one of the top non fiction, um,
(04:24):
book agents in the country, and, uh, Ihad lots of conversations with her five
years ago for my book, The Future ofPublic Transportation, but she declined
to represent me because she felt likemy, uh, my area of transportation was too
niche, and she'd done, you know, 150 NewYork Times bestsellers, movie rights, etc.
So then you and I were talkingabout my next book, and you said,
(04:46):
Paul, there's a great book agentI know in Dallas, Texas that
mine.
was, uh, Yeah, that was my agentthat I was going to do a book with
and her name was, drum roll, Nina
Nina Medonja.
And so, since then, you know, shehas picked me up for my next book and
You're welcome.
me, she's helping me, yeah, rewritethe whole thing from a leadership book,
was going to be 21 Lessons to Lead FullThrottle and now we're going to change
(05:08):
it probably to the X Spot which is, um,you know, how to live life, how to find
your X Spot so that you can live lifefull throttle, something like that.
And so, I'm super excited about that.
It's going to be a general market.
Personal development book.
And so that's been forme personally, a big win.
And you're a big part of that.
So thank
Oh, you're so welcome.
I think we both feel very honoredthat we get to do this work every day
(05:30):
because it's all about the transit.
I know the leadership book is goingto help even a broader audience, but
in general, being able to do TransitUnplugged is helping our industry.
My favorite part about the work we getto do every single day is when you see
most news coverage about what's going onin our industry, which is such an amazing
industry, and I've never met a more humblegroup of people than the leaders and
(05:50):
the employees who work in our industry.
The news stories tend to be trainderailments or accidents or crime stories.
And so what's fun for us is we get to goin and get into the agencies and interview
the CEOs and their teams and tell all thegood things that are going on, because
we really do mobilize our communities.
tell So it's such an honor, isn't it?
That we get to do this work every day.
(06:11):
It is.
I I'm, I'm a people person.
So I love the connections.
Let's shift into transitand some big stories.
You who were recently in Washington D.
C., lots of meetings taking placefor transition teams trying to get
this new Administration ready tohit the ground running in January.
Um, there's a lot of concern in thetransit industry because the previous or
the current administration flooded a lotof funding for a lot of projects for us.
(06:34):
So share a little bit aboutwhat you're seeing and hearing.
Yeah, it's a good question.
Yeah, I was in Washington, D.
C., uh, just recently at theWTS, uh, Women Transportation
Seminar Holiday Party.
One of the great things I get to doon the side is I'm Executive Director
of a group called the North AmericanTransit Alliance, which represents six
of the largest public transportationcontractors in the country.
(06:54):
And, um, so we give a scholarship,uh, both to Latinos in Transit.
and WTS as well as COMTO.
And, um, representing them there,I was able to mingle with a lot of
what I call the glitterati, right?
The Washington, D.
C.
glitterati.
I talked to three former FTAadministrators, uh, and pretty
much almost every other day sincethen, I've been talking to people.
You know, uh, Mr.
(07:15):
Congressman Duffy, who's coming into be the Secretary of Department of
Transportation, uh, there's not a lotknown about his position on transit from
the people I talk to, and so I've beentrying to make sure my voice gets heard
and that this is a valuable asset, andwe don't want to have our funding cut,
although the new administration's madepretty clear, I think, that they are going
to move away from, uh, you know, what'sbeen called the Green New Deal and move
(07:39):
more toward, uh, you know, the theme thatthe, that the new President elect has
been talking about is drill, baby, drill.
So that's more fossil fuels.
A lot of our transit agencies fromFort Worth, Texas to Kansas City
to, you know, places in Canada use,uh, CNG, compressed natural gas.
Um, and, uh, other agencies are workingon biodiesel, uh, in western Canada, etc.
(08:00):
And so, I think from Washington, D.
C., It looks as if there's goingto be a reduction or elimination of
funding for battery electric buses.
There may still be a push toward hydrogenfuel and the seven hydrogen hubs, uh,
but I think we can definitely kind ofread the tea leaves that we're going to
be moving away from the federal funding.
