March 12, 2025 • 37 mins
Take a behind-the-scenes look at Tucson, Arizona’s SunTran transit system with General Manager Mikel Oglesby. Host Paul Comfort and Mikel explore the city’s transit modes, budget, and future projects, including the innovative Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) plans. Discover Mikel's unique journey in public transit, from his childhood riding buses with his father to becoming a leader in the industry. The episode also features insightful discussions on alternative fuel technologies, fare-free systems, and the nuances of managing a large transit agency. Plus, get tips on career resilience and effective communication from experts Rebecca Klein and Keith Scott. Don’t miss this enriching episode filmed on location during the Southwest Transit Association Conference 2025. Listen now!
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:00 - Exploring Tucson's Transit System
00:04:00 - Fare-Free Transit and Future Plans
00:08:00 - Innovative Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project
00:14:00 - Career Resilience and Communication Tips
00:19:00 - Introduction to Mikel Oglesby
00:20:00 - Mikel's Early Career in Transit
00:23:00 - Achievements at Sunline Transit Agency
00:25:00 - Transition to TriRail and Detroit
00:29:00 - Current Role and Future Plans in Tucson
00:31:00 - Impact of FTA Changes and Industry Predictions
00:33:00 - Southwest Transit Association Conference
Credits:
Transit Unplugged is brought to you by Modaxo https://www.modaxo.com
Host: Paul Comfort
Producer: Paul Comfort
Writer: Cyndi Raskin
Executive Producer: Julie Gates
Special thanks to:
Brand design: Tina Olagundoye
Social Media: Tatyana Mechkarova
Transit Unplugged Newsletter & Media Support: Cyndi Raskin
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.
Paul Comfort (00:05):
On today's Transit Unplugged podcast, we take you in
person behind the scenes to Tucson,Arizona with our special guest, Mikel
Oglesby, who is the general manager ofSunTran, the local transit system there.
Uh, it is a great interview.
We take it on the road, walking andgetting on the, their, uh, street cars
and taking some of it in his office.
(00:25):
It's a fun, interesting interviewthat I recorded while I was there,
uh, speaking at the SouthwestTransit Association Conference.
A great conference.
Uh, that operates, uh, andrepresents eight states there
in, uh, and they had their annualconference this year in Tucson.
We take a look at the grants, theprojects, the transit owner overviews
with Mikel, and, uh, a little bit ofhis past history, which I think you'll
(00:46):
find very interesting how, um, he gotstarted off in his career with his
father as a bus driver, a bus operatorin Boston, literally, you know, sitting
on the seat behind his dad kicking hislegs, the little kid, and he grew up.
To become, um, you know, awell-known, well-respected
leader in our transit industry.
We also take a look at theiralternative fuels, and this podcast is
(01:07):
a complimentary episode that matchesalong with our Transit Unplugged TV
episode where everything you hear ontoday's episode, you can see it on our
Transit Unplugged TV show on YouTube.
This is the in-depth interview.
We'll show you some of these thingson the program on YouTube airing now.
Now let's dive into this greatinterview with my friend Mikel Oglesby.
(01:32):
We're in Tucson, Arizona, forthe SWATA Conference 2025,
and it is gorgeous outside.
And Mikel Oglesby and I are walking downto one of your, train, your, Light rail
stations, but you call 'em streetcar.
Mikel Oglesby (01:44):
They're street cars.
That's right.
We're gonna
Paul Comfort (01:46):
What's the difference between a streetcar
and a light rail to you?
Mikel Oglesby (01:48):
Well, a streetcar, the rail is actually physically on the street.
Light rail can also have, ballastsunderneath it and stuff like that.
Right,
Paul Comfort (01:55):
like a train.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's good.
I love your streetcar, by the way.
It's beautiful.
Well, thanks for welcoming me hereand for, we're doing a TV show
plus a, a podcast at the same time.
How's it going, man?
Mikel Oglesby (02:05):
Everything's perfect.
I mean, we're here atthe SWATA conference.
I'm here with you, and we're justexcited to show off our system.
Paul Comfort (02:12):
Well, you've got quite a system to show.
We've already been here about a day and ahalf, and I've seen so many cool things.
Tell us about your system in general.
You know, the modes and peopleand budget and all that.
Mikel Oglesby (02:22):
Sure.
So, we're about a 92 million budget.
we have, We have three different modes.
It's SunVan, SunTran, and SunLink,so it's basically fixed route,
paratransit, and streetcar.
And, we're really excited to providethis service to three transit centers.
Paul Comfort (02:40):
All right, and which one are we going to now?
Mikel Oglesby (02:42):
Well, right now, we're going to go to, 4th and 9th and get
on the train and go over to SunLink.
Paul Comfort (02:47):
That's great.
So we're going to takethis podcast recording.
While we're on his vehicles,we're going to, he's going
to tell us what we're seeing.
It's going to be one of these live inperson podcasts, that we've done a few
times before that people find so popular.
and, you work, you're the general manager.
Mikel Oglesby (03:01):
That's correct.
I'm the general manager of all three modesand, oversee it and report to the city..
Paul Comfort (03:09):
We're back here.
And, Mikel, we're going to hopon one of your streetcars here.
Where are we headed?
Mikel Oglesby (03:13):
We're heading to our SunLink facility and, to go see
our staff and kind of walk aroundand show you what we're all about.
Paul Comfort (03:19):
Let's talk about the organization structure.
You know, a lot of people that listento our show work in transit, so I think
your structure here is very interesting.
Tell us about how it works here in Tucson.
Mikel Oglesby (03:29):
It's very unique.
So, the city of Tucson hired acontractor, which is RATP DEV,
to oversee the entire system.
It's four positions.
Mine is one of them, and I havecontrol over all 900 employees.
Most places do the same thing, butit reports to a transit system.
The transit system is knockedout, and I'm directly to the city.
Paul Comfort (03:51):
Gotcha.
And I met the guys that youwork with from the city.
They seem like sharp guys, too.
They're really into whatwe're doing here, right?
Mikel Oglesby (03:58):
Yeah their support is 100%.
They were instrumental to getting me here.
And I support them 100%.
Paul Comfort (04:06):
A unique, you might be the biggest fare free system left in America.
Mikel Oglesby (04:11):
Yeah, it's fare free, I mean, when you have paratransit, fixed
route, and the rail system, fare free.
And when you have a rail system, basicallystreetcar coming from the U of A and
these students are depending on this, freefare, it has been extremely successful.
Paul Comfort (04:26):
That's awesome.
And, and so the city is, the city councilis really behind transit, obviously.
Mikel Oglesby (04:32):
Yeah.
100%. They're supplementing the,additional costs and it's been going
on all for about five years now.
Paul Comfort (04:38):
So, you also have something great coming.
What?
Let's first talk about what you've got,then I want to talk about your BRT, which
is what you're hoping to bring in here.
Yeah.
So, tell me about your bus system.
Mikel Oglesby (04:48):
So, our bus system is a unique system.
We have, a hundred and eighty five,buses, and we service, approximately
three hundred and twenty three,square miles of, of service.
Paul Comfort (04:59):
It's a big area.
We were driving around today,driving for fifteen, twenty minutes,
and you're still in the city.
It's, it's big.
Mikel Oglesby (05:05):
It's big.
And it requires a lot of service.
Not only are we free, but we're efficient.
So we make sure people canget to where they need to be,
when they need to get there.
Paul Comfort (05:14):
And then tell me about your streetcar system.
Mikel Oglesby (05:16):
So the streetcar system is a 3.
9 mile loop, but it's jampacked with innovation.
It's jam packed with the abilityto go shopping, go to places
that you have to, go eat.
There are so much things you can do.
Paul Comfort (05:29):
Yeah, yeah.
That's great.
And then your paratransit.
Mikel Oglesby (05:32):
So our paratransit service is the same, square area,
and we actually service some alittle bit outside of that area.
And one of the great things aboutour paratransit service is that we
still stand behind the leave nobodybehind, technique with it being free.
And we are really doing that simplybecause we have the best employees.
(05:53):
That's the reason why.
Paul Comfort (05:54):
That's awesome, man.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I've been working with CindyGleason from your staff and
a couple of the other folks.
They're top notch.
Mikel Oglesby (06:00):
Oh, yeah.
Cindy, she's with our marketing group.
I have Davida with our planning group.
I mean, I could go on and on.
The ones you've dealt directly with,it was a dream for you to come here,
and especially during the SWATAevent, during our 50 year anniversary,
during a time where the rodeo wascelebrating their 100 year anniversary.
And then last year wecelebrated 10 years Sunlink.
Paul Comfort (06:24):
That's beautiful.
Yeah, 50 years of transit, and tomorrowwe're going to go to your museum, which
has all the vehicles from the last 50years, like a different one of each kind?
Mikel Oglesby (06:33):
Oh, that's correct.
It goes, it has paraphernalia, it hasarticles, there's even a person there
that carves out buses, hand carves them.
He'll be right there, hand carvingthem, and he can talk you through
the fact that he does it to spec.
Paul Comfort (06:51):
The other day, one other thing I want to mention was, you and I got
on a bus the other day, the number threebus, which was, from the Ronstadt Center.
Tell us about that.
Linda Ronstadt's family'sfrom here, right?
Mikel Oglesby (07:02):
Yeah, absolutely.
The Ronstadt Center's very popular.
We have, three centers, that'sone of them, and we went
from there over to El Charro.
it's so popular, that it's hard to keep upcleaning it, but we are there just working
feverishly to make sure it looks good.
Paul Comfort (07:16):
Yeah, and if you want to see what he's talking about,
tune in to our YouTube channel.
Our Transit Unplugged TV showon YouTube from Tucson and the
food at El Charro last night.
The owner and the two chefscame out, described each meal.
They brought us platters oftheir best everything and drinks
and what a fantastic story too.
Started by his grandmother and hismother, each of them had it for 50 years.
(07:39):
they have it still in the originalhouse, I mean, and the current
president, what an amazing guy.
He's grown it to 18different restaurants now.
Mikel Oglesby (07:46):
Yeah, it's amazing.
It's amazing.
And the fact that they havecarne seca and they dry it with
the sun on the roof in a cage.
I'll tell you, I don't know whatit sounds like it tastes, but I
can tell you that it tastes good.
Paul Comfort (08:01):
And wow, he gave us some of the Chimichangas.
They actually invented them here.
Mikel Oglesby (08:05):
Yeah, the myth is that, they dropped, food into the
fryer and when they pulled it out,it ended up being a chimichanga, but,
Paul Comfort (08:13):
It was like magic!
Mikel Oglesby (08:13):
Yeah, yeah, voila!
Paul Comfort (08:15):
Yeah, yeah, no, that's great, man.
Alright.
So, while I was out with some of yourguys, we went over to one of the other
stations and you guys are working ona new bus rapid transit project, BRT.
Tell me about that.
Mikel Oglesby (08:25):
Yeah, so we're working on bus rapid transit going
along Stone and it's the first step.
So, if this is successful, thenthere are other corridors that
we would like to implement.
I'm really excited because when Icame here, I have experience with BRT.
So, when they said this is the path we'removing in, I think that's the way to go.
sort of extend our railthat we currently have.
So people may say, are yougoing to extend the streetcar?
(08:47):
Well, not necessarily, but we canextend it another way, which is the,
some people say poor man's versionof rail with bus rapid transit.
Paul Comfort (08:55):
I was just over in Brisbane.
Jaime and I were over there.
We were filming for our showsand Brisbane is, is, they
have, it looks just like rail.
It's called their Metro,but it's going to, it's BRT.
I mean, it's fantastic.
And he was, you know, all the reasonswhy everybody from Curitiba to Brisbane.
and now Tucson is wantingto do bus rapid transit.
I'm a big proponent of it.
(09:15):
It's like, what, a third of the price ofrail and you can move it if you need to.
Mikel Oglesby (09:20):
Absolutely.
I mean, bus rapid transit's proven.
I had, was instrumental in gettingBRT, the Silver Line in Boston,
Paul Comfort (09:27):
so
Mikel Oglesby (09:27):
I'm familiar with it, but what you're talking about is a
60 foot articulated vehicle and iteven has a little hub over the wheel.
That's right.
You know what I'm talking about.
That covers it and makes itlook like our actual train.
Paul Comfort (09:39):
Yeah.
It's on the cover of our Brisbane episode.
We took a picture of it.
It's just one of the coolestlooking buses I've ever seen.
That's cool.
Yeah.
So, tell me, tell me about, how yougot here and, and how long you've
been here and all that kind of stuff.
You've got quite a, quite a history.
Mikel Oglesby (09:53):
Well, well, well, I will say, I mean, though I've only been here
eight months, I've been in transit over30 years and I've run various systems,
large and small, different locationsfrom Boston to Florida, to California.
Yeah.
but I will tell you, this is my favorite.
I mean, I'm very happy because I cantake a lot of the skills that I've,
I've learned and hone them, right?
(10:15):
And then apply themhere and help the city.
And it is working just perfectly.
Paul Comfort (10:20):
That's great.
Well, we're getting readyto get on your streetcar.
It's going to be pullingup here in just a minute.
We'll see if your estimated arrivaltime signs are working right.
It says it's going to behere in three minutes.
All right.
So, yeah, I'll be here.
I'll be the judge of that, as they say.
No, I'm just messing with you.
All right.
So, once we get on there, I want youto tell me the story of your dad.
(10:40):
And, I want to wait until weget on the streetcar to do that.
So, let's talk a littlebit more about what's here.
One thing that is fantastic, Iwas here last year for a Trapeze,
Vontas conference, and I noticedit then, I'm noticing it now.
Your weather here, man,it's like my dream weather.
I love it here!
Mikel Oglesby (10:55):
Yeah, it's great.
A lot of people say, Oh, you're in,you're in Arizona, isn't it hot?
Well, there's three months of hot.
But then, the rest of the time,it's cool in the morning, it's nice
in the day, it's cool at night.
Yes.
The same people that are saying thatare in places like Detroit, where I'm
saying, okay, well, you don't likeTucson, but you don't, three months,
you don't mind three months of, snow.
(11:16):
Right.
So, the only And the freezing.
Right, so to tell you the truth,I'd rather complain about wearing
shorts than a t shirt myself.
Paul Comfort (11:23):
Absolutely, man.
I love it here.
This is great weather.
Your system is amazing.
What else is happening, inthe world of transit here?
We've talked about theBRT potentially coming.
Tell me a little bit more about that.
what is the next phases?
You're in the planning phase right now?
You're seeking funds?
Or where are you at?
Mikel Oglesby (11:38):
Well, right now, we're solidifying.
So we're identifying the funds for thefirst phase of the BRT, but one of the
things we're really stretching out on isreally taking a look at our alternate fuel
technology and the direction that we'regoing, and I'm glad that we're going in
the direction of a CNG electric splitbecause we can provide transportation.
Some people go all in on electric.
And they've been burned.
(11:59):
We were able to work with the city tosay, even though your goal is 90 percent
zero emissions by 2030, if you want toprovide transportation to people, let's
ease into it until the technology's there.
So I think it's a match made in heaven.
Paul Comfort (12:13):
That's interesting.
And you have a lot ofCNG here anyway, right?
I mean, underground.
Mikel Oglesby (12:18):
Right, exactly.
So Yeah,
Paul Comfort (12:19):
you're like Fort Worth and there's other places
that say, Paul, we just pump it up.
Kansas City, Frank does too.
They, they have CNG right thereand it's, it's very clean.
Mikel Oglesby (12:26):
Right, it's very clean and we're in the process of And you'll see it
when we go to the North Yard, we have aCNG facility with more that's being built.
And really the goal is to combine the two,facilities eventually once we get that
built to house everything in one location.
Paul Comfort (12:41):
Ah, very good.
Mikel Oglesby (12:42):
All right.
look at that.
Paul Comfort (12:44):
Look at the time.
What time is it?
We're gonna hop on.
It's right on time, baby.
Good job.
Don't even try it.
Cars are pretty quiet though.
Alright, we'll see howquiet these vehicles are.
They're coming up now.
It's right on time.
It's actually a second or two early.
So that's great.
But it won't leave early, I'm sure.
Here it comes.
Beautiful.
Mikel Oglesby (13:04):
Got it, George.
Paul Comfort (13:06):
Alright, Mikel, now we're on your, now we're on your, streetcar here.
This thing is awesome.
it's, it's keeping us plenty cool,even though it's hot outside.
That's why you, you hear theair conditioners back here.
That's right.
this thing is ten years old now?
Mikel Oglesby (13:18):
It's ten years old, but the air conditioner's brand new.
Okay.
We just replaced it.
But it's ten year, it's ten years old, andwe are, it's ten years young, actually.
Yeah, there you go.
And pretty soon, we'll be looking at,moving forward with additional vehicles,
but right now we're doing pretty good.
We'll wait till you see.
The, layout and the format you'll see.
Oh, that's awesome, man.
We're doing very well.
Paul Comfort (13:38):
How many, how many, buses do you have?
total buses, like 200 something?
Oh, total buses?
Yeah.
Mikel Oglesby (13:43):
We have 185 total buses.
Okay.
We have eight trains.
Paul Comfort (13:47):
Eight trains.
Okay, very good.
All right, looks like it'salmost time for us to hop off.
So, one more, one more stop.
One more stop.
Great to have with us on a special insertedition of the podcast, Rebecca Klein
and Keith Scott, my friends from TallSmall Productions and Communications
and today we're talking about how peoplewho want to move up in their career,
(14:09):
sometimes you have to be resilient, right?
You have to spring back during challenges.
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott: Exactly, Paul. (14:12):
undefined
Thank you for having us.
The key is to be able to spring backand not to get stuck in the past.
And that happens by using clear languageand messaging that builds trust.
None of the fluff, butclear, direct language.
And in that language, you wantto avoid things that can trigger
(14:36):
other people's walls to come up.
Such as in a challenging time,if you tell someone, No offense,
but Or, can I be honest with you?
They're going to know that you wantto offend away and that you're a liar.
Paul Comfort (14:49):
And, and uh, what about body language?
What's the importance there?
I'm just reading a book froman FBI guy on body language, so
this will be interesting to me.
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott (14:56):
Well, body language is, as you know,
Paul 70 percent of communication.
Every time we walk out in public, whenwe leave our homes, we're being watched.
We always tell people, stay paranoid.
And you project trust and authoritythrough your body language, you have to
always realize that someone's watching youand someone's making an opinion about you.
(15:17):
And a big part of resilience isconnecting with other people.
And with your body, if you crossyour arms the moment the challenging
conversation happens, It's going to showthat you are closed off and shut down.
You want to have your palms open,show people, Hey, I'm receptive
to what you have to think as well.
Paul Comfort (15:35):
And um, what about like a, the team feedback culture?
What can you tell me about that?
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott (15:39):
One of the key things for feedback is open and
honest feedback, not the fluff, not thecompliment sandwich, but making sure
the feedback helps strengthen the team.
Feedback is a gift in encouraging anddeveloping a culture where feedback
is a gift to become a better person.
Because if we're all told all thetime, hey, you're doing a great job,
(16:02):
there's no room to develop further.
And with feedback, as Keith said,too many times when you have the
compliment sandwich, you hear thatgood part, and all you know is what's
coming, and you're getting ready forit, and your defenses are climbing.
Instead Save the worst for first.
Paul Comfort (16:19):
Really?
That's interesting.
So, so if I was going to have a talkwith someone, uh, how would that work?
Just let them know rightup front what the issue is?
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott (16:27):
Exactly.
Well the problem,is people say, Hey,Bob, or Hey, Sally, you're doing a great
job and we really love having you here.
But, no
one,
Paul Comfort (16:36):
true.
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott (16:37):
No one hears anything after the,
you know, before the but, Right.
So start out.
Here's what's going on.
Here's what I need to see change.
And here's how we're going to do afollow up to make sure the change occurs.
Paul Comfort (16:48):
Interesting.
That's good.
And then, so, let's, let's say, inthis communication, uh, exchange,
there become some tensions.
How are you going to de escalate those?
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott: Sometimes it's knowing when to (16:58):
undefined
stay silent and to walk away.
If somebody becomes visibly emotional.
Step away.
Say, I'm going to give you a moment,or I'm going to go grab some water
because otherwise too often peoplekeep on talking, that person's garage
door has closed, and they are notreceiving anything you are saying.