Now the issue with that is, that a lotof transit agencies are under mandates
(08:23):
from their state or local governmentsor even their board of directors to move
toward net zero or zero emission buses.
And so, how are they going to pay forthem if they don't come from Washington?
So that's an issue that ourindustry is going to grapple with.
I think there'll also be a relook at the, you know, California
High Speed Rail Project.
I've heard that through numerous sourcesthat that's going to be kind of on, um,
(08:44):
the new committee that Elon Musk and VivekRamseway are heading up, uh, called DOGE,
the Department of Government Efficiency.
They're looking for what theyconsider wasteful spending, and
I've just read this week thatthat's near the top of their list.
So, I think there'll be an evaluation of alot of the projects that, uh, the current
Administration, the Biden Administration,uh, put into place, and if there is a
possibility to pull some of them back,I think we'll see that, um, and I think
(09:07):
it's going to be incumbent on transitagencies to do what APTA has done, which
is to reach out to the Administration,to let them know we want to work hand in
hand, and we want to see transit and, andshow the value of transit to a community.
Transit can provide, you know,I'm a transit evangelist, and I
believe, you It is, um, it's a silverbullet to use an old, you know,
Lone Ranger style answer, right?
(09:29):
It is the, it is the solution to somany issues that our society faces,
including economic development, right?
When I used to run the MTA, uh,in Baltimore, we evaluated our new
routes based on access to jobs.
The new routes, we wanted to makesure it had 30, ended up being like
access to 35 percent more jobs, right?
And we had a light rail system thatwent out to the airport, to BWI airport,
(09:50):
where we could take the employees thereand passengers, uh, transit does so many
things, and now, in this new kind of postCOVID world, has become critical to so
many new areas, even our commuter railservices have changed, for instance, Dave
Dech in South Florida has changed, they'renot so much a commuter rail anymore,
it's a regional rail, where they'redoing midday service, night service,
(10:12):
weekend service, getting people intoballgames and nightlife and the museums.
So transit is becoming more and morepart of our daily life and that's really
the message I think that we need tocommunicate to the new Administration and
to work hand in glove with them becausethis is who we are working with for the
next four years at the federal level.
So if I'm reading between the lines,Paul, are you saying that each one of us
(10:34):
needs to do more advocacy work in general?
APTA leads the way.
We're very appreciative.
CUTA leads the way.
But in the U.
S.
with the new Administration rollingin, um, we can't just expect APTA
to do all the heavy lifting, right?
I think we all need to advocate with everyelected official about the importance
of the projects we're working on.
Yeah, I think it's important forpeople to, um, engage with their
(10:56):
Congressmen and Senators, and Ithink they do that pretty well.
Our industry does.
We have good lines.
Everyone I know, you know, from Frank,uh, White III in Kansas City to,
you know, other folks all over thecountry, they are very well connected
to the Congressional delegation.
But I think it's also incumbent on usto not come in to a new Administration,
which maybe some people didn't votefor, and say, I'm not going to engage.
(11:18):
No, we need to engage.
We need to engage and be advocatesand be transit evangelists and show
the value, uh, because we do, uh.
play an important role in every communityand not just urban communities like
Scott Bogren from CTAA would tellyou, you know, for tribal transit and
for rural transit, it's a lifeline.
I used to run the county ride servicehere in a county of 50, 000 people and
(11:39):
it, it was and still is a lifeline toso many folks to get to shopping, to get
to doctors, and so we need to tell thefull story of how public transportation
benefits the voters and the citizensand the residents of this country.
As we look back on this year andlook forward to the next year, You
have locked into the three Fs assomething our industry should look at.
(12:00):
Will you highlight that quickly?
Yeah, I was standing on the beachin Brisbane a couple weeks ago,
Jealous.
I was preparing to speak to a group ofpeople that afternoon, and I wanted to
come up with a good snappy, you know,um, summary of what the trends were, and
this is what I came up with, which is,uh, fueling funding and faring, right?
(12:21):
So fueling, we've already talked aboutwith the new Administration that doesn't
appear to be in favor of battery electricfuel, and it doesn't look like they'll
be funding much when it comes to that.
Um, what are we going to do with fueling?