It's very rare that you canreduce tensions with words.
(17:21):
It's very rare.
In couples, in the workplace.
Words never work.
I'll throw that in there.
I'll add that.
Taking time.
Everybody needs time to simmer down.
Paul Comfort (17:33):
So, how does that work?
What, what, what do you say?
You just, you just say, Ineed to get away for a minute?
Like,
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott: What we usually say is, I (17:39):
undefined
need to use the restroom.
I'm gonna get a cup of water, want some.
Do something, if you can, to removeyourself from that situation.
It's hard to de escalate whensomeone's just staring at you.
Paul Comfort (17:51):
Yeah, and I guess when people are, uh, tense and emotional, uh,
your words, I mean, whether it's betweenspouses or co workers, huh, it's not
really going to work because it's almostlike an open wound and every time you
touch it, it's an ouch, it's an ouchie.
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott (18:05):
Exactly.
And too often all people do is poke at itby saying things like, calm down, relax.
This isn't a big deal.
When it's a big deal to theother person, all they're doing
is getting even more tense.
I've never had the situationwith a spouse, Paul, but in the
workplace, I think that's witha spouse, how many have it?
Paul Comfort (18:21):
Of course, of course, yeah.
So, um, so in summary, uh, when wecommunicate, uh, when we are, um, When
we're actively engaged with peopleat the workplace or in home, we have
to, there are challenges that pop up.
So give me kind of a wrap upsummary of, of what we're talking
about to be a resilient leader.
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott (18:39):
Be direct.
Don't be afraid to tell the truth.
And don't be afraid if it doesn'tland well right away because the
other person has to process it.
Be confident in your body language.
Don't walk up with your head down orthe type of body language that says,
Oh, I'm sorry to talk to you about this.
Or, you know, I hate to tell youthis because people feed on that.
And guess what?
They start to build that wall defenseas soon as they see it coming.
(19:03):
Feedback is worthless withoutan action to move forward with,
a defined, specific action.
And you will never get out of a situationwith words once the tension occurs.
Get out of the room, do somethingdifferent, change the channel.
. Paul Comfort (19:17):
Wow.
Great advice, guys.
That is awesome.
Rebecca Klein, Keith Scott, thanks so muchfor that impactful thoughts on resilience.
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott (19:25):
Thank you.
Paul Comfort (19:29):
Well, we're on part two of the podcast today with Mikel
Oglesby, who's general manager ofSunTran here in Tucson, Arizona.
And, Mikel, we just, we'rein your administrative and
maintenance facilities here.
I just took a tour.
Jeff gave me a tour of your AGM.
Dude, I, I have been, Ithink, close to a hundred.
Bus garages around the world andI'm gonna tell you this is top 10.
(19:50):
I'm not kidding.
The way it's organized.
It's clean.
It's safe And it's you gotplenty of property here 11
acres on this one facility.
It's beautiful, man.
Mikel Oglesby (20:00):
Yeah, absolutely First of all staffs fantastic They're very
clear and concise on what we wantto do moving forward But did you
notice you could almost eat off thefloor in that maintenance garage?
Paul Comfort (20:10):
I commented on it I was like this thing is What 14 years old
and it looks like it's five or youknow seven years old or something.
Mikel Oglesby (20:17):
We pride ourselves on keeping it clean and that brings up morale
People are really excited to be able tomove forward and work every day and know
what they're they're coming to work to do
Paul Comfort (20:28):
Speaking of coming to work.
So you've been here abouteight, nine months now.
But you have, you and I have beenfriends for a while, and you have
a long and storied history in thepublic transportation industry.
But I'd like to take youback to the beginning.
How did you get started in transit?
Mikel Oglesby (20:43):
Well, you know, this, this one's a little different, but, a
lot of people say that when they startin transportation, especially as an
operator on the front line, they saythey cut their teeth on the wheel.
My father used to take mearound on the bus, so I actually
really used to chew on it.
Paul Comfort (21:00):
And your dad was a bus operator, right?
Mikel Oglesby (21:02):
Yeah, yeah, my father was a bus operator.
He drove for 34 yearsin Boston for the MBTA.
and they didn't havebabysitting back then, right?
It was the early 70s, so he usedto actually take me on the bus.
I remember my feet wouldn't even reachthe ground and he'd take me on the bus.
I learned everything about a transitand even during the breaks, they'd
(21:24):
sit me on the pool table and thesupervisors would babysit me.
So I've been in transitfor a long period of time.
here's the, here's the crazy part though.
Fast forward.
I go to college, I get outof college, I get a job.
I'm an analyst at the MBTA lowerlevel position, but I got my way in.
I start working my way through the ranks.
(21:44):
I become number two inthe system for Bob Prince.
A lot of people know who he is.
And, together we ran the MBTA whilemy father was still driving a bus.
And, you could imagine what that did.
A couple of things that didis since he was a high rider.
It gave them some serioustrash talking rights.
I used to get
Paul Comfort (22:06):
You see my boy over there?
Mikel Oglesby (22:07):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'd get a call from a supervisor.
Your dad's down here and I'dhave to say, leave him alone.
so, so thinking back, my fathertold me one thing and I really
didn't know what he was saying.
I was probably about eight.
But he said, I'm driving abus, so you won't have to.
And I never knew what that meant.
Fast forward now, I've beengeneral manager, CEO, executive
(22:29):
director in public transit, so Iguess he did a pretty good job.
Paul Comfort (22:32):
That's amazing.
The bus drivers though, they reallyare the backbone of our operations.
They and the mechanics.
Mikel Oglesby (22:37):
Absolutely, and that's one of the reasons why I'm glad
that I'm where I'm at, because whenyou get to general manager stage
the way that I have, you have anappreciation for the frontline employee.
So I've learned to treat thefrontline employee the same way.
Or the janitor, the same way that Iwould treat a mayor or a governor.
And it's been very successful for me sofar, and that's why I like to keep in
(22:58):
contact with all employees, especiallythe operators and the mechanics.
Paul Comfort (23:03):
Take us through the Oglesby Trail now.
Alright, so you, you getpromoted to AGM of MBTA.
Mikel Oglesby (23:08):
Yeah, yeah.
Paul Comfort (23:08):
One of the, the fifth or sixth largest transit system in America.
Mikel Oglesby (23:10):
Yeah, at the time it was the fourth.
Paul Comfort (23:12):
Wow.
Mikel Oglesby (23:12):
Yeah, yeah.
6, 500 employees, 29 unions, lightrail, heavy rail, paratransit,
ferry service, and locomotive.
We had our own police department.
So, everybody who, in their earlystages, went through Boston, it
was like, we call it, boot camp.
You did everything.
So from there, when you go out to like asmaller system, you can utilize the skills
(23:34):
that you acquired from each discipline.
Paul Comfort (23:36):
And where did you go from there?
How long were you thereand then where did you go?
Mikel Oglesby (23:39):
Oh, I was there about 12 years or so.
Okay.
I left there, did a little consulting, butwent to Sunline Transit Agency after that.
Paul Comfort (23:47):
Which is?
Coachella.
Mikel Oglesby (23:49):
That is in the Coachella area or Palm Springs, people say.
Right.
And we ended up being the leader inalternate fuel technology there and that's
where I learned about hydrogen and CNG.
Paul Comfort (23:58):
Before Loren Skyver got there.
You got it set up?
Mikel Oglesby (24:01):
That's correct.
Okay.
So I created the Americanmade fuel cell bus.
It's the first American Made bus withAmerican made parts with the fuel
made on property in America to getaway from the use of foreign oil and
the FTA administrator gave me fivemillion dollars to create the project.
Paul Comfort (24:17):
I didn't know that, man.
Yeah.
That's awesome.
So that West Coast Center ofExcellence on the hydrogen.
I've been there.
I've seen the hydrogen plant.
I toured it.
That's fantastic, brother.
Mikel Oglesby (24:25):
Yeah, we did it then with a hieratics reformer and electrolysis
process with steam reformation.
I'm not sure if the educationbuilding's still there, but it
created a hydrogen education format.
And what we did is we moved forwardall CNG vehicles, and then I was on
my 7th generation hydrogen vehiclewhen others were just starting out.
So we were very popular.
Paul Comfort (24:45):
And now they're selling in hydrogen back into the general market.
Trucks come buy fuel up there.
It's amazing.
Mikel Oglesby (24:50):
It's amazing how times have changed and different colors of hydrogen.
At the time, we were making it the,you know, through the electrolysis
process, where you take the,oxygen goes in the air, hydrogen
goes in the tank, and you pump it.
But now it can be made out of
Paul Comfort (25:03):
Water comes out the tailpipe.
Mikel Oglesby (25:04):
Water comes out the tailpipe.
A quick, quick story about that.
Okay.
So, my maintenance guy, was watchingme and I was being interviewed
on television, and I said watercan drip out the tailpipe, so he
put a flower with a vase there.
The water's dripping out the tailpipe.
And the person interviewing me said,they said it's so clean you can drink it.
Will you drink it?
(25:24):
I said, absolutely.
And I turned to my maintenanceguy, I go, Tommy, take a sip.
Oh, he was not happy, but he did.
I mean, ultimately it goes,through all types of metals.
So, I mean, it tasted likemetal, but yeah, he talked
about that for quite a bit.
Paul Comfort (25:38):
I'm sure he did.
Yeah.
So, it's funny, the,the naming nomenclature.
You were at SunLine and nowyou're at SunTran, but what'd
you do between those two?
Mikel Oglesby (25:47):
So, after SunLine, I went, I ran rail from Miami to West Palm Beach.
TriRail?
TriRail.
Paul Comfort (25:53):
South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.
Mikel Oglesby (25:55):
You got it.
Yeah, I was,
Paul Comfort (25:56):
I Where Dave Dech is now.
Mikel Oglesby (25:58):
Yeah, Dave's there now.
Yeah, I was a deputy, there for quitesome time and did a lot of great things,
positive train control, the Irishcrossover, getting into downtown in the
early stages, created and developed that.
I heard they recently executed it.
That's great.
and then, uh, I did somethingthat I didn't think I'd do.
Paul Comfort (26:17):
Yeah, tell me about it.
I know what it is.
Mikel Oglesby (26:20):
I, I got talked into it.
going to Detroit, running to Detroit,the Motor City, at first I was very
hesitant but, everybody there wasreally positive and based on my
background, they really needed my help.
So I went there with my heart,not necessarily my brain, but
it ended up being fantastic.
(26:40):
I created, a comprehensiveoperational analysis.
I did a bunch of great stuff tomove the needle forward, but I
promised I'd be there for threeyears and on that third year, I left.
I, no, I actually said I'm,I'm, I'm, it's at three years.
I stayed another six months to trainsomebody and left and now I'm here.
Paul Comfort (26:59):
So, when you were in Detroit, I know they were having a lot
of, a lot of, there was even news, whatwas going on up there, that you could
see regular news, not just transit news.
So, which, there's threeagencies there, right?
There's the RTA, there'sSMART, and there's DDOT?
Mikel Oglesby (27:10):
Yeah, there's the RTAs, a overseeing agency that kind of does the
funding, but it's really DDOT and smart.
DDOT is more downtown inner citysmarts, the suburbian portion.
And there's a lot of pressure, Robert and,
Paul Comfort (27:22):
and, Dwight.
Oh, they're there now.
Yeah.
Yeah.
, that's great.
I know, I know them both.
Yeah.
Yeah,
Mikel Oglesby (27:27):
I know them both.
Robert's a great, great guy.
As a matter of fact, I hiredRobert, to run people mover.
So, it's great that he'smoved in that position.
He well deserves it.
Paul Comfort (27:36):
We're going up there, in a couple months to film
an episode of our TV show there.
And we're already prepping with them.
My boss, Rod, is from there, so Ithink he's going to come with us.
It's going to be great.
It seems like a great system.
Mikel Oglesby (27:46):
It's a great system, We worked hard on making sure we had
the fleet replaced, but there wasa lot of things that needed to be
fixed, after the pandemic and therewere issues before the pandemic.
We put in a safety plan that wasn't there.
There's a lot of great stuffthat's, the bones are there.
it's just, it's just what they do with it.
Paul Comfort (28:05):
Yeah.
So you go from supercold weather in Detroit.
Mikel Oglesby (28:08):
Yeah.
Paul Comfort (28:08):
And the Detroit Lions.
Down here, to super warm and actuallyin the, in the, it's, this is
like perfect weather for me, man.
It's cool, like in the evenings.
Yeah.
And gets moderately warm.
Yeah.
I know I'm not here in the hottesttime, but you know, we're, right
now we're here in February.
This is awesome.
Mikel Oglesby (28:23):
Yeah, you know, I think about it like the
Coachella Valley area and sun.
Yeah.
Sun, line, in a way.
And the reason why is becausethe weather's the same.
It's the desert.
Yeah.
if you want to go to a place that'shigh end, there's Indian Wells
here, there's Catalina Foothills.
I mean, it's identical.
I truly think the only difference is onehas palm trees, the other one has cactus.
Paul Comfort (28:44):
That's good, that's good.
Alright, so, last kind of question,let's do a future question.
what do you have planned here?
you know, what's in yourpipeline that you want to do?
And then I want to get your take on theindustry, where you think we're going.
So, but first let's do whatyou're doing here in Tucson.
Mikel Oglesby (28:58):
So, so I'm here.
I'm here to stay this is it.
I'm very happy.
the format and layout fits my skill set.
it's multimodal experience.
so I'm really working with the teamto develop a vision moving forward.
it's going to include focusingon alternate fuel technology
and making sure we focus on it.
(29:19):
Because after we do a pilot, a testprogram, basically we have ten vehicles.
But it's 10 vehicles islike a pilot program.
and if those don't work, we haveto look at other alternatives
that is zero emission if wetruly have to go down that road.
Given recent events, I don't think we'regoing to be going anywhere near that, but
that'll be one thing we have to set out.
The other is, we're going tofocus, with that, then we'll focus
(29:41):
on the fleet replacement plan.
You have your basic fleet replacementplan, then you have your alternate
fuel fleet replacement plan.
That includes infrastructure alongthe way, and then we start matching
the grants to go down that road.
I believe grants will, whenthey, when they do come out,
it'll be a lot of low no grants.
Right?
And the low no grants are
Paul Comfort (30:00):
It'll be more with low than no, I bet you.
Mikel Oglesby (30:02):
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, yeah.
But here's the great thingabout a low no grant compared
to an old fashioned FTA grant.
You call the shots.
They basically say, this is,you say how much you want.
You say what type of technology you want.
You say Who you want.
This is unheard of.
I mean, you know, you'resupposed to just be real general.
You could put who you're talking to.
You put in the infrastructure.
(30:23):
You make sure that's in thereand then you make sure the
labor, everything's in there.
So when you get it, you can afford it.
The old FTA grants wasn't like that.
You'd get it and then you realizethere are additional costs
and we'd scratch and scrape.
Paul Comfort (30:35):
So, speaking of FTA, they've written some big changes coming
out of Washington just the week thatwe're here, where a lot of the, newer
employees that were on probationaryperiod were let go and many of the
employees, 20 I hear is the number,took the buyout that was there.
So, it appears as if FTA stafflevels have been dropped by about 10
percent, from the 760 or so employees,maybe 80, are no longer there.
(30:57):
So, we have the federal governmentand how they are involved in transit.
Then you've got all the stategovernments, then you've got
cities like this, and counties.
It's it's a richtapestry, our industry is.
And not everything isdictated from Washington.
A lot is still dictated locally.
It's just, you know, like, like Nixonsaid, you gotta follow the money, right?
So, so, but what do you seefor our industry going forward?
(31:17):
What new technologiesdo you see coming here?
Do you think that cities and stateswill step up and fill any gap of
funding that may come out of Washington?
Do you have any predictions for us?
Mikel Oglesby (31:25):
No, but I can tell, well, I have a few, but I will tell
you this, we have been affected bythe FTA movement, as a matter of fact,
the recent people who were eitherlaid off or left, one of those people
were our representative and bringingin our next set of hydrogen vehicles.
So we were going, we're going electric.
So we're going stage bystage, everything's fine.
(31:47):
Then we call and thatperson's no longer here.
That's as of today.
So we have some work to do to makesure that we can move forward and
accomplish what we've already set.
So I think our focus should begetting what we already have
in the pipeline for grants.
We have other grants.
If we can make the deadlinethere, we're in pretty good shape
because we have a young fleet.
For Our fleet's only averagingseven, after we do this replacement,
(32:11):
it's averaging seven years.
I just talked to, some otherpeople at other agencies, and
they're talking about their 22year old buses, and I feel guilty.
I'm like, well, you come over here,we have seven years, we, we, we
may be able to weather this storm.
but then, the city support is sortof in the mode of business as usual.
Keep plugging forward as ifyou're getting the grants.
(32:31):
Keep, keep plugging forwardwith your vision moving forward.
And I think if we just stay in touch withthe city's goal of, you know, Hold steady.
Paul Comfort (32:42):
And you're fare free.
They're subsidizing the entire service.
You're not getting any through fares.
Mikel Oglesby (32:47):
That's right.
At this time.
You know, now that all of this isgoing on, things could change, but
again, that's above my pay grade,so I'll eat popcorn and be told what
to do when it comes to that point.
Paul Comfort (32:58):
That's good.
What about technology?
Do you see a role for autonomous vehiclesand, you know, VTOLs and all that
kind of stuff in the public transit?
you know, cornucopia of optionsthat we're offering people.
Mikel Oglesby (33:10):
honestly, for me, I don't think so.
Okay.
and the reason why is becausethey've been talking about
autonomous vehicles for years.
I know a few agencies thathave tried autonomous vehicles.
I know, in Jacksonville, Dan.
Yeah, a lot of money.
I know Nat very well.
They put a lot of money in,and it was quite some time ago.
I'm not sure where it is now, but I mean,the amount of money invested is so big.
(33:30):
Yeah.
Like when you go back, hindsight's 20 20.
Is it worth it?
Is it not worth it?
And I'm just at a point with autonomousvehicles to watch my good friend Nat be
successful and then tell me how he didit versus being on the bleeding edge.
So we're going to sit back and seewhat's going on with autonomous vehicles.
Eventually, I think we'll be there.
(33:51):
That's good.
Paul Comfort (33:52):
And lastly, let's talk about the Southwest Transit
Association Conference that washere this week that you hosted and
I think you spoke a couple times.
Tell us about the conference andwhat it's mean to you to have them
here and what you told the audience.
Mikel Oglesby (34:03):
Well, it's an honor to have it here, especially
during our 50 year anniversary.
I mean, you couldn'tplan this out any better.
We just came off the heels of our 10 yearanniversary with SunLink and then we go
into our 50 year anniversary, the rodeo'shere, and it's a 100 year anniversary.
It was a perfect storm.
So I was very proud to be ableto show Tucson off and to say,
(34:27):
listen, you don't know about Tucson?
A lot of people were saying, oh,you know, I've never been here.
I thought it was Phoenix.
And I said, well, it's not Phoenix,but I mean, the Beatles sang about it.
I mean, he was tellingme that today, right?
Yeah.
Right.
So, right.
So, so they're going around andpeople saying, I'm coming back.
This is incredible.
This is amazing.
And that's really what we wanted.
We want to make sure that we as a transitagency were a good host and, and, and made
(34:52):
everybody smile by putting our vintagebus out there for people to look at.
I saw a lot of pictureson LinkedIn with that.
All the way to us speakingand just telling our story.
I did an alternate fuel technologydiscussion similar to what we're talking
about, stating that we're going togo towards, compressed natural gas.
People appreciated it.
(35:13):
People appreciate someone that's in therethat's, you know, That's going to do
something different or state the facts.
I'm very straightforward.
So I just state the facts, right?
And when it, when I just left,the conference, I see the people
walking around and smiling.
They want.
Paraphernalia from here.
They want the bag.
They want, and a lot of conferences,smaller conferences aren't like
(35:36):
that, but the energy is still goingtowards the end of this conference.
So yeah.
Paul Comfort (35:41):
Yeah.
Rich Sampson and Amanda do a greatjob putting this together every year.
It was great to be here with you.
Thank you for hosting us and for showingus your amazing transit operations.
Mikel Oglesby (35:51):
I appreciate it.
It's a pleasure.