We need to grapple with that and figurethat out as an industry, and I think the
old adage, if you've seen one transitagency, you've seen one transit agency,
is going to be more true now than everas different agencies and systems, uh,
(12:44):
look to different fueling sources fortheir future, and I think the OEMs,
we've had an OEM crisis in this countrywhere a year or so ago we had five
manufacturers of buses, now we have twoor three, and so we need to make sure
that we keep that industry healthy.
The second thing is funding, right?
If, um, if, The Bipartisan InfrastructureAct and, uh, and operating dollars
coming from Washington and or Ottawaare going to be reduced in the future.
(13:08):
How are we going to make up that funding?
Is it going to be on fares,which is the third part, or what?
Most transit agencies now, I think,have come down on the side of, you
know, we're going to charge faresand we're going to enforce fares.
We're not going to allow there tobe as much fare, um, uh, people
avoiding fares and jumping the gun.
The fare gates and all thatstuff because we need money.
We need more money, not less money.
(13:30):
And when you do surveys ofpeople and you ask them, Hey,
why aren't you riding transit?
The cost of it always comes downto fourth or fifth and surveys.
The first is right safety, right?
How safe am I feeling?
How frequent is the service, right?
Is it efficient?
Those, those kinds of thingsthat people want to see, that's
what will attract people.
And so.
And that's kind of where Ithink it all ends up, Julie.
(13:51):
For the new year, it's right back towhat I've been saying for the last 10
years since I took over the job at MTA.
There are four cornerstones ofsuccessful transit is safety,
efficiency, reliability, andworld class customer service.
And if we focus our agencies on thosefour cornerstones, we will build
a better future for our industry.
One that everyone can see the value in.
(14:14):
Well, I want to take a moment justto thank everyone who works on
our shows every day of the year.
We have a really greatteam, so thank you, Paul.
Thank you to Jaime, our videographerfor Transit Unplugged TV.
He's also a composer, so a lot of thatmusic is original music from Jaime.
Many thanks to Tris Hussey, whois the blog and podcast manager.
He edits the shows.
He's very passionate about it.
(14:34):
Tatiana handles all our social media.
Tris.
So we're just very blessed.
We have a great team.
Paul, as we wrap up this end of theyear episode, the holiday episode,
what would you like to say to youraudience as we wrap up the year?
Yeah, I would say, what I want to sayto our audience is, hey man, thanks
for being part of our community.
This really has become acommunity everywhere I go.
(14:54):
At these conferences, I, a lot ofpeople come up to me and say how much
they love the show, how much theylove the posts that I do on LinkedIn.
Uh, I have 25, 000 followers there,and I try to post every day something
interesting about our industry.
I'm sure most of our listenersfollow me already, but if you
don't, I encourage you to.
Let's connect up there.
And, and then I wouldencourage you to share it.
Uh, share the podcast with someoneelse you think could benefit from it.
(15:17):
They may not be a transit nerd likea lot of our listeners are, maybe not
even in middle management like a lotof our listeners are, but somebody
from city government who'd be, who'dbe, who'd benefit from learning from
transit leaders who we interview.
Or maybe the, the boss, yourboss at work, say, Hey, have you
ever listened to this podcast?
Let's grow the impact and theinfluence of this podcast in 2025
(15:38):
to be bigger and better than ever.
Believe me, we need this show.
In 2025, now more than ever, and you canhelp us take the show to the next level.
Thank you for all you dofor the industry, Paul.
You are doing such a great job of justmaking people feel connected and giving
us all a voice and helping us lift theindustry up and making sure that we can
(15:59):
advocate for our communities and makesure people have mobility where they live.
So thank you for all you do.
Any final words as we
yeah, let me say one or two more things.
First off, I want to thank you, Julie.
You've been an amazing, uh, partner inthis enterprise over the last few years,
and it continues to get better and better.
Your, your expertise, your sunnyatmosphere, your sunny spirit, uh,
(16:19):
and, um, and your, emphasis on tellingstories better, I think, has helped make
me better in what I do and helped ourwhole, our whole operation go better.
And I also want to thank thepeople that work in this company.
I mean, they invest a lot of money,hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel
costs alone, to bring us around the world,and they're not getting any direct ROI.
You know, there's no, I'm not outthere selling software, but, uh,
(16:42):
but they believe in this industry.
The goal of Modaxo which is why I'vebeen here longer, Julie, than I've worked
anywhere else in my career, is that Iam aligned personally with the goals of
this company and the people that lead it.
And their goal is to help move a billionpeople, uh, by a set date in the future.
And I want to be part of that, andwhat we're doing through our thought
(17:03):
leadership and our connection withthe C suite of all these transit
agencies across the world, and sharingtheir best practices with each other.
That's what it's all about.
Our life is making a difference, andthis company, my boss, Rod Jones,
and Teresa Domingo, and, and Bill,who heads up Modaxo, and all the
people who are involved, um, are, arefocused and emphasize that as well.
(17:24):
They see the value in it for our industry,and that's why they're investing in it.
So thank you to them as well,because without them signing the
checks, none of this would happen.
Great.
Well, thank you, Paul.
This is a fun show.
Great year.
Looking forward to 2025.
Thank you for tuning in to TransitUnplugged this week with our
special look back at 2024 and lookahead at 2025 with Paul and our
(17:47):
special guest host, Julie Gates.
Hi, I'm Tris Hussey.
editor of the podcast, and coming up nextweek on New Year's Eve, a day early, we
have transit futurist Rudy Salo talkingwith Paul about his vision for transit in
2025, which includes autonomous vehicles,EVs, and some funding challenges we
(18:08):
haven't talked about yet on the show thatyou're going to find really interesting.
Transit Unplugged isbrought to you by Modaxo.
At Modaxo, we're passionate aboutmoving the world's people, and at
Transit Unplugged, we're passionateabout telling those stories.
So from all of us, to all of you,we hope you have a wonderful holiday
season, and we'll see you right backhere on New Year's Eve, and until
(18:32):
then, ride safe, and ride happy.
This is Transit Unplugged.
I'm Paul Comfort.
Great to have you with us onanother episode of the world's
leading transit executive podcast.
Today we're going to trysomething a little different.
Instead of me interviewing a CEO, my goodfriend and colleague, Julie Gates, who
is our executive producer here at TransitUnplugged and the head of the Modaxo
Media Group and a former FM DJ herselfis going to join us and interview me
(00:28):
about what's happening in the industry,where we think we're going, and some
of the highlights over the past year.
Julie, thanks for beingpart of the show today.
Yeah, it's an honor.
I have been behind thescenes for many years.
Transit Unplugged is nearand dear to my heart.
It's been fun to watch usgrow it and become a TV show.
And now we've added the News Minute.
So just creating more and more waysfor our community to connect and
(00:49):
know what's going on in the industry.
And also you just returnedfrom Washington, DC.
So you have some pretty goodinsight on what's going on with
the new Administration that'llbe coming in in January and how
our communities can get funding.
And what's going to happen with allthese projects that are in the works.
So you ready to dig in?
Let's do it.
What's the one lesson, the bestlesson you learned from losing
when you ran for public office?
(01:11):
Yeah,
out of it, right?
If you run a good, clean campaign,you put your heart into it.
Julie, every great job I'vegotten is because I met a guy, and
many of those times it happenedwhile on the campaign trail.
My very first job, um, and, um, Up until,you know, recent jobs, when I was head of
the MTA, you know, that happened largelybecause I ran for county commissioner
(01:34):
in my home county, and Larry Hogan ranfor governor, we both ran at the same
time, we knew each other pretty well,and we both won, and, uh, but, you know,
working together on the campaign trail,him coming over, speaking at my first
fundraiser, me going and being on thecampaign trail with him, shortly after
that, he said, Paul, you know, We've beentalking about you, you're an attorney,
(01:56):
you've run government organizations,and you've spent 25 years in transit.
We think you're the perfect guy to runthe Maryland Transit Administration.
So, uh, I would say that it's a goodlife lesson for all of us, right?
When you feel that you are calledto do something, And you feel
like you're prepared for it andready, then I would say go for it.