Julie Gates (35:53):
Thank you for joining this edition of the Transit Unplug podcast
featuring Mikel Oglesby, general managerof RATPdev for the City of Tucson.
And who oversees Sun Tran,Sun Van, and Sun Link.
My name is Julie Gates.
I'm the executive producer ofthe podcast and I wanna thank
you for listening to this show.
And if you're listening rightnow, I have a favor to ask of you.
(36:17):
Would you please give us your feedbackabout the Transit Unplugged Podcast?
We're running a survey right nowto help us make decisions on what
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And if there's anything that makesyou wanna hit your head against
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(36:41):
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Thanks so much for listening,and we'll catch you next week.
On today's Transit Unplugged podcast, we take you in
person behind the scenes to Tucson,Arizona with our special guest, Mikel
Oglesby, who is the general manager ofSunTran, the local transit system there.
Uh, it is a great interview.
We take it on the road, walking andgetting on the, their, uh, street cars
and taking some of it in his office.
(00:25):
It's a fun, interesting interviewthat I recorded while I was there,
uh, speaking at the SouthwestTransit Association Conference.
A great conference.
Uh, that operates, uh, andrepresents eight states there
in, uh, and they had their annualconference this year in Tucson.
We take a look at the grants, theprojects, the transit owner overviews
with Mikel, and, uh, a little bit ofhis past history, which I think you'll
(00:46):
find very interesting how, um, he gotstarted off in his career with his
father as a bus driver, a bus operatorin Boston, literally, you know, sitting
on the seat behind his dad kicking hislegs, the little kid, and he grew up.
To become, um, you know, awell-known, well-respected
leader in our transit industry.
We also take a look at theiralternative fuels, and this podcast is
(01:07):
a complimentary episode that matchesalong with our Transit Unplugged TV
episode where everything you hear ontoday's episode, you can see it on our
Transit Unplugged TV show on YouTube.
This is the in-depth interview.
We'll show you some of these thingson the program on YouTube airing now.
Now let's dive into this greatinterview with my friend Mikel Oglesby.
(01:32):
We're in Tucson, Arizona, forthe SWATA Conference 2025,
and it is gorgeous outside.
And Mikel Oglesby and I are walking downto one of your, train, your, Light rail
stations, but you call 'em streetcar.
Mikel Oglesby (01:44):
They're street cars.
That's right.
We're gonna
Paul Comfort (01:46):
What's the difference between a streetcar
and a light rail to you?
Mikel Oglesby (01:48):
Well, a streetcar, the rail is actually physically on the street.
Light rail can also have, ballastsunderneath it and stuff like that.
Right,
Paul Comfort (01:55):
like a train.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's good.
I love your streetcar, by the way.
It's beautiful.
Well, thanks for welcoming me hereand for, we're doing a TV show
plus a, a podcast at the same time.
How's it going, man?
Mikel Oglesby (02:05):
Everything's perfect.
I mean, we're here atthe SWATA conference.
I'm here with you, and we're justexcited to show off our system.
Paul Comfort (02:12):
Well, you've got quite a system to show.
We've already been here about a day and ahalf, and I've seen so many cool things.
Tell us about your system in general.
You know, the modes and peopleand budget and all that.
Mikel Oglesby (02:22):
Sure.
So, we're about a 92 million budget.
we have, We have three different modes.
It's SunVan, SunTran, and SunLink,so it's basically fixed route,
paratransit, and streetcar.
And, we're really excited to providethis service to three transit centers.
Paul Comfort (02:40):
All right, and which one are we going to now?
Mikel Oglesby (02:42):
Well, right now, we're going to go to, 4th and 9th and get
on the train and go over to SunLink.
Paul Comfort (02:47):
That's great.
So we're going to takethis podcast recording.
While we're on his vehicles,we're going to, he's going
to tell us what we're seeing.
It's going to be one of these live inperson podcasts, that we've done a few
times before that people find so popular.
and, you work, you're the general manager.
Mikel Oglesby (03:01):
That's correct.
I'm the general manager of all three modesand, oversee it and report to the city..
Paul Comfort (03:09):
We're back here.
And, Mikel, we're going to hopon one of your streetcars here.
Where are we headed?
Mikel Oglesby (03:13):
We're heading to our SunLink facility and, to go see
our staff and kind of walk aroundand show you what we're all about.
Paul Comfort (03:19):
Let's talk about the organization structure.
You know, a lot of people that listento our show work in transit, so I think
your structure here is very interesting.
Tell us about how it works here in Tucson.
Mikel Oglesby (03:29):
It's very unique.
So, the city of Tucson hired acontractor, which is RATP DEV,
to oversee the entire system.
It's four positions.
Mine is one of them, and I havecontrol over all 900 employees.
Most places do the same thing, butit reports to a transit system.
The transit system is knockedout, and I'm directly to the city.
Paul Comfort (03:51):
Gotcha.
And I met the guys that youwork with from the city.
They seem like sharp guys, too.
They're really into whatwe're doing here, right?
Mikel Oglesby (03:58):
Yeah their support is 100%.
They were instrumental to getting me here.
And I support them 100%.
Paul Comfort (04:06):
A unique, you might be the biggest fare free system left in America.
Mikel Oglesby (04:11):
Yeah, it's fare free, I mean, when you have paratransit, fixed
route, and the rail system, fare free.
And when you have a rail system, basicallystreetcar coming from the U of A and
these students are depending on this, freefare, it has been extremely successful.
Paul Comfort (04:26):
That's awesome.
And, and so the city is, the city councilis really behind transit, obviously.
Mikel Oglesby (04:32):
Yeah.
100%. They're supplementing the,additional costs and it's been going
on all for about five years now.
Paul Comfort (04:38):
So, you also have something great coming.
What?
Let's first talk about what you've got,then I want to talk about your BRT, which
is what you're hoping to bring in here.
Yeah.
So, tell me about your bus system.
Mikel Oglesby (04:48):
So, our bus system is a unique system.
We have, a hundred and eighty five,buses, and we service, approximately
three hundred and twenty three,square miles of, of service.
Paul Comfort (04:59):
It's a big area.
We were driving around today,driving for fifteen, twenty minutes,
and you're still in the city.
It's, it's big.
Mikel Oglesby (05:05):
It's big.
And it requires a lot of service.
Not only are we free, but we're efficient.
So we make sure people canget to where they need to be,
when they need to get there.
Paul Comfort (05:14):
And then tell me about your streetcar system.
Mikel Oglesby (05:16):
So the streetcar system is a 3.
9 mile loop, but it's jampacked with innovation.
It's jam packed with the abilityto go shopping, go to places
that you have to, go eat.
There are so much things you can do.
Paul Comfort (05:29):
Yeah, yeah.
That's great.
And then your paratransit.
Mikel Oglesby (05:32):
So our paratransit service is the same, square area,
and we actually service some alittle bit outside of that area.
And one of the great things aboutour paratransit service is that we
still stand behind the leave nobodybehind, technique with it being free.
And we are really doing that simplybecause we have the best employees.
(05:53):
That's the reason why.
Paul Comfort (05:54):
That's awesome, man.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I've been working with CindyGleason from your staff and
a couple of the other folks.
They're top notch.
Mikel Oglesby (06:00):
Oh, yeah.
Cindy, she's with our marketing group.
I have Davida with our planning group.
I mean, I could go on and on.
The ones you've dealt directly with,it was a dream for you to come here,
and especially during the SWATAevent, during our 50 year anniversary,
during a time where the rodeo wascelebrating their 100 year anniversary.
And then last year wecelebrated 10 years Sunlink.
Paul Comfort (06:24):
That's beautiful.
Yeah, 50 years of transit, and tomorrowwe're going to go to your museum, which
has all the vehicles from the last 50years, like a different one of each kind?
Mikel Oglesby (06:33):
Oh, that's correct.
It goes, it has paraphernalia, it hasarticles, there's even a person there
that carves out buses, hand carves them.
He'll be right there, hand carvingthem, and he can talk you through
the fact that he does it to spec.
Paul Comfort (06:51):
The other day, one other thing I want to mention was, you and I got
on a bus the other day, the number threebus, which was, from the Ronstadt Center.
Tell us about that.
Linda Ronstadt's family'sfrom here, right?
Mikel Oglesby (07:02):
Yeah, absolutely.
The Ronstadt Center's very popular.
We have, three centers, that'sone of them, and we went
from there over to El Charro.
it's so popular, that it's hard to keep upcleaning it, but we are there just working
feverishly to make sure it looks good.
Paul Comfort (07:16):
Yeah, and if you want to see what he's talking about,
tune in to our YouTube channel.
Our Transit Unplugged TV showon YouTube from Tucson and the
food at El Charro last night.
The owner and the two chefscame out, described each meal.
They brought us platters oftheir best everything and drinks
and what a fantastic story too.
Started by his grandmother and hismother, each of them had it for 50 years.
(07:39):
they have it still in the originalhouse, I mean, and the current
president, what an amazing guy.
He's grown it to 18different restaurants now.
Mikel Oglesby (07:46):
Yeah, it's amazing.
It's amazing.
And the fact that they havecarne seca and they dry it with
the sun on the roof in a cage.
I'll tell you, I don't know whatit sounds like it tastes, but I
can tell you that it tastes good.
Paul Comfort (08:01):
And wow, he gave us some of the Chimichangas.
They actually invented them here.
Mikel Oglesby (08:05):
Yeah, the myth is that, they dropped, food into the
fryer and when they pulled it out,it ended up being a chimichanga, but,
Paul Comfort (08:13):
It was like magic!
Mikel Oglesby (08:13):
Yeah, yeah, voila!
Paul Comfort (08:15):
Yeah, yeah, no, that's great, man.
Alright.
So, while I was out with some of yourguys, we went over to one of the other
stations and you guys are working ona new bus rapid transit project, BRT.
Tell me about that.
Mikel Oglesby (08:25):
Yeah, so we're working on bus rapid transit going
along Stone and it's the first step.
So, if this is successful, thenthere are other corridors that
we would like to implement.
I'm really excited because when Icame here, I have experience with BRT.
So, when they said this is the path we'removing in, I think that's the way to go.
sort of extend our railthat we currently have.
So people may say, are yougoing to extend the streetcar?
(08:47):
Well, not necessarily, but we canextend it another way, which is the,
some people say poor man's versionof rail with bus rapid transit.