That's what my whole theme aboutliving full throttle is, is don't
(02:16):
let the fears hold you back.
What if this?
What if that?
Because once we get in the maze oflife, you can't always see what's
all the way, where you're gonna go.
You can only see to theend of the line you're in.
And then when you get to the endof the line, win or lose, usually
something else opens up for you.
And so you gotta be willingto adapt and adjust.
I would say you're the mostfearless person I know.
You always have big ideasand then you just go do it.
(02:38):
I don't ever see you havingthe analysis paralysis that I
see in a lot of other places.
So that's what makes workingat Transit Unplugged so fun.
So let's shift into transit, right?
We're here at the end of the year.
Looking back, it's been an excitingyear for the shows, TV show,
podcast, news minute, All the eventsand conferences you've attended.
What have been a highlightor two for you for 2024?
(03:02):
Yeah, I think, uh, for me, So, one ofthe highlights is the fact that we won
three great awards this year, uh, withour, um, and you've got one behind
you on the, on the wall there, I see,
got a couple of them.
Yeah,
our, for our Rocky Mountaineerepisode of Transit Unplugged TV.
The other big The biggest win forme this year with our TV show, which
(03:22):
I spend 30 to 40 percent of my timeon now, is the fact that, um, our
viewership has gone through the roof.
I mean, when we started the showthree years ago, we were having
under 500 viewers each episode.
And the first couple episodes, myfriends in Nashville and Vegas, the
CEOs there, uh, MJ, uh, and Steve, Theywere like, you know, we'll help you out.
(03:43):
You know, we'll have our ITdirector film you with his cellphone
so we started out there and, and it'sgrown to be a professional production.
And, you know, we're having150, 160, 000 views per episode.
And then to see it expand now onto MSNand onto the transportation channel.
And I think more, more good news.
We'll have announcements in the newyear about distribution channels.
(04:03):
So that's been a big one.
The other personal kind of, uh,Win for me this year was, I think
you know, I've written a book ayear since I retired from the MTA.
I left them, uh, seven years ago, andI'm working on my seventh book now, and
Julie, I wanted to have, there was abook agent that had been talked to me
about, her name was Nina Madonia, andshe is one of the top non fiction, um,
(04:24):
book agents in the country, and, uh, Ihad lots of conversations with her five
years ago for my book, The Future ofPublic Transportation, but she declined
to represent me because she felt likemy, uh, my area of transportation was too
niche, and she'd done, you know, 150 NewYork Times bestsellers, movie rights, etc.
So then you and I were talkingabout my next book, and you said,
(04:46):
Paul, there's a great book agentI know in Dallas, Texas that
mine.
was, uh, Yeah, that was my agentthat I was going to do a book with
and her name was, drum roll, Nina
Nina Medonja.
And so, since then, you know, shehas picked me up for my next book and
You're welcome.
me, she's helping me, yeah, rewritethe whole thing from a leadership book,
was going to be 21 Lessons to Lead FullThrottle and now we're going to change
(05:08):
it probably to the X Spot which is, um,you know, how to live life, how to find
your X Spot so that you can live lifefull throttle, something like that.
And so, I'm super excited about that.
It's going to be a general market.
Personal development book.
And so that's been forme personally, a big win.
And you're a big part of that.
So thank
Oh, you're so welcome.
I think we both feel very honoredthat we get to do this work every day
(05:30):
because it's all about the transit.
I know the leadership book is goingto help even a broader audience, but
in general, being able to do TransitUnplugged is helping our industry.
My favorite part about the work we getto do every single day is when you see
most news coverage about what's going onin our industry, which is such an amazing
industry, and I've never met a more humblegroup of people than the leaders and
(05:50):
the employees who work in our industry.
The news stories tend to be trainderailments or accidents or crime stories.
And so what's fun for us is we get to goin and get into the agencies and interview
the CEOs and their teams and tell all thegood things that are going on, because
we really do mobilize our communities.
tell So it's such an honor, isn't it?
That we get to do this work every day.
(06:11):
It is.
I I'm, I'm a people person.
So I love the connections.
Let's shift into transitand some big stories.
You who were recently in Washington D.
C., lots of meetings taking placefor transition teams trying to get
this new Administration ready tohit the ground running in January.
Um, there's a lot of concern in thetransit industry because the previous or
the current administration flooded a lotof funding for a lot of projects for us.
(06:34):
So share a little bit aboutwhat you're seeing and hearing.
Yeah, it's a good question.
Yeah, I was in Washington, D.
C., uh, just recently at theWTS, uh, Women Transportation
Seminar Holiday Party.
One of the great things I get to doon the side is I'm Executive Director
of a group called the North AmericanTransit Alliance, which represents six
of the largest public transportationcontractors in the country.
(06:54):
And, um, so we give a scholarship,uh, both to Latinos in Transit.
and WTS as well as COMTO.
And, um, representing them there,I was able to mingle with a lot of
what I call the glitterati, right?
The Washington, D.
C.
glitterati.
I talked to three former FTAadministrators, uh, and pretty
much almost every other day sincethen, I've been talking to people.
You know, uh, Mr.
(07:15):
Congressman Duffy, who's coming into be the Secretary of Department of
Transportation, uh, there's not a lotknown about his position on transit from
the people I talk to, and so I've beentrying to make sure my voice gets heard
and that this is a valuable asset, andwe don't want to have our funding cut,
although the new administration's madepretty clear, I think, that they are going
to move away from, uh, you know, what'sbeen called the Green New Deal and move
(07:39):
more toward, uh, you know, the theme thatthe, that the new President elect has
been talking about is drill, baby, drill.
So that's more fossil fuels.
A lot of our transit agencies fromFort Worth, Texas to Kansas City
to, you know, places in Canada use,uh, CNG, compressed natural gas.
Um, and, uh, other agencies are workingon biodiesel, uh, in western Canada, etc.
(08:00):
And so, I think from Washington, D.
C., It looks as if there's goingto be a reduction or elimination of
funding for battery electric buses.
There may still be a push toward hydrogenfuel and the seven hydrogen hubs, uh,
but I think we can definitely kind ofread the tea leaves that we're going to
be moving away from the federal funding.
Now the issue with that is, that a lotof transit agencies are under mandates
(08:23):
from their state or local governmentsor even their board of directors to move
toward net zero or zero emission buses.
And so, how are they going to pay forthem if they don't come from Washington?
So that's an issue that ourindustry is going to grapple with.
I think there'll also be a relook at the, you know, California
High Speed Rail Project.
I've heard that through numerous sourcesthat that's going to be kind of on, um,
(08:44):
the new committee that Elon Musk and VivekRamseway are heading up, uh, called DOGE,
the Department of Government Efficiency.
They're looking for what theyconsider wasteful spending, and
I've just read this week thatthat's near the top of their list.
So, I think there'll be an evaluation of alot of the projects that, uh, the current
Administration, the Biden Administration,uh, put into place, and if there is a
possibility to pull some of them back,I think we'll see that, um, and I think
(09:07):
it's going to be incumbent on transitagencies to do what APTA has done, which
is to reach out to the Administration,to let them know we want to work hand in
hand, and we want to see transit and, andshow the value of transit to a community.
Transit can provide, you know,I'm a transit evangelist, and I
believe, you It is, um, it's a silverbullet to use an old, you know,
Lone Ranger style answer, right?
(09:29):
It is the, it is the solution to somany issues that our society faces,
including economic development, right?
When I used to run the MTA, uh,in Baltimore, we evaluated our new
routes based on access to jobs.
The new routes, we wanted to makesure it had 30, ended up being like
access to 35 percent more jobs, right?
And we had a light rail system thatwent out to the airport, to BWI airport,
(09:50):
where we could take the employees thereand passengers, uh, transit does so many
things, and now, in this new kind of postCOVID world, has become critical to so
many new areas, even our commuter railservices have changed, for instance, Dave
Dech in South Florida has changed, they'renot so much a commuter rail anymore,
it's a regional rail, where they'redoing midday service, night service,
(10:12):
weekend service, getting people intoballgames and nightlife and the museums.