Paul Comfort (08:55):
I was just over in Brisbane.
Jaime and I were over there.
We were filming for our showsand Brisbane is, is, they
have, it looks just like rail.
It's called their Metro,but it's going to, it's BRT.
I mean, it's fantastic.
And he was, you know, all the reasonswhy everybody from Curitiba to Brisbane.
and now Tucson is wantingto do bus rapid transit.
I'm a big proponent of it.
(09:15):
It's like, what, a third of the price ofrail and you can move it if you need to.
Mikel Oglesby (09:20):
Absolutely.
I mean, bus rapid transit's proven.
I had, was instrumental in gettingBRT, the Silver Line in Boston,
Paul Comfort (09:27):
so
Mikel Oglesby (09:27):
I'm familiar with it, but what you're talking about is a
60 foot articulated vehicle and iteven has a little hub over the wheel.
That's right.
You know what I'm talking about.
That covers it and makes itlook like our actual train.
Paul Comfort (09:39):
Yeah.
It's on the cover of our Brisbane episode.
We took a picture of it.
It's just one of the coolestlooking buses I've ever seen.
That's cool.
Yeah.
So, tell me, tell me about, how yougot here and, and how long you've
been here and all that kind of stuff.
You've got quite a, quite a history.
Mikel Oglesby (09:53):
Well, well, well, I will say, I mean, though I've only been here
eight months, I've been in transit over30 years and I've run various systems,
large and small, different locationsfrom Boston to Florida, to California.
Yeah.
but I will tell you, this is my favorite.
I mean, I'm very happy because I cantake a lot of the skills that I've,
I've learned and hone them, right?
(10:15):
And then apply themhere and help the city.
And it is working just perfectly.
Paul Comfort (10:20):
That's great.
Well, we're getting readyto get on your streetcar.
It's going to be pullingup here in just a minute.
We'll see if your estimated arrivaltime signs are working right.
It says it's going to behere in three minutes.
All right.
So, yeah, I'll be here.
I'll be the judge of that, as they say.
No, I'm just messing with you.
All right.
So, once we get on there, I want youto tell me the story of your dad.
(10:40):
And, I want to wait until weget on the streetcar to do that.
So, let's talk a littlebit more about what's here.
One thing that is fantastic, Iwas here last year for a Trapeze,
Vontas conference, and I noticedit then, I'm noticing it now.
Your weather here, man,it's like my dream weather.
I love it here!
Mikel Oglesby (10:55):
Yeah, it's great.
A lot of people say, Oh, you're in,you're in Arizona, isn't it hot?
Well, there's three months of hot.
But then, the rest of the time,it's cool in the morning, it's nice
in the day, it's cool at night.
Yes.
The same people that are saying thatare in places like Detroit, where I'm
saying, okay, well, you don't likeTucson, but you don't, three months,
you don't mind three months of, snow.
(11:16):
Right.
So, the only And the freezing.
Right, so to tell you the truth,I'd rather complain about wearing
shorts than a t shirt myself.
Paul Comfort (11:23):
Absolutely, man.
I love it here.
This is great weather.
Your system is amazing.
What else is happening, inthe world of transit here?
We've talked about theBRT potentially coming.
Tell me a little bit more about that.
what is the next phases?
You're in the planning phase right now?
You're seeking funds?
Or where are you at?
Mikel Oglesby (11:38):
Well, right now, we're solidifying.
So we're identifying the funds for thefirst phase of the BRT, but one of the
things we're really stretching out on isreally taking a look at our alternate fuel
technology and the direction that we'regoing, and I'm glad that we're going in
the direction of a CNG electric splitbecause we can provide transportation.
Some people go all in on electric.
And they've been burned.
(11:59):
We were able to work with the city tosay, even though your goal is 90 percent
zero emissions by 2030, if you want toprovide transportation to people, let's
ease into it until the technology's there.
So I think it's a match made in heaven.
Paul Comfort (12:13):
That's interesting.
And you have a lot ofCNG here anyway, right?
I mean, underground.
Mikel Oglesby (12:18):
Right, exactly.
So Yeah,
Paul Comfort (12:19):
you're like Fort Worth and there's other places
that say, Paul, we just pump it up.
Kansas City, Frank does too.
They, they have CNG right thereand it's, it's very clean.
Mikel Oglesby (12:26):
Right, it's very clean and we're in the process of And you'll see it
when we go to the North Yard, we have aCNG facility with more that's being built.
And really the goal is to combine the two,facilities eventually once we get that
built to house everything in one location.
Paul Comfort (12:41):
Ah, very good.
Mikel Oglesby (12:42):
All right.
look at that.
Paul Comfort (12:44):
Look at the time.
What time is it?
We're gonna hop on.
It's right on time, baby.
Good job.
Don't even try it.
Cars are pretty quiet though.
Alright, we'll see howquiet these vehicles are.
They're coming up now.
It's right on time.
It's actually a second or two early.
So that's great.
But it won't leave early, I'm sure.
Here it comes.
Beautiful.
Mikel Oglesby (13:04):
Got it, George.
Paul Comfort (13:06):
Alright, Mikel, now we're on your, now we're on your, streetcar here.
This thing is awesome.
it's, it's keeping us plenty cool,even though it's hot outside.
That's why you, you hear theair conditioners back here.
That's right.
this thing is ten years old now?
Mikel Oglesby (13:18):
It's ten years old, but the air conditioner's brand new.
Okay.
We just replaced it.
But it's ten year, it's ten years old, andwe are, it's ten years young, actually.
Yeah, there you go.
And pretty soon, we'll be looking at,moving forward with additional vehicles,
but right now we're doing pretty good.
We'll wait till you see.
The, layout and the format you'll see.
Oh, that's awesome, man.
We're doing very well.
Paul Comfort (13:38):
How many, how many, buses do you have?
total buses, like 200 something?
Oh, total buses?
Yeah.
Mikel Oglesby (13:43):
We have 185 total buses.
Okay.
We have eight trains.
Paul Comfort (13:47):
Eight trains.
Okay, very good.
All right, looks like it'salmost time for us to hop off.
So, one more, one more stop.
One more stop.
Great to have with us on a special insertedition of the podcast, Rebecca Klein
and Keith Scott, my friends from TallSmall Productions and Communications
and today we're talking about how peoplewho want to move up in their career,
(14:09):
sometimes you have to be resilient, right?
You have to spring back during challenges.
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott: Exactly, Paul. (14:12):
undefined
Thank you for having us.
The key is to be able to spring backand not to get stuck in the past.
And that happens by using clear languageand messaging that builds trust.
None of the fluff, butclear, direct language.
And in that language, you wantto avoid things that can trigger
(14:36):
other people's walls to come up.
Such as in a challenging time,if you tell someone, No offense,
but Or, can I be honest with you?
They're going to know that you wantto offend away and that you're a liar.
Paul Comfort (14:49):
And, and uh, what about body language?
What's the importance there?
I'm just reading a book froman FBI guy on body language, so
this will be interesting to me.
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott (14:56):
Well, body language is, as you know,
Paul 70 percent of communication.
Every time we walk out in public, whenwe leave our homes, we're being watched.
We always tell people, stay paranoid.
And you project trust and authoritythrough your body language, you have to
always realize that someone's watching youand someone's making an opinion about you.
(15:17):
And a big part of resilience isconnecting with other people.
And with your body, if you crossyour arms the moment the challenging
conversation happens, It's going to showthat you are closed off and shut down.
You want to have your palms open,show people, Hey, I'm receptive
to what you have to think as well.
Paul Comfort (15:35):
And um, what about like a, the team feedback culture?
What can you tell me about that?
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott (15:39):
One of the key things for feedback is open and
honest feedback, not the fluff, not thecompliment sandwich, but making sure
the feedback helps strengthen the team.
Feedback is a gift in encouraging anddeveloping a culture where feedback
is a gift to become a better person.
Because if we're all told all thetime, hey, you're doing a great job,
(16:02):
there's no room to develop further.
And with feedback, as Keith said,too many times when you have the
compliment sandwich, you hear thatgood part, and all you know is what's
coming, and you're getting ready forit, and your defenses are climbing.
Instead Save the worst for first.
Paul Comfort (16:19):
Really?
That's interesting.
So, so if I was going to have a talkwith someone, uh, how would that work?
Just let them know rightup front what the issue is?
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott (16:27):
Exactly.
Well the problem,is people say, Hey,Bob, or Hey, Sally, you're doing a great
job and we really love having you here.
But, no
one,
Paul Comfort (16:36):
true.
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott (16:37):
No one hears anything after the,
you know, before the but, Right.
So start out.
Here's what's going on.
Here's what I need to see change.
And here's how we're going to do afollow up to make sure the change occurs.
Paul Comfort (16:48):
Interesting.
That's good.
And then, so, let's, let's say, inthis communication, uh, exchange,
there become some tensions.
How are you going to de escalate those?
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott: Sometimes it's knowing when to (16:58):
undefined
stay silent and to walk away.
If somebody becomes visibly emotional.
Step away.
Say, I'm going to give you a moment,or I'm going to go grab some water
because otherwise too often peoplekeep on talking, that person's garage
door has closed, and they are notreceiving anything you are saying.
It's very rare that you canreduce tensions with words.
(17:21):
It's very rare.
In couples, in the workplace.
Words never work.
I'll throw that in there.
I'll add that.
Taking time.
Everybody needs time to simmer down.
Paul Comfort (17:33):
So, how does that work?
What, what, what do you say?
You just, you just say, Ineed to get away for a minute?
Like,
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott: What we usually say is, I (17:39):
undefined
need to use the restroom.
I'm gonna get a cup of water, want some.
Do something, if you can, to removeyourself from that situation.
It's hard to de escalate whensomeone's just staring at you.
Paul Comfort (17:51):
Yeah, and I guess when people are, uh, tense and emotional, uh,
your words, I mean, whether it's betweenspouses or co workers, huh, it's not
really going to work because it's almostlike an open wound and every time you
touch it, it's an ouch, it's an ouchie.
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott (18:05):
Exactly.
And too often all people do is poke at itby saying things like, calm down, relax.
This isn't a big deal.
When it's a big deal to theother person, all they're doing
is getting even more tense.
I've never had the situationwith a spouse, Paul, but in the
workplace, I think that's witha spouse, how many have it?
Paul Comfort (18:21):
Of course, of course, yeah.
So, um, so in summary, uh, when wecommunicate, uh, when we are, um, When
we're actively engaged with peopleat the workplace or in home, we have
to, there are challenges that pop up.
So give me kind of a wrap upsummary of, of what we're talking
about to be a resilient leader.
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott (18:39):
Be direct.
Don't be afraid to tell the truth.
And don't be afraid if it doesn'tland well right away because the
other person has to process it.
Be confident in your body language.
Don't walk up with your head down orthe type of body language that says,
Oh, I'm sorry to talk to you about this.
Or, you know, I hate to tell youthis because people feed on that.
And guess what?
They start to build that wall defenseas soon as they see it coming.
(19:03):
Feedback is worthless withoutan action to move forward with,
a defined, specific action.
And you will never get out of a situationwith words once the tension occurs.
Get out of the room, do somethingdifferent, change the channel.
. Paul Comfort (19:17):
Wow.
Great advice, guys.
That is awesome.
Rebecca Klein, Keith Scott, thanks so muchfor that impactful thoughts on resilience.
Rebecca Klein & Keith Scott (19:25):
Thank you.
Paul Comfort (19:29):
Well, we're on part two of the podcast today with Mikel
Oglesby, who's general manager ofSunTran here in Tucson, Arizona.
And, Mikel, we just, we'rein your administrative and
maintenance facilities here.
I just took a tour.
Jeff gave me a tour of your AGM.
Dude, I, I have been, Ithink, close to a hundred.
Bus garages around the world andI'm gonna tell you this is top 10.
(19:50):
I'm not kidding.
The way it's organized.
It's clean.
It's safe And it's you gotplenty of property here 11
acres on this one facility.
It's beautiful, man.
Mikel Oglesby (20:00):
Yeah, absolutely First of all staffs fantastic They're very
clear and concise on what we wantto do moving forward But did you
notice you could almost eat off thefloor in that maintenance garage?
Paul Comfort (20:10):
I commented on it I was like this thing is What 14 years old
and it looks like it's five or youknow seven years old or something.
Mikel Oglesby (20:17):
We pride ourselves on keeping it clean and that brings up morale
People are really excited to be able tomove forward and work every day and know
what they're they're coming to work to do
Paul Comfort (20:28):
Speaking of coming to work.
So you've been here abouteight, nine months now.
But you have, you and I have beenfriends for a while, and you have
a long and storied history in thepublic transportation industry.
But I'd like to take youback to the beginning.
How did you get started in transit?
Mikel Oglesby (20:43):
Well, you know, this, this one's a little different, but, a
lot of people say that when they startin transportation, especially as an
operator on the front line, they saythey cut their teeth on the wheel.
My father used to take mearound on the bus, so I actually
really used to chew on it.
Paul Comfort (21:00):
And your dad was a bus operator, right?
Mikel Oglesby (21:02):
Yeah, yeah, my father was a bus operator.
He drove for 34 yearsin Boston for the MBTA.
and they didn't havebabysitting back then, right?
It was the early 70s, so he usedto actually take me on the bus.
I remember my feet wouldn't even reachthe ground and he'd take me on the bus.
I learned everything about a transitand even during the breaks, they'd
(21:24):
sit me on the pool table and thesupervisors would babysit me.
So I've been in transitfor a long period of time.
here's the, here's the crazy part though.
Fast forward.
I go to college, I get outof college, I get a job.
I'm an analyst at the MBTA lowerlevel position, but I got my way in.
I start working my way through the ranks.
(21:44):
I become number two inthe system for Bob Prince.
A lot of people know who he is.
And, together we ran the MBTA whilemy father was still driving a bus.
And, you could imagine what that did.
A couple of things that didis since he was a high rider.
It gave them some serioustrash talking rights.
I used to get
Paul Comfort (22:06):
You see my boy over there?
Mikel Oglesby (22:07):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'd get a call from a supervisor.
Your dad's down here and I'dhave to say, leave him alone.
so, so thinking back, my fathertold me one thing and I really
didn't know what he was saying.
I was probably about eight.
But he said, I'm driving abus, so you won't have to.
And I never knew what that meant.
Fast forward now, I've beengeneral manager, CEO, executive
(22:29):
director in public transit, so Iguess he did a pretty good job.
Paul Comfort (22:32):
That's amazing.
The bus drivers though, they reallyare the backbone of our operations.
They and the mechanics.
Mikel Oglesby (22:37):
Absolutely, and that's one of the reasons why I'm glad
that I'm where I'm at, because whenyou get to general manager stage
the way that I have, you have anappreciation for the frontline employee.
So I've learned to treat thefrontline employee the same way.
Or the janitor, the same way that Iwould treat a mayor or a governor.
And it's been very successful for me sofar, and that's why I like to keep in
(22:58):
contact with all employees, especiallythe operators and the mechanics.
Paul Comfort (23:03):
Take us through the Oglesby Trail now.
Alright, so you, you getpromoted to AGM of MBTA.
Mikel Oglesby (23:08):
Yeah, yeah.
Paul Comfort (23:08):
One of the, the fifth or sixth largest transit system in America.
Mikel Oglesby (23:10):
Yeah, at the time it was the fourth.
Paul Comfort (23:12):
Wow.
Mikel Oglesby (23:12):
Yeah, yeah.
6, 500 employees, 29 unions, lightrail, heavy rail, paratransit,
ferry service, and locomotive.
We had our own police department.
So, everybody who, in their earlystages, went through Boston, it
was like, we call it, boot camp.
You did everything.
So from there, when you go out to like asmaller system, you can utilize the skills
(23:34):
that you acquired from each discipline.
Paul Comfort (23:36):
And where did you go from there?
How long were you thereand then where did you go?
Mikel Oglesby (23:39):
Oh, I was there about 12 years or so.
Okay.
I left there, did a little consulting, butwent to Sunline Transit Agency after that.
Paul Comfort (23:47):
Which is?
Coachella.
Mikel Oglesby (23:49):
That is in the Coachella area or Palm Springs, people say.
Right.
And we ended up being the leader inalternate fuel technology there and that's
where I learned about hydrogen and CNG.
Paul Comfort (23:58):
Before Loren Skyver got there.
You got it set up?
Mikel Oglesby (24:01):
That's correct.
Okay.
So I created the Americanmade fuel cell bus.
It's the first American Made bus withAmerican made parts with the fuel
made on property in America to getaway from the use of foreign oil and
the FTA administrator gave me fivemillion dollars to create the project.
Paul Comfort (24:17):
I didn't know that, man.
Yeah.
That's awesome.
So that West Coast Center ofExcellence on the hydrogen.
I've been there.
I've seen the hydrogen plant.
I toured it.
That's fantastic, brother.
Mikel Oglesby (24:25):
Yeah, we did it then with a hieratics reformer and electrolysis
process with steam reformation.
I'm not sure if the educationbuilding's still there, but it
created a hydrogen education format.
And what we did is we moved forwardall CNG vehicles, and then I was on
my 7th generation hydrogen vehiclewhen others were just starting out.
So we were very popular.
Paul Comfort (24:45):
And now they're selling in hydrogen back into the general market.
Trucks come buy fuel up there.
It's amazing.
Mikel Oglesby (24:50):
It's amazing how times have changed and different colors of hydrogen.
At the time, we were making it the,you know, through the electrolysis
process, where you take the,oxygen goes in the air, hydrogen
goes in the tank, and you pump it.
But now it can be made out of
Paul Comfort (25:03):
Water comes out the tailpipe.
Mikel Oglesby (25:04):
Water comes out the tailpipe.
A quick, quick story about that.
Okay.
So, my maintenance guy, was watchingme and I was being interviewed
on television, and I said watercan drip out the tailpipe, so he
put a flower with a vase there.
The water's dripping out the tailpipe.
And the person interviewing me said,they said it's so clean you can drink it.
Will you drink it?
(25:24):
I said, absolutely.
And I turned to my maintenanceguy, I go, Tommy, take a sip.
Oh, he was not happy, but he did.
I mean, ultimately it goes,through all types of metals.
So, I mean, it tasted likemetal, but yeah, he talked
about that for quite a bit.
Paul Comfort (25:38):
I'm sure he did.
Yeah.
So, it's funny, the,the naming nomenclature.
You were at SunLine and nowyou're at SunTran, but what'd
you do between those two?
Mikel Oglesby (25:47):
So, after SunLine, I went, I ran rail from Miami to West Palm Beach.
TriRail?
TriRail.
Paul Comfort (25:53):
South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.
Mikel Oglesby (25:55):
You got it.
Yeah, I was,
Paul Comfort (25:56):
I Where Dave Dech is now.
Mikel Oglesby (25:58):
Yeah, Dave's there now.
Yeah, I was a deputy, there for quitesome time and did a lot of great things,
positive train control, the Irishcrossover, getting into downtown in the
early stages, created and developed that.
I heard they recently executed it.
That's great.
and then, uh, I did somethingthat I didn't think I'd do.
Paul Comfort (26:17):
Yeah, tell me about it.
I know what it is.
Mikel Oglesby (26:20):
I, I got talked into it.
going to Detroit, running to Detroit,the Motor City, at first I was very
hesitant but, everybody there wasreally positive and based on my
background, they really needed my help.
So I went there with my heart,not necessarily my brain, but
it ended up being fantastic.
(26:40):
I created, a comprehensiveoperational analysis.
I did a bunch of great stuff tomove the needle forward, but I
promised I'd be there for threeyears and on that third year, I left.
I, no, I actually said I'm,I'm, I'm, it's at three years.
I stayed another six months to trainsomebody and left and now I'm here.
Paul Comfort (26:59):
So, when you were in Detroit, I know they were having a lot
of, a lot of, there was even news, whatwas going on up there, that you could
see regular news, not just transit news.
So, which, there's threeagencies there, right?
There's the RTA, there'sSMART, and there's DDOT?
Mikel Oglesby (27:10):
Yeah, there's the RTAs, a overseeing agency that kind of does the
funding, but it's really DDOT and smart.
DDOT is more downtown inner citysmarts, the suburbian portion.