So transit is becoming more and morepart of our daily life and that's really
the message I think that we need tocommunicate to the new Administration and
to work hand in glove with them becausethis is who we are working with for the
next four years at the federal level.
So if I'm reading between the lines,Paul, are you saying that each one of us
(10:34):
needs to do more advocacy work in general?
APTA leads the way.
We're very appreciative.
CUTA leads the way.
But in the U.
S.
with the new Administration rollingin, um, we can't just expect APTA
to do all the heavy lifting, right?
I think we all need to advocate with everyelected official about the importance
of the projects we're working on.
Yeah, I think it's important forpeople to, um, engage with their
(10:56):
Congressmen and Senators, and Ithink they do that pretty well.
Our industry does.
We have good lines.
Everyone I know, you know, from Frank,uh, White III in Kansas City to,
you know, other folks all over thecountry, they are very well connected
to the Congressional delegation.
But I think it's also incumbent on usto not come in to a new Administration,
which maybe some people didn't votefor, and say, I'm not going to engage.
(11:18):
No, we need to engage.
We need to engage and be advocatesand be transit evangelists and show
the value, uh, because we do, uh.
play an important role in every communityand not just urban communities like
Scott Bogren from CTAA would tellyou, you know, for tribal transit and
for rural transit, it's a lifeline.
I used to run the county ride servicehere in a county of 50, 000 people and
(11:39):
it, it was and still is a lifeline toso many folks to get to shopping, to get
to doctors, and so we need to tell thefull story of how public transportation
benefits the voters and the citizensand the residents of this country.
As we look back on this year andlook forward to the next year, You
have locked into the three Fs assomething our industry should look at.
(12:00):
Will you highlight that quickly?
Yeah, I was standing on the beachin Brisbane a couple weeks ago,
Jealous.
I was preparing to speak to a group ofpeople that afternoon, and I wanted to
come up with a good snappy, you know,um, summary of what the trends were, and
this is what I came up with, which is,uh, fueling funding and faring, right?
(12:21):
So fueling, we've already talked aboutwith the new Administration that doesn't
appear to be in favor of battery electricfuel, and it doesn't look like they'll
be funding much when it comes to that.
Um, what are we going to do with fueling?
We need to grapple with that and figurethat out as an industry, and I think the
old adage, if you've seen one transitagency, you've seen one transit agency,
is going to be more true now than everas different agencies and systems, uh,
(12:44):
look to different fueling sources fortheir future, and I think the OEMs,
we've had an OEM crisis in this countrywhere a year or so ago we had five
manufacturers of buses, now we have twoor three, and so we need to make sure
that we keep that industry healthy.
The second thing is funding, right?
If, um, if, The Bipartisan InfrastructureAct and, uh, and operating dollars
coming from Washington and or Ottawaare going to be reduced in the future.
(13:08):
How are we going to make up that funding?
Is it going to be on fares,which is the third part, or what?
Most transit agencies now, I think,have come down on the side of, you
know, we're going to charge faresand we're going to enforce fares.
We're not going to allow there tobe as much fare, um, uh, people
avoiding fares and jumping the gun.
The fare gates and all thatstuff because we need money.
We need more money, not less money.
(13:30):
And when you do surveys ofpeople and you ask them, Hey,
why aren't you riding transit?
The cost of it always comes downto fourth or fifth and surveys.
The first is right safety, right?
How safe am I feeling?
How frequent is the service, right?
Is it efficient?
Those, those kinds of thingsthat people want to see, that's
what will attract people.
And so.
And that's kind of where Ithink it all ends up, Julie.
(13:51):
For the new year, it's right back towhat I've been saying for the last 10
years since I took over the job at MTA.
There are four cornerstones ofsuccessful transit is safety,
efficiency, reliability, andworld class customer service.
And if we focus our agencies on thosefour cornerstones, we will build
a better future for our industry.
One that everyone can see the value in.
(14:14):
Well, I want to take a moment justto thank everyone who works on
our shows every day of the year.
We have a really greatteam, so thank you, Paul.
Thank you to Jaime, our videographerfor Transit Unplugged TV.
He's also a composer, so a lot of thatmusic is original music from Jaime.