And there's a lot of pressure, Robert and,
Paul Comfort (27:22):
and, Dwight.
Oh, they're there now.
Yeah.
Yeah.
, that's great.
I know, I know them both.
Yeah.
Yeah,
Mikel Oglesby (27:27):
I know them both.
Robert's a great, great guy.
As a matter of fact, I hiredRobert, to run people mover.
So, it's great that he'smoved in that position.
He well deserves it.
Paul Comfort (27:36):
We're going up there, in a couple months to film
an episode of our TV show there.
And we're already prepping with them.
My boss, Rod, is from there, so Ithink he's going to come with us.
It's going to be great.
It seems like a great system.
Mikel Oglesby (27:46):
It's a great system, We worked hard on making sure we had
the fleet replaced, but there wasa lot of things that needed to be
fixed, after the pandemic and therewere issues before the pandemic.
We put in a safety plan that wasn't there.
There's a lot of great stuffthat's, the bones are there.
it's just, it's just what they do with it.
Paul Comfort (28:05):
Yeah.
So you go from supercold weather in Detroit.
Mikel Oglesby (28:08):
Yeah.
Paul Comfort (28:08):
And the Detroit Lions.
Down here, to super warm and actuallyin the, in the, it's, this is
like perfect weather for me, man.
It's cool, like in the evenings.
Yeah.
And gets moderately warm.
Yeah.
I know I'm not here in the hottesttime, but you know, we're, right
now we're here in February.
This is awesome.
Mikel Oglesby (28:23):
Yeah, you know, I think about it like the
Coachella Valley area and sun.
Yeah.
Sun, line, in a way.
And the reason why is becausethe weather's the same.
It's the desert.
Yeah.
if you want to go to a place that'shigh end, there's Indian Wells
here, there's Catalina Foothills.
I mean, it's identical.
I truly think the only difference is onehas palm trees, the other one has cactus.
Paul Comfort (28:44):
That's good, that's good.
Alright, so, last kind of question,let's do a future question.
what do you have planned here?
you know, what's in yourpipeline that you want to do?
And then I want to get your take on theindustry, where you think we're going.
So, but first let's do whatyou're doing here in Tucson.
Mikel Oglesby (28:58):
So, so I'm here.
I'm here to stay this is it.
I'm very happy.
the format and layout fits my skill set.
it's multimodal experience.
so I'm really working with the teamto develop a vision moving forward.
it's going to include focusingon alternate fuel technology
and making sure we focus on it.
(29:19):
Because after we do a pilot, a testprogram, basically we have ten vehicles.
But it's 10 vehicles islike a pilot program.
and if those don't work, we haveto look at other alternatives
that is zero emission if wetruly have to go down that road.
Given recent events, I don't think we'regoing to be going anywhere near that, but
that'll be one thing we have to set out.
The other is, we're going tofocus, with that, then we'll focus
(29:41):
on the fleet replacement plan.
You have your basic fleet replacementplan, then you have your alternate
fuel fleet replacement plan.
That includes infrastructure alongthe way, and then we start matching
the grants to go down that road.
I believe grants will, whenthey, when they do come out,
it'll be a lot of low no grants.
Right?
And the low no grants are
Paul Comfort (30:00):
It'll be more with low than no, I bet you.
Mikel Oglesby (30:02):
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, yeah.
But here's the great thingabout a low no grant compared
to an old fashioned FTA grant.
You call the shots.
They basically say, this is,you say how much you want.
You say what type of technology you want.
You say Who you want.
This is unheard of.
I mean, you know, you'resupposed to just be real general.
You could put who you're talking to.
You put in the infrastructure.
(30:23):
You make sure that's in thereand then you make sure the
labor, everything's in there.
So when you get it, you can afford it.
The old FTA grants wasn't like that.
You'd get it and then you realizethere are additional costs
and we'd scratch and scrape.
Paul Comfort (30:35):
So, speaking of FTA, they've written some big changes coming
out of Washington just the week thatwe're here, where a lot of the, newer
employees that were on probationaryperiod were let go and many of the
employees, 20 I hear is the number,took the buyout that was there.
So, it appears as if FTA stafflevels have been dropped by about 10
percent, from the 760 or so employees,maybe 80, are no longer there.
(30:57):
So, we have the federal governmentand how they are involved in transit.
Then you've got all the stategovernments, then you've got
cities like this, and counties.
It's it's a richtapestry, our industry is.
And not everything isdictated from Washington.
A lot is still dictated locally.
It's just, you know, like, like Nixonsaid, you gotta follow the money, right?
So, so, but what do you seefor our industry going forward?
(31:17):
What new technologiesdo you see coming here?
Do you think that cities and stateswill step up and fill any gap of
funding that may come out of Washington?
Do you have any predictions for us?
Mikel Oglesby (31:25):
No, but I can tell, well, I have a few, but I will tell
you this, we have been affected bythe FTA movement, as a matter of fact,
the recent people who were eitherlaid off or left, one of those people
were our representative and bringingin our next set of hydrogen vehicles.
So we were going, we're going electric.
So we're going stage bystage, everything's fine.
(31:47):
Then we call and thatperson's no longer here.
That's as of today.
So we have some work to do to makesure that we can move forward and
accomplish what we've already set.
So I think our focus should begetting what we already have
in the pipeline for grants.
We have other grants.
If we can make the deadlinethere, we're in pretty good shape
because we have a young fleet.
For Our fleet's only averagingseven, after we do this replacement,
(32:11):
it's averaging seven years.
I just talked to, some otherpeople at other agencies, and
they're talking about their 22year old buses, and I feel guilty.
I'm like, well, you come over here,we have seven years, we, we, we
may be able to weather this storm.
but then, the city support is sortof in the mode of business as usual.
Keep plugging forward as ifyou're getting the grants.
(32:31):
Keep, keep plugging forwardwith your vision moving forward.
And I think if we just stay in touch withthe city's goal of, you know, Hold steady.
Paul Comfort (32:42):
And you're fare free.
They're subsidizing the entire service.
You're not getting any through fares.
Mikel Oglesby (32:47):
That's right.
At this time.
You know, now that all of this isgoing on, things could change, but
again, that's above my pay grade,so I'll eat popcorn and be told what
to do when it comes to that point.
Paul Comfort (32:58):
That's good.
What about technology?
Do you see a role for autonomous vehiclesand, you know, VTOLs and all that
kind of stuff in the public transit?
you know, cornucopia of optionsthat we're offering people.
Mikel Oglesby (33:10):
honestly, for me, I don't think so.
Okay.
and the reason why is becausethey've been talking about
autonomous vehicles for years.
I know a few agencies thathave tried autonomous vehicles.
I know, in Jacksonville, Dan.
Yeah, a lot of money.
I know Nat very well.
They put a lot of money in,and it was quite some time ago.
I'm not sure where it is now, but I mean,the amount of money invested is so big.
(33:30):
Yeah.
Like when you go back, hindsight's 20 20.
Is it worth it?
Is it not worth it?
And I'm just at a point with autonomousvehicles to watch my good friend Nat be
successful and then tell me how he didit versus being on the bleeding edge.
So we're going to sit back and seewhat's going on with autonomous vehicles.
Eventually, I think we'll be there.
(33:51):
That's good.
Paul Comfort (33:52):
And lastly, let's talk about the Southwest Transit
Association Conference that washere this week that you hosted and
I think you spoke a couple times.
Tell us about the conference andwhat it's mean to you to have them
here and what you told the audience.
Mikel Oglesby (34:03):
Well, it's an honor to have it here, especially
during our 50 year anniversary.
I mean, you couldn'tplan this out any better.
We just came off the heels of our 10 yearanniversary with SunLink and then we go
into our 50 year anniversary, the rodeo'shere, and it's a 100 year anniversary.
It was a perfect storm.
So I was very proud to be ableto show Tucson off and to say,
(34:27):
listen, you don't know about Tucson?
A lot of people were saying, oh,you know, I've never been here.
I thought it was Phoenix.
And I said, well, it's not Phoenix,but I mean, the Beatles sang about it.
I mean, he was tellingme that today, right?
Yeah.
Right.
So, right.
So, so they're going around andpeople saying, I'm coming back.
This is incredible.
This is amazing.
And that's really what we wanted.
We want to make sure that we as a transitagency were a good host and, and, and made
(34:52):
everybody smile by putting our vintagebus out there for people to look at.
I saw a lot of pictureson LinkedIn with that.
All the way to us speakingand just telling our story.
I did an alternate fuel technologydiscussion similar to what we're talking
about, stating that we're going togo towards, compressed natural gas.
People appreciated it.
(35:13):
People appreciate someone that's in therethat's, you know, That's going to do
something different or state the facts.
I'm very straightforward.
So I just state the facts, right?
And when it, when I just left,the conference, I see the people
walking around and smiling.
They want.
Paraphernalia from here.
They want the bag.
They want, and a lot of conferences,smaller conferences aren't like
(35:36):
that, but the energy is still goingtowards the end of this conference.
So yeah.
Paul Comfort (35:41):
Yeah.
Rich Sampson and Amanda do a greatjob putting this together every year.
It was great to be here with you.
Thank you for hosting us and for showingus your amazing transit operations.
Mikel Oglesby (35:51):
I appreciate it.
It's a pleasure.
Julie Gates (35:53):
Thank you for joining this edition of the Transit Unplug podcast
featuring Mikel Oglesby, general managerof RATPdev for the City of Tucson.
And who oversees Sun Tran,Sun Van, and Sun Link.
My name is Julie Gates.
I'm the executive producer ofthe podcast and I wanna thank
you for listening to this show.
And if you're listening rightnow, I have a favor to ask of you.
(36:17):
Would you please give us your feedbackabout the Transit Unplugged Podcast?
We're running a survey right nowto help us make decisions on what
to do with the show moving forward.
So if there's anything you absolutely loveabout the podcast, please let us know.
And if there's anything that makesyou wanna hit your head against
the wall, we need to know that too.
It's really important to us to deliverthe show you wanna hear week after week.
(36:41):
And as time evolves, theshow needs to evolve.
We can only evolve with your help.
So please head over totransitunplugged.com/survey.
It's completely anonymous andyour feedback will help us make
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You can find the survey atsurvey@transitunplugged.com slash survey.
Thanks so much for listening,and we'll catch you next week.
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