Many thanks to Tris Hussey, whois the blog and podcast manager.
He edits the shows.
He's very passionate about it.
(14:34):
Tatiana handles all our social media.
Tris.
So we're just very blessed.
We have a great team.
Paul, as we wrap up this end of theyear episode, the holiday episode,
what would you like to say to youraudience as we wrap up the year?
Yeah, I would say, what I want to sayto our audience is, hey man, thanks
for being part of our community.
This really has become acommunity everywhere I go.
(14:54):
At these conferences, I, a lot ofpeople come up to me and say how much
they love the show, how much theylove the posts that I do on LinkedIn.
Uh, I have 25, 000 followers there,and I try to post every day something
interesting about our industry.
I'm sure most of our listenersfollow me already, but if you
don't, I encourage you to.
Let's connect up there.
And, and then I wouldencourage you to share it.
Uh, share the podcast with someoneelse you think could benefit from it.
(15:17):
They may not be a transit nerd likea lot of our listeners are, maybe not
even in middle management like a lotof our listeners are, but somebody
from city government who'd be, who'dbe, who'd benefit from learning from
transit leaders who we interview.
Or maybe the, the boss, yourboss at work, say, Hey, have you
ever listened to this podcast?
Let's grow the impact and theinfluence of this podcast in 2025
(15:38):
to be bigger and better than ever.
Believe me, we need this show.
In 2025, now more than ever, and you canhelp us take the show to the next level.
Thank you for all you dofor the industry, Paul.
You are doing such a great job of justmaking people feel connected and giving
us all a voice and helping us lift theindustry up and making sure that we can
(15:59):
advocate for our communities and makesure people have mobility where they live.
So thank you for all you do.
Any final words as we
yeah, let me say one or two more things.
First off, I want to thank you, Julie.
You've been an amazing, uh, partner inthis enterprise over the last few years,
and it continues to get better and better.
Your, your expertise, your sunnyatmosphere, your sunny spirit, uh,
(16:19):
and, um, and your, emphasis on tellingstories better, I think, has helped make
me better in what I do and helped ourwhole, our whole operation go better.
And I also want to thank thepeople that work in this company.
I mean, they invest a lot of money,hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel
costs alone, to bring us around the world,and they're not getting any direct ROI.
You know, there's no, I'm not outthere selling software, but, uh,
(16:42):
but they believe in this industry.
The goal of Modaxo which is why I'vebeen here longer, Julie, than I've worked
anywhere else in my career, is that Iam aligned personally with the goals of
this company and the people that lead it.
And their goal is to help move a billionpeople, uh, by a set date in the future.
And I want to be part of that, andwhat we're doing through our thought
(17:03):
leadership and our connection withthe C suite of all these transit
agencies across the world, and sharingtheir best practices with each other.
That's what it's all about.
Our life is making a difference, andthis company, my boss, Rod Jones,
and Teresa Domingo, and, and Bill,who heads up Modaxo, and all the
people who are involved, um, are, arefocused and emphasize that as well.
(17:24):
They see the value in it for our industry,and that's why they're investing in it.
So thank you to them as well,because without them signing the
checks, none of this would happen.
Great.
Well, thank you, Paul.
This is a fun show.
Great year.
Looking forward to 2025.
Thank you for tuning in to TransitUnplugged this week with our
special look back at 2024 and lookahead at 2025 with Paul and our
(17:47):
special guest host, Julie Gates.
Hi, I'm Tris Hussey.
editor of the podcast, and coming up nextweek on New Year's Eve, a day early, we
have transit futurist Rudy Salo talkingwith Paul about his vision for transit in
2025, which includes autonomous vehicles,EVs, and some funding challenges we
(18:08):
haven't talked about yet on the show thatyou're going to find really interesting.
Transit Unplugged isbrought to you by Modaxo.
At Modaxo, we're passionate aboutmoving the world's people, and at
Transit Unplugged, we're passionateabout telling those stories.
So from all of us, to all of you,we hope you have a wonderful holiday
season, and we'll see you right backhere on New Year's Eve, and until
(18:32):
then, ride safe, and ride happy.
